Customer Service - Turning Tuscan: A Step-by-Step Guide to Going Native - page 108

After a few days of procrastination, I gird my loins to prepare for battle and make the call
to Telecom Italia. I grit my teeth through the music and the service announcements and
wait for a voice that eventually says, “Buona sera. Sono Carla. Come posso essere utile?”
(“Good afternoon. My name is Carla. How may I be of service?”) I've developed a special
gift for detecting in the way that phrase is delivered exactly how helpful or unhelpful the
service representative will be. Carla says the right words, but manages to convey absolute
indifference and disdain. I imagine that I've interrupted her while she was finishing her
nails. Still, there she is and here I am, so I figure I'll give it a try.
“Could you help me understand what these special charges are on my bill for 350 Euro?”
“They're for phone calls that you made.”
“Why are they so expensive?”
“They were made to a special number, a satellite service, that costs 7 Euro per minute.”
“Can you tell me something more about what type of service this could be?”
“It's a satellite service, like I just said. We only see the first five digits of the number you
dialed, just the same way as it appears on your bill.
“I never use any special services, so I'm sure I never made these calls.”
“You obviously made them or they wouldn't be on your bill.”
ItryhardtokeepmycooltoseeifIcanmakesomeheadwayusinganalternative approach.
Otherwise I know I'll be listening to a dial tone as Carla goes off to “help” someone else.
I'm pondering strategy during a micro-pause when Carla suddenly asks me, “Do you use
the internet?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Well, that explains it.”
“Excuse me?”
“It's some subscription on the internet. That's what it is.”
“I don't use any special dialing services for dating or astrological consulting, so I don't see
how the internet could be involved here.”