In a viral TikTok video, a customer berates an Xfinity customer service employee—demanding to speak to a manager via irate screams.
It’s no secret that people hate dealing with cable companies, and it’s not difficult to understand why. Oftentimes cable companies/internet service providers will arbitrarily increase the price of your service despite being a loyal customer for years.
Then there’s the question of localized monopolies. In many areas of the US, there’s only one high-speed internet service provider for an area, meaning that the company can get away with charging pretty much whatever they want as folks who need access to high-speed internet don’t have a choice. When Google released its Fiber internet system in certain communities, local ISPs suddenly began dropping the costs of its services.
So while it’s easy to sympathize with someone who has got a major bone to pick with a cable company, it’s also easy to understand that the customer service representatives on the phone dealing with irate consumers aren’t responsible for the business practices of their employers.
This is why so many TikTokers are blasting an Xfinity “Karen” for unloading on a call center employee who recorded her tirade.
User Brittany Tylor (@bettykeepsit_100) uploaded the clip with a caption that explains why she never wants to work in a call center. “And for this reason right here, I NEVER wanna be a call center representative EVER again,” it reads.
@bettykeepsit_100 And for this reason right here, I NEVER wanna be a call center representative EVER again 🤣🤣🤣🤣 #callcenterlife #customerservice #customersbelike #xfinityfanthem #xfinity #comcast #workfromhome #workfromhomejobs #fuckcomcast #foryou #fypシ #fyp #foryourpage ♬ Funk Rave – Don´t Let Me Down 140 Bpm – kirtap
“Record the fuck out of this call and get me to a supervisor, now,” the customer can be heard screaming on the phone. When the employee attempts to talk to the woman, she keeps bellowing, “Now! Now! Now! Don’t say another word to me!” The employee then says she’s going to put the woman on hold before the woman screams, “Now!” again. Then the video ends.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Xfinity via email and Brittany via TikTok comment for further information.
There are a number of personal anecdotes from call center employees on the internet that talk about the experience in a negative light. Writer Rachella Angel Page said in a Medium piece that “2 years working in a call center broke” her.
And according to Scorebuddy and Zendesk, “call center burnout” is a very real phenomenon. The latter resource states that teleoperators are at a higher risk of experiencing heightened levels of stress, which “can cause long-term mental health issues like depression and anxiety and manifest with physical symptoms like heart disease.”
TikTokers who saw Brittany’s post were stunned by the customer’s behavior. One user who claimed to be a previous Xfinity employee commented that “this is why” they quit the company. Another said, “I would’ve been crying laughing.”
Some TikTok users said they didn’t understand why Brittany simply didn’t hang up on the customer and send them back into the queue.
However, others said that they believe there are some internet service providers that push people to the brink emotionally. “To be fair xfinity/comcast will take you there I’ve never done it but it is frustrating dealing with that company,” one user wrote.
