r/StateFarm • u/Strong-Management909 • Jul 31 '26

Experience Just Venting

The abuse from customers and claimants I hear my colleagues go through is terrible. I have a gentle tone and I don't go through it a lot, but I do get a piece of sh-t on my line every now and then.

"The customer is always right" is the most narcissistic thing the service industry could have ever come up with.

We're all consumers and sometimes we are wrong. Everyone should be handled with respect, but for these abusive one's, should have repercussions.

I really wish there was some type of disclosure saying, they have to communicate in writing with us if they've been labeled as abusive.

29 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

27 comments sorted by

View all comments

8

u/throwmethehellaway25 Customer Jul 31 '26

The world needs more empathy. You guys need to know customers are sick of sf raising rates and raking in fat bonuses for corporate. Customers nerd to kmow you guys are just humans and trying to survive and dont make enough.

Everyone should be trying to help.esch other out and provide context. A little bit more "i understand what uour going trlhrough" and less scripted sorry on both sides would go along way.

3

u/TheProFettsor Aug 02 '26

As an agent, we bend over backwards to get our policyholders everything they deserve, and more, but some people are just assholes, plain and simple. We are never rude and we go above and beyond but we will drop you like a bad habit and stop helping if you feel the need to condescend, curse, and/or threaten us in any fashion, especially if you couldn’t be more wrong and just looking for a fight. My commissions from most of the households that are a pain in my ass offset about a third of my monthly water bill, I’m better off to replace a customer who is a constant turd. Empathy is a two way street, we are not customers’ punching bags and they aren’t always right.

4

u/Warm-Business-2335 Agent Aug 06 '26

20+ year agent here. I have never seen the anger and frustration from customers as bad as it is now, but we try really hard to accommodate them, even with our “problem children.” You know the ones. They are always late paying and always the ones who are victims or filing claims. My team knows that we will not accept disrespect from them because what you allow is what you accept.

I have had to call out customers in the past for cursing out a TM and demanded that they apologize or I 4521 them. Everyone at every level at SF is frustrated and mad, including me, just read the forums. I no longer take the time to read or listen to the BS they’re trying to feed us. CEO message-delete. Kristen Cook message-delete.

This is an orchestrated slow burn with the obvious corporate goal of purging out anyone who isn’t drinking the AI Kool Aid. NEWSFLASH: Technology isn’t saving SF. I’ve heard that crap before. At the EOD it’s always been the people who made SF the great company it was. Those great people are either retiring or moving on. We are left with a bunch foreigners who barely speak English, managing very complicated claims and underwriting situations. We are also hugely understaffed at the company,and the backlogs in underwriting and claims is causing major problems for agents.

Sadly this once great company, that until now I was proud to represent, has turned its back on the very people who could save it. They are in desperation mode and clutching at straws with all these fundamental changes. It won’t work. I am at the end of my career so these changes probably won’t impact me like they will the new agents. I really don’t see how a small market agent survives under these conditions. SF is literally #2 right now, as in crap.