By Iamsosorry - 22/06/2015 11:35 - United Kingdom - Cambridge

Today, at my work in a call centre, a man called up on a very quiet line to report a car accident on his father's behalf because his father was deaf. I asked him to ask his dad if he was OK after the accident. I'd misheard him and he had said "dead", not "deaf". He started crying. FML
I agree, your life sucks 32 481
You deserved it 4 144

Same thing different taste

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Comments

FlamingJazkinz 15

Wow- now that's a miscommunication.

Yeah this was a lose-lose situation. even asking him to repeat himself would've been an accidental dick move.

Heaven is a great place! even so, it's sad for the poor man that lost his father. fhl and fyl

Actually the guys father is completely fine. He survived the death and is now making a full recovery! Thanks for asking, OP!

That's terrible but mistakes happen.

Even if mistakes happen, we have to assume this is why companies prefer their employees to remain impartial and impersonal. Sure, they're not gonna get any gold stars for customer service, but stories like this one will never be published and circulated to give their name a bad reputation, even if it was a one-time incident.

8 - I fail to understand how being impartial and impersonal has any effect on one's hearing.

Sounds like a personal problem. "People hear what they want to hear."

8- I understand what you're trying to say, but asking if the other passenger in the accident is OK is not trying to be personal. It's probably her job. She just simply misheard the son.

I know you think you're being sensitive, but saying "Is your passenger okay?" isn't that hard.

your just nitpicking on word choices. everyone mishears something every once in a while and op did nothing wrong..

Asking if the passenger was okay still would have had the same result since the son said he was dead.

lilybadilly25 15

Yikes... It's an easy mistake to make OP! :(

Oh noooo...that poor man. :( it's really easy to mishear things on the phone though don't beat yourself up

Wow that is awful. People make mistakes though and it's not your fault, because everyone has done the same :(

Maybe due to his being distraught he didn't hear your comment. It's completely plausible that it could've gone in one ear and out the other

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adelaine782002 17

Are you stupid, dumb, and blind? Stop giving this person a hard time!

That's really sad and unfortunate but accidents do happen. Don't beat yourself up OP.

blcksocks 19

It's an honest mistake. Those two words would have sounded very similar even if the line was clear. Make a mental note to reconfirm and move on.

JustinJK 21

"Did you say your father was deaf or dead?"