Am I doing customer service wrong?

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I was moved to the CR line at the Walmart home office call center back in September and, frankly, it hasn't been a smooth ride. I'm not a social guy to begin with, so interacting with strangers (usually angry strangers) nonstop for eight hours a day, five days a week has been hard. I've always tried to do my best, but I'm starting to wonder if my "best" is just making things worse.

For instance, I'm always honest with the customer even if it's something they don't want to hear. I got a call from a 70 year old man who wanted his local store to stop selling hair gel because spiked up hair is "unamerican," and I told him that while I'd file the complaint for him I highly doubted the store is going to take the product off their shelves for something like that. According to my bosses, I was antagonizing the customer when I said that. Same with when the customers call in complaining that a store wouldn't price match for them, or wouldn't refund their purchase, and I tell them that the stores' refund and price match policies are made by the store manager himself, so there's nothing I can do to make them change that. The way I see it, leading the customers to believe they might get what they want when they most likely won't is bad customer service. Like, if I tell them it's going to happen and then it doesn't, they can call back and file a complaint against me. Apparently I'm the only one who sees it that way, though.

Plus, a lot of these people are just belligerent. What they're upset about has nothing to do with bad customer service, they just have unreasonable expectations for what we ought to do to keep them happy. No, it's not acceptable for a worker to be rude to you, and I'll file a complaint for you, but the fact that they rolled their eyes does not mean you deserve a $500 gift card for it, and I'm not going to tell you otherwise!

Anyway, what do you think? Am I missing something here? Am I really doing this wrong?

Customer service is a horrible job. Everyone's got a grievance.
My strategy was always to identify with the customer's anger or frustration or whatever. Even if I couldn't do anything for them, I could still by sympathetic. Like the guy with the hair gel, I would have said something like, "I know, eh, these silly modern trends." If you can change their mood that's the best thing. Customer retention is important and sometimes you have to give them something even when they don't deserve it just to show good will.

Customer service is terrible indeed.

The best you can do is staying neutral.
Don't tell the customer that their wishes will not be met, that makes them more angry, but don't tell them they will (or might) be either.
Just tell them something like "I understand where you are coming from; i will bring this issue to the relevant people" and leave it at that.

This way, the client isn't antagonized, but you didn't raise false hope either.

Here's the thing about staying neutral, though: people will ASK me if they're going to get what they want. I try to stay as vague as possible so I can pass the problem on to the store manager, but if they straight up ask me what's going to happen I can't very well lie to them. And in the case of refunds and things like that, all I tell them is Walmart policy: the store manager makes the rules, so if he doesn't want to he doesn't have to. From my position I have no ability to give refunds, do exchanges, etc. Pretty much I'm the middle man who has to say, "Sorry, I can't do it. I'll have someone else call you about it."

Case in point, here's a call I took just a couple minutes ago.

Customer: "I'm trying to get a refund, but they won't give it to me!"
Me: "I'm sorry to hear that. Unfortunately, the store's manager makes his own store's policy in regards to refunds and exchanges, so I can file a complaint for you but I can't override the manager's authority."
Customer: "That's ridiculous! The sign right here on the wall says 'Satisfaction Guaranteed'. Well, I'm not satisfied!"
Me: "I'm sorry for that, but I can't make the store go against its own policy."
Customer: "I can't believe this! I've been shopping here for twenty years and I've never had to deal with someone like you. Get me your manager."
Me: "I'm sorry, but I can't get you my manager. We're very busy here, so they are all taking calls as well and aren't available for escalations." (part of our holiday rules)
Customer: "Are you denying me my right to talk to your manager?"
Me: "I'm not denying you anything ma'am, I can't get you my manager."
Customer: "What's your name?"
Me: "Adam."
Customer: "What's your last name?"
Me: "We don't give out our last names here, ma'am."
Customer: "Oh yeah, I bet you don't. Now you listen to me: either you get me your manager right now so I can file a complaint against you, or I'll call someone even higher up and complain!"
Me: "Sorry ma'am, I can't do that."
Customer: "Have it your way, then. And I still want you to file that complaint for me. Have the store manager call me back in two hours, got it?"
Me: "I'm sorry, ma'am, but our stores are extremely busy during the holidays so we're not able to guarantee they'll call you back." (another of our stupid holiday rules)
Customer: "You are a horrible young man! Why are you doing this to me?"
Me: "Sorry, ma'am. Is there anything else you need help with?" (I can see the call's going nowhere, trying to close it)
Customer: "You need to be fired! I'll be filing a complaint against you!"
*Hangs up*

In theory, your job is to let the customers blow off steam and vent, even though they won't get anything.

Somehow, you need to let them talk, and gently give hints as to the store policy. Sort of like handling a car hurtling down a steep road toward a house that has lost its brakes. You can't really stop the car, but you might be able to make it miss the house.

And, you need to listen carefully for what might be called "operator error," situations that you actually can fix. You know, dumb things like computers that don't work because the monitor also has a power plug, in addition to the power plug on the computer. You need to plug both of them in.

Why couldn't she have a refund?

I don't think you're doing customer service wrong, I think a super emotionally intelligent NT could not have done any better. Some people are self centered idiots and no matter what you say or do, they are going to throw a fit because you cant give them what they want when they want it so they assume that your victimizing them in some way. That is not your fault and I commend you on your diplomacy. Best of luck.

Some people just want a punching bag and it's your job to take the punches with a smile. As someone who worked at call centers for three years, I can tell you: you're doing customer service exactly right.

I worked at Wal-Mart for four and a half years. I think you're doing a great job. I never worked at the customer service desk myself, but I was a cashier for awhile. That was hard enough for me, no way could I handle your job!

Some customers are going to be angry no matter what. And of course, you occasionally have people who are trying to scam you in different ways. Watch out for those types. Otherwise, I always tried to be polite and sympathetic when a customer had a problem that I could do nothing about.

I found that the majority of customers just want to be listened to and a little kindness goes a long way. If I couldn't help someone with something they asked me to when they were my register, I would try to do what little I could to help them out in other ways. I'd help them out their groceries in their cart, make sure to walk around and get heavy/bulky items in their cart so they didn't have to lift them, just little things like that.

"That is not my determination to make."

I work for an insurance company in the individual healthcare sales department.

I share your pain! This is someone I had to deal with today:

Me: Hello, thank you for calling XYZ. My name is Richard. I am a licensed insurance agent, and we are on a recorded line. May I have your name?
Lady: Don't transfer me, I have been transferred already. <This basically translates into someone else screwed up, and I don't trust you to make a competent decision.>
Me: It would depend on what you need help with. I may be able to help you.
Lady: <I have a billing problem that you cannot help with>.
Me: I am in the individual healthcare sales department, and I cannot help you with that issue. I do not have access to your billing information. I will have to transfer you to the billing department.
Lady: Let me talk to you manager!
Me: <I transferred the lady to the billing department . . . my manager cannot help her with a billing issue, and we are not even in the same state as our billing department. This lady talking to me about her billing problem that I, or my supervisor, cannot help her with means that I cannot take a sales call, and earn my living. Also my supervisor does not want to talk to someone about anything not to do with his team, and even then it is likely a no.>

Yesterday I had this conversation:
Me: Hello, thank you for calling XYZ. My name is Richard. I am a licensed insurance agent, and we are on a recorded line. May I have your name?
Guy: Why did my premium increase without you informing me?
Me: The premium amount increases yearly, and is based on the calendar year.
Guy: I have had insurance before, and that is not how it works.
Me: This is how the plans I sell work.
Guy: Are you sure? <I should have asked him if he was sure his name was XYZ.>
Me: Yes, I deal with this everyday.
Guy: Why did you add on dental insurance for my child without me knowing?
Me: It is the law . . .
Guy: How could you include an increase to my premium without telling me?
Me: The premium amount increases yearly, and is based on the calendar year.
Guy: No how could you add on dental without telling me.
Me: It is the law . . .
Guy: How can you bill me without letting me know.
Me: It is the law . . .
Guy: But, how could you bill me for something that I did not want.
Me: It is the law. It is not my determination. This is explained on the application. You can opt out if you have a dental plan that qualifies under the affordable care act.
Guy: You guys just add in charges, this is unacceptable.
Me: It is the law.

This guy drove me nuts. He would ask questions, and then not let me answer, and when I raised my voice to finish my sentence via talking over him, he got upset at that. It was a rather quite annoying call.

Eventually I needed to transfer this guy to billing.

Yeah, I work in a call center for a telecommunications company and I get a lot of angry calls too and I try my best to calm them down and sympathize but there is always that percentage out there that no matter what you do and what you say, they will still bully you. Personally, I think call centers is one of the last few frontiers where bullying is still allowed be it from the customers and/or management. Where I work at, we are pressured to sell and the downside is that you will never sell anything to a customer who just wants to rip off your head and crap down your neck but still the power that be still pressure you. I was hired where we were to address the customer's issues and take care of that, not to sell, but they practiced the old bait and switch. Many times, when I go home, I feel like I went 20 rounds with Muhammed Ali. I've seen many times where some of my co-workers would break down and cry, flip out, get a mental "blue screen of death" (I've had that happen to me too), raise their voice at the customer, panic attacks (been close to that too) and so on. Heck, I think where I work at is making me physically sick so I'm looking for a new job.

So I have to say, I hear all of you and understand.