Call Center Stories Part 2: Rescheduling Clients

Obviously, I've been lazy or else I wouldn't have waited 5 months between work stories (and by lazy, I mean this has been sitting in my notebook for a couple months, I'm just too lazy to type). If you've already forgotten what I do on a daily basis, you can go back and reread Call Center Stories Part 1. As I mentioned briefly the last time I talked about work, clients and Department of Human Services workers will call all the time about rescheduling appointments (and I'm pretty limited at what I'm able to do). At one time, I was trying to keep a tally on what the most used reason for missing an evaluation was, but then I got bored at three calls in a row that a client was "sick". Currently, the most used excuses to reschedule are (in no particular order):

• Client was sick
• Client's child was sick
• Client forgot about the appointment
• Client didn't get the appointment letter in time and/or wasn't informed of the appointment
• Client went to the wrong address/got lost
• Client was in jail/incarcerated
• Client had another appointment (doctor, court, funeral, etc)
• Client didn't have transportation (car broke down, friend didn't pick them up, etc)

And now for the more unique stories:

An evaluator called to confirm an appointment. Apparently there was a guy in the office who claimed he had an appointment at a certain time, but the evaluator had a different client scheduled for that timeslot. After some back and forth with the information we were provided and the information the other man was willing to provide, we figured out that he had given DHS a nickname and not his real, legal name. The man claimed that he was in the process of changing it, but since it wasn't changed yet, that name was more of an alias than his actual name. Well, for many reasons, the evaluator isn't going to evaluate someone not specifically on his schedule (he might not get paid, he could be sued for doing a fraudulent exam, he could be doing a fraudulent exam, etc) so he sent the client back to the DHS office to register correctly.

A guy calls on the morning of his appointment day to ask if he can come in at an earlier time for his evaluation. Unfortunately, the clinic is fully booked that day, so I let him know that I can't move him and he'll need to be seen at his scheduled time, a time which he agreed to come in for an appointment at almost 2 weeks ago (if he needed an earlier time, he should've said so back then and we could've accommodated him). Instead of being an adult and coming in at the time he agreed to, he starts fighting me on it, demanding to speak with the clinic (nope, not going to do that) or the evaluator (nope, definitely not going to do that). Just to get him to shut up, I put him on hold and called up the clinic to speak with the nurse. Luckily for the client, the doctor that day is okay with clients showing up as early as they can, as that way the doctor can leave earlier. So, reluctantly, I gave him the okay to come in at 1pm for the afternoon evaluator. Later in the day, I'm getting off lunch and leaving the company break room, which is on same side as the clinic, so I'm forced to walk through the waiting room to get back to the call center. As I'm walking back, a man sitting down is bugging the nurse, asking her where the doctor is because he needs to be seen early. Before she can answer, he sees me (in my hoodie and jeans) and asks if I'm the doctor. I reply no, and the nurse tells him that the doctor is running a little late. As I get to the hallway, I'm laughing as this jackass who was annoying me in the morning to come in earlier now has to wait since the doctor is running late.

All clients are scheduled on a individual basis, meaning most DHS worker will typically only schedule one client at a time (as most are just individuals applying for welfare). So, one day I'm doing a reminder call to let a client know about his appointment. During the call, he asks about his wife's appointment as well. As illegal as it is to give out information regarding another client, I look up the case to see that the woman in question does have the same last name, mailing address, phone number, and DHS case number as the man I'm currently talking to. Also, the woman has an appointment as well, but on a completely different day. So, as I'm listening to the man explain that it would be hard to make two separate appointments on two different days, especially with both of their disabilities, I'm also looking at the evaluator's schedule over those two days. As I explained earlier, my job is limited by what I'm allowed to do, and in this situation, I'm supposed to refer both him and his wife back to DHS to go through the hassle of rescheduling both of their appointments. Instead, I let him know that there is an opening for both of them to go in, one after another, as long as they can promise me to they can both make an earlier appointment time. As much as this can bite me in the ass professionally-speaking (if the client misses the appointment I'm moving him to, and instead comes to the original appointment with a letter for his original appointment, all of the blame for the shit-show that follows will fall on me) as well as goes against my general nature of not caring about others, it seemed like the right thing to do (I'm guessing I was sick that day).

A DHS worker called once to reschedule a client with the client in the office. Not unusual, in fact, we encourage it as that way we can get the most up-to-date information on when is best to put the client on schedule so they can keep their appointment. So, as I'm speaking with the worker, a common thing we ask is why the client missed the appointment as it may provide information on when is next best to schedule the client. Apparently, the client had a court date the same day. Now, we set up the initial appointment just a couple days earlier so I asked if he had forgotten about the court date or, less likely, if it was a last minute court hearing. Instead, I can hear the client respond, "No, I knew about the court date for a couple weeks." So, possibly being on speaker phone, I ask again, "So, you knew about the court date but still agreed to the first appointment knowing that you weren't going to keep it?" And, as I hear the client start to talk again, I can hear the worker giving him the "shhh" to shut him up. Now, I'm not allowed to refuse to schedule a client a DHS worker is calling to schedule, but I know that a DHS worker can refuse to reschedule an appointment if the client doesn't provide good cause. So, now I'm just dropping hints to the worker that maybe, perhaps this isn't a good enough cause, that the client intentionally scheduled an appointment he knew he was going to miss, and maybe we can force the client instead to reapply and go through the whole process again. In the end though, as much as it annoyed me, we did end up rescheduling the client.

A client called to ask if her appointment could be rescheduled... by several months. Obviously, my answer is going to be "no," but for curiosity's sake, I also asked "why?" Well, it turns out that her kids wanted her to move to the mainland to live with them for a couple months. As great for her as that sounds, you are only allowed to receive welfare money from the state if you are living in the state. So now I'm in a debate with her that even though you call Hawaii your home and plan to return, you still need to be living here to receive welfare money. I've spoken to other clients about this before and they all understand that they need to register in the state they're residing in, but just not this lady. Eventually, as I can see that we're just going to be going in circles, I just tell her to contact DHS and they can solve her problem (and by that, I mean that they'll probably approve her benefits until she leaves and then cut her off).

Emberwilde Comes: Departure to Kanto

I awoke several days later in a hospital bed, my left arm heavily bandaged but, from what I could see and feel, miraculously still intact. I poked it with my opposite hand a couple times and felt nothing besides the pressure of my fingers. I started to pick at the edge of the bandage before being startled by a Chancey and Nurse Joy standing in the doorway.

"Good, you're finally awake," said Nurse Joy as she stood in the doorway with several charts in her hand. Whether she knew that I would be waking at that moment or if she just happened to be passing by, I'll never know. She turned to the Chancey at her side and said, "Chance chan chan Chancey Chancey," and the Chancey took off down the hallway, a pink blur. Understanding Chancey has never been one of the languages I've been good at, but from what I picked up, it roughly translated to "The child is awake, get the Fire King."

"What happened after The Choosing Ceremony?" I asked as I struggled to sit up. Though physically I felt fine, the toll of not having eaten for several days made it extremely hard to move. After several attempts to raise myself, I finally managed to brace my back against the wall into a sitting position. "Will our clan still have a Champion this year?"

I heard Nurse Joy giggle. "Chance chan," she started before realizing her mistake. "Sorry about that, I'm so used to only having Chancey to converse with. What I meant to say is that nothing is going to stop the Inferno Clan from entering a champion. The Fire King has already punished Emberwilde for his actions."

I let out a short laugh. "A punishment, huh. I'd like to see that," I said, thinking about the shame he brought upon our clan, about how he sought to embarrass me in front of the clan, but mostly I thought of my bandaged arm that I should've lost in the fire.

"If you want proof, just look to your right," I heard Nurse Joy say as the sound of her footsteps took her further down the hallway.

Turning to my right, I saw a small nightstand with my clothes (freshly washed and folded), and, sitting on the pile of clothes, was a pokeball, black and gray. My pokeball, still intact and shining with the afternoon sun pouring through the window. As if sensing my gaze, the Pokeball gave a slight shake. Emberwilde.

Just an hour later, the Fire King walked through the door, ducking down under the door frame. He stood silent and still, ignoring my growling stomach as I pulled myself off of the bed and onto the cold, linoleum floor, freezing my bare feet until I pulled myself to my full height. Then, I dropped to my knees and lowered my head. "Greetings Fire King of the Inferno Clan," I said with my eyes still focused upon the floor.

The giant Charizard returned my nod. In Charizard, he spoke, "Our Clan expresses deepest sympathies for the harm that has befallen you and the ordeal one of my own Lords has put you through. I have spoken with Lord Emberwilde about the spectacle he made at the Choosing Ceremony and received his assurance that there will be no further incidents like the one we witnessed that day, especially upon your journeys together."

I shivered slightly when the Fire King said "spoken" as the word, in Charizard, can also mean something akin to "settle the matter," typically with force (they were Charizard after all). For his embarrassing display, there was a good chance the Fire King may have used claws and talons as much as words to reprimand the other rogue Charizard.

The Fire King continued. "Nurse Chancey has informed me that besides the weakness you might be feeling from your hospitalization, you have made a full recovery. May I request that you begin Emberwilde's journey as soon as possible as the other clans' champions have already begun." And with that, the Charizard made his way out of the room.

I waited a full fifteen minutes on the floor after the Fire King had exited until I pulled myself to my feet. With Emberwilde's pokeball clutched in my still-bandaged hand, I made my way out of the hospital. Despite being scorched by flames, my arm still felt relatively alright, though I'd still yet to peel away the bandages to see the real damage underneath. Once I got home, I grabbed my still packed bag (I planned to win, after all) and headed toward the coast. In the past years, there's always been a crowd of people to see off the three Champions, but due to the events of the Inferno Clan's ceremony, the only thing awaiting me was an already sun-faded sign wishing the Champions luck on their journeys. Looking across the ocean, I could barely make out the land on the other side - the edge of Kanto and the start of Emberwilde's journey. I looked around the empty harbor. But first I needed to figure out how to get there. Seeing the sun starting it's descent, it would be dark soon and the last thing I wanted was to return to the village so quickly after heading out.

I pulled Emberwilde's pokeball from my hip belt and expanded it to its full size. After all, it was his fault that we were in this mess, why shouldn't he help us out? Still, I hesitated, staring at the black obsidian gleaming off the light of the setting sun. Normally, I would never even dream of asking any Charizard, much less one given the title of Lord by the Fire King, if I could ride on it's back, but these were desperate times. Finally, I placed the pokeball carefully on the ground and backed away. In Charizard, I called upon Emberwilde. "Char char. Chaaar. Charizard!"

The pokeball opened and, in a flash of light, Emberwilde appeared, standing at full height. "Char," he said as he looked me over, an ant disturbing his slumber. For a fraction of a second, I saw his expression soften. Following his eyes, I found them focused on my still bandaged arm. As much as I wanted to shove it in his face, to ask him what he was thinking, if it was all worth it, No, now was not the time as we had a much bigger problem in front of us.

"What?" Emberwilde repeated as his eyes narrowed once more. From his nose, wisps of smoke began to rise.

"Umm," I stuttered as I tried to ask. Luckily, at that moment, a Lapras broke the surface close to the docks. The black markings covering the right half of its shell marked it as one of ours, a member of the Inferno Clan and subject of the Fire King. I breathed out a sigh of relief, perhaps I wouldn't have to ask Emberwilde the unthinkable if this Lapras could transport us instead.

I waved and called to the Lapras to get it's attention. "Laaaapraaas!" I shouted, leaving Emberwilde a few feet behind as I made my way to the dock. "Hello, I was wondering if you would assist me in my journey?" I said in Lapras once I'd gotten the Lapras's attention. "I am to bear Emberwilde, our clan's champion, across the ocean and into Kanto. I was wondering if you may assist me in my quest?" I smiled, knowing that there was no way a subject of the Fire King would turn down a request to assist one of the Fire King's own Lords.

The Lapras refused. Shaking its head, it explained loud enough for Emberwilde to hear as well, "No one will ferry Emberwilde across the ocean. He must make the quest on his own. For his actions at the Choosing Ceremony, he has disgraced himself and the clan. Only by redeeming himself will he again be a recognized member of the Inferno Clan." With that, the Lapras fired a very weak water gun as Emberwilde's chest, not much of an attack, but very much an insult. To me, he spoke, "I'm sorry, Young Bearer, but this is the way of the clan. I'm sure you will understand." With that, the Lapras ducked under the water and was gone. And, as much as I didn't want to, I did understand.

I turned to find Emberwilde gone, returned back to his pokeball. I walked back to the spot I'd placed it only to find an old fisherman, Emberwilde's pokeball in hand. "Looks like you're in a bit of a pickle," he said with a chuckle as he handed me the pokeball, "Any way I can help out?"

"Yeah, just a slight inconvenience but I'll figure it out," I said as I took the pokeball and placed it back on my hip. I turned to face the water, the night beginning to settle in. "If you've got a boat to get us out of here tonight, that would be a lifesaver," I added as I turned back from the water and started up the path to the village.

The old man chuckled and grabbed me by my bandaged arm. "Curious," I heard him mutter before shouting, "Well, you're in luck because I just so happen to have a boat!" He began pulling me toward the far end of the dock. "She might not be the fastest but she's got enough to get you there and back. Plus I've been sailing these waters all my life, doing it in the dark won't be a problem."

We got to the far end of the dock to find a small fishing boat tied up. It didn't look like it could float in a bathtub, much less the ocean, but at this point I'd take anything. "Are you sure about this?" I asked as the old man jumped into the boat and began preparations for take-off. "Isn't anyone from the Inferno Clan forbidden from helping Emberwilde."

I heard laughter, "Oh, don't you worry about that." The old man poked his head out from the boat, a smile on his face. "Although this is a pretty dangerous request, perhaps I should get something out of it as well."

I frowned, "Sorry, sir, but I don't have any money to pay you, nor anything of value to trade," I said as I felt my spirits begin to drop. Even if I were to come back tomorrow, though I wasn't sure if I'd be able to find any help to get me across the water.

The old man motioned for me to get into the boat. "Oh, don't you worry about that," he said with a smile, "I think I've figured out a way for the two of you to repay me. A small favor shouldn't be too difficult for a Lord of the Inferno Clan." As I got into the boat, he explained the deal he'd just thought of. "You see, your presence in the Kanto region is valuable enough to me. I have some business out there that might require your assistance. Plus, the Kanto region is full of exotic things that we just don't have here in the Tartarus Isles. Perhaps you could assist me, when I call on you, of course?" Without a way to refuse that would still allow us passage across the ocean, I reluctantly agreed and handed him my Pokegear to enter his contact info. "Well, now that we've got that taken care of, let's get you two across the ocean." And with that, we were off to Kanto.





I was actually working on another story when I realized that, if you were following this story (which, as I say about all my stories, you really should find something better to do), that for almost 4 months, its been on a cliffhanger on what the fuck happened to the main character's arm. So, I've been splitting my time between this one, the other one, and Destiny 2. This is probably one of the reasons it has a rushed feeling to it. I feel like I should've spent more time on it, especially with descriptions and even with some of the dialogue, but I've also been sick recently so most of this has been written at night, half-asleep or whatever I can put together during my lunch break. It still annoys me that certain sections are just huge chunks of dialogue. I'm still not sure why, but having characters just standing around and talking annoys me, but obviously, how else would things get explained? And it's something that happens in the real world (it's exactly what happens everytime I leave the theater). I think I just need to work on breaking up those chunks with bits of action (at least no one stands perfectly still all the time). One stupid thing, I originally wrote the first-half as if the character was bed-ridden in the hospital bed (a hard time standing for the Fire King, and even just sitting up to talk with Nurse Joy). Still not sure why as the only thing injured was an arm and I took care of stating that it was relatively okay very early. And yes, I do have something planned for what's under the bandages, if you're interested (it's not that interesting). And yes, I also realize that the character is sounding much less like the 10 year old kid s/he is supposed to be (I still haven't determined if it's a boy or a girl). Hopefully I'll also get the next part done sometime next month as this seems to be something I'm going to continue on for a while at least.