The prole mind-set

[Gumbyhawk]

So, I was working this weekend (yeah, game day goddammit). I settle total loss auto claims. Not nearly as bad of a gig as it sounds (other than having to work a weekend once in a blue moon).


Anyway, I say that it's not a bad gig because the majority of people are just thankful to get the claim settled and over with and realize that we are paying them a fair value for their car. They also know that I want nothing more than to get the claim settled so I can move on to the next claim in my never-ending pile. However, there are always those occasional pieces of white-trash shit who make the process interesting. Let me elaborate...


Yesterday, I called up this one family regarding their 2003 Chrysler. Actually a decent car for proles, but that's beside the point. I go into my script on how we arrived at the value of their car and they start right in on how much they pay in premiums, how they are unemployed, the shitty economy, etc, etc before I can even get to the bottom-line numbers. Once I finally do get to the numbers, they get pissed because they still owe $260 more than the settlement. Basically, not my fucking problem. That's what GAP insurance is for. Buy it, or take your chances. That's essentially the whole concept of insurance and risk management.


So, I try to go into how this dumb prole bitch needs to take that up with her credit union and she goes off. She starts berating me on how she bought "full coverage" and we are to pay off her loan. WTF? What dumb piece-of-shit sold her that advice? She states that we have to pay off the entire amount of her loan and then reminds me that they are unemployed, have financial issues, and could just rack up some more medical costs on our tab- but they were doing us a favor by not seeking medical attention even though her son's back "still hurt".


I retorted that I really can't speak for the medical portion of the claim, but that if her son was really hurt, he sould seek medical attention. I then get the "but we are unemployed and have no health insurance! YOU people will be paying for that! Is THAT what you want??" Basically, coming unglued.


She then went into the classic threat of getting an attorney, which is meant to scare claim reps and insurance companies but never works since 1) we are doing nothing wrong 2) dealing with an attorney with no emotional attachment is much easier and 3) I don't really give two shits. In addition, the prolish bitch threaten to file a complaint against me. Why? Because I wasn't being "fair" by paying off her loan.





She basically hung up on me and I had several thoughts at that point:

1) How is she going to get an attorney if she is unemployed? Good luck finding someone to take your frivolous case pro bono, dumb bitch.

2) Why did she think that copping an attitude from the onset, threatening me, and being an ass would somehow expediate her claim?

And perhaps the biggest thought was:

3) I can see why some people are just eternally mired in proledom. It's ALWAYS someone else's fault. Poor them! Everyone is out to get them. It's not fair. Blah, blah, blah. I am all for helping people get back on their feet if they truly had some bad shit happen to them. Hell, I've been in that situation more than once myself. But, I REALLY hate these proles who just siphon off the rest of us like leeches and never have any notion to pay it back. Personally, I think people like this should get their unemployment cut off, food stamps cut off, and just be kicked to the curb. If they die in the street, it will be their own doing.


Oh... and one last thought that I had: I can see why she thinks I am being unfair, unreasonable, and not willing to help her. You know... calling her up on the first football Saturday of the year over the Holiday weekend and all.


Anyway, I mostly wanted to vent. But, I feel less and less sorry for a lot of the proles in this world.

[socal]

You're seeing things solely through your perspective.

Beyond what was divulged on your conversation & their policy, you truly have no idea what is going on in their lives.


1. They were in a car accident. While not necessarily stressful for YOU, it is for most people.

2. That may or may not have been their only mode of transportation.

3. If they are unemployed, finding another $260 to pay off the loan could mean HUGE things for them.

4. When 2 & 3 are combined, from their perspective - they have to come up with $260 more to simply be back to Zero... Once at zero, they still won't have a vehicle to drive to a possible job / interview.

5. If they're like me, they look at the premiums first --- is $600 over 6 months better than $672 for gap? Yes. Heck, at this point nobody could verify if they were offered the gap coverage.

6. There could be countless other stressors in their lives that you have no idea about.



I understand your situation --- it is what it is. But as someone that has handled thousands of claims myself & been on the other side of a few (plus being currently unemployed)- don't make things personal... as they ARE having a bad string of luck.

From personal experience, when situations like this happen --- take a day, then, even though you don't have to... call them back. Calmly tell them that things ended badly the other day & you wanted to offer a sympathetic ear. True or not, them thinking that not everyone is a dick can be huge --- and win a lifelong customer.

And if you are able to do anything with red tape - or dot an un-dotted "i" for them, you will be their hero.


Some of the most greatful and nicest people I've ever spoken to, originated this way. In fact, one old guy used to call me every month just to chat.
It took nothing for me to do, but meant the world to them.

[NOTTHOR]

Sorry socal, gotta side with Gumby here. The lady essentially threatened to commit insurance fraud over $260. And you know that even though the car is "totalled" they just threw a couple of new quarterpanels and some duct tape on the thing and junior is out driving it around right now and probably loading 50 pound bags of top soil in and out of the trunk with ease.

As for them being a customer for life, gumby's company probably has a model that tells them they don't want this person as a customer anymore. They've filed a material claim against the policy, threatened what is likely fraud and threatened litigation. I'd gladly send their $96 a month down the street and I'm sure gumby's company would too. It ain't worth it.

Look at the birght side gumby, you didn't have to watch that horrible fucking game live.

[Gumbyhawk]

Sept 6, 2009 18:46:47 GMT -6 socal said:

You're seeing things solely through your perspective.

Beyond what was divulged on your conversation & their policy, you truly have no idea what is going on in their lives.


1. They were in a car accident. While not necessarily stressful for YOU, it is for most people.

2. That may or may not have been their only mode of transportation.

3. If they are unemployed, finding another $260 to pay off the loan could mean HUGE things for them.

4. When 2 & 3 are combined, from their perspective - they have to come up with $260 more to simply be back to Zero... Once at zero, they still won't have a vehicle to drive to a possible job / interview.

5. If they're like me, they look at the premiums first --- is $600 over 6 months better than $672 for gap? Yes. Heck, at this point nobody could verify if they were offered the gap coverage.

6. There could be countless other stressors in their lives that you have no idea about.



I understand your situation --- it is what it is. But as someone that has handled thousands of claims myself & been on the other side of a few (plus being currently unemployed)- don't make things personal... as they ARE having a bad string of luck.

From personal experience, when situations like this happen --- take a day, then, even though you don't have to... call them back. Calmly tell them that things ended badly the other day & you wanted to offer a sympathetic ear. True or not, them thinking that not everyone is a dick can be huge --- and win a lifelong customer.

And if you are able to do anything with red tape - or dot an un-dotted "i" for them, you will be their hero.


Some of the most greatful and nicest people I've ever spoken to, originated this way. In fact, one old guy used to call me every month just to chat.
It took nothing for me to do, but meant the world to them.

1. I understand. But that is the situation with every person I deal with every day. Nobody else has even come close to the "assholishness" and "it's everyone else's fault" mentality as these clowns.


2. See #1. Also, we provide a free service where we get them in touch with dealers that will help them find a car, below sticker, and even deliver it for them at no extra cost. But these assholes barely heard that bit as they were too busy blaming me and everyone else for their bad luck.


3. True. But, still not my problem. I tried to explain a few options that their credit union might have for them to deal with this situation but again... they never let me.


4. Understood. And I can sympathize with that... for MOST people. People like them don't really deserve such sympathy in my opinion. They were d-bags.


5. I might think the same on this one, so I will concede this point.


6. Dude, everyone is in this same boat. Everyone has their own levels and types of stress to deal with. For me, it's been dealing with my Mom being in the hospital for cancer treatment (she is fine, btw), the death of two of our beloved pets, and working about 72 hours a week with 5 hours of sleep a night. I always start out with a sympathetic ear, but frankly, I'm not paid to be a whipping boy. Even less so on a Saturday over a holiday weekend. They need to see their clergy or a counselor for some of their issues, not me. Seriously.


Finally, the LAST thing I want is for any of my customers to call me every few months to shoot the shit. I deal with 75-80 claims a month. I really don't have the time to get personal with any of our customers. Don't get me wrong.... I love it when I am able to have a relaxed conversation with someone when handling a claim. I would just prefer to keep the relationship professional and end said relationship when the obligations end. That's just me.


Yeah, I know that above makes me sound like a dick. But you also kind of had to hear the conversation. Like BTR said, she basically wanted me to put my ass on the line for HER and put my career on the line. I guess I don't take to that very well. And then to insinuate that I was not doing my job correctly... well, that's just insane. My industry and position is one of the most regulated out there. If I processed a claim in "bad faith", it would get discovered pretty quickly.


Bottom line: some people deserve their bad luck.

[Gumbyhawk]

Sept 6, 2009 19:19:24 GMT -6 NOTTHOR said:

Sorry socal, gotta side with Gumby here. The lady essentially threatened to commit insurance fraud over $260. And you know that even though the car is "totalled" they just threw a couple of new quarterpanels and some duct tape on the thing and junior is out driving it around right now and probably loading 50 pound bags of top soil in and out of the trunk with ease.

As for them being a customer for life, gumby's company probably has a model that tells them they don't want this person as a customer anymore. They've filed a material claim against the policy, threatened what is likely fraud and threatened litigation. I'd gladly send their $96 a month down the street and I'm sure gumby's company would too. It ain't worth it.

Look at the birght side gumby, you didn't have to watch that horrible fucking game live.

A report will be sent to underwriting on their behalf. They might need to add "shop for another insurance company" on their pity-list.

[thunderhawk]

So let me get this right. They've got med pay, they've got a kid with (alleged) back injuries, and they haven't taken advantage of the med pay?

Am I correct in that assessment?

Wow. I wouldn't touch that case, not even with 100% liability on someone else. Guaranteed heartburn. She might get an attorney on a contingency arrangement IF there are sufficient damages (the delay in seeking medical treatment argues against that) and if there is liability for the accident against a tortfeasor. Otherwise, there is no attorney on this planet who is going to take her "claim" against you.

It's also pretty easy to get a fairly accurate value of an automobile via kelly blue book or edmunds.com. Of course a prole wouldn't know that.

[Gumbyhawk]

Sept 8, 2009 10:33:54 GMT -6 thunderhawk said:

So let me get this right. They've got med pay, they've got a kid with (alleged) back injuries, and they haven't taken advantage of the med pay?

Am I correct in that assessment?

Wow. I wouldn't touch that case, not even with 100% liability on someone else. Guaranteed heartburn. She might get an attorney on a contingency arrangement IF there are sufficient damages (the delay in seeking medical treatment argues against that) and if there is liability for the accident against a tortfeasor. Otherwise, there is no attorney on this planet who is going to take her "claim" against you.

It's also pretty easy to get a fairly accurate value of an automobile via kelly blue book or edmunds.com. Of course a prole wouldn't know that.

As an update, I haven't heard anything more from the prole-ish assholes today. Of course, they probably won't get all of the shit I sent them until tomorrow, so we will see. However, since they are not in a rental and we have their car moved to one of our salvage yards and not incurring any storage charges, they can fucking rot for what I care. I sent them everything I need including POA forms, etc, etc to get this claim done. The ball is now in their court. Something tells me this claim will still be around when there is snow on the ground. Whatever. I'll just keep trying to contact them and send out the occasional "please call me letter". Not much more I can do other than that. I am actually curious to see how long this thing may play out.


As for your point about vehicle valuation- Kelly Blue Book is worthless in California since KBB is essentially a nationwide price and does not reflect the local crap-tastic market of California. Our valuation listed somewhere around 36 comparable vehicles within a 100 mile radius of their zip code. We feel pretty confident in the value of their car. But, that's all beside the point. If they want to protest it that's fine- just as long as they have some legit documentation.


My beef with them is that they started right out bitching before and giving me the sob "it's everyone else's fault" prole story before I even got to explain all of the numbers. They then threatened litigation and filing a "bad faith" claim on me.... all after I went out of my way to contact them on the Saturday before fucking Labor Day.


The proles can eat my ass.