Professionalism & Transparency in Corporate Culture

I had to call tech support. I think I'll just give the breakdown of the call before making comments on it.

Agent: Thanks for calling Apple, my name is Wayne can I get your first name?
Me: Heather
Agent: Phone number?
Me: _______
Agent: And how are you today?
Me: I'm fine.... I'd be better if we had power right now but it gives me a chance to call in
Agent: Yeah our power already came back on. Weird that yours hasn't yet. You know who this is right?
Me: Mmm hmmm
Agent: Previous case?
Me: No
Agent: And you're calling about your computer?
Me: Yes, my MacBook Pro
Agent: What can... oh wait
Me: Yes you might need the serial number... Provides the serial number
Agent: What's going on?
Me: It's quite warm to the touch. In fact I can't touch it because it's that hot. I'm concerned that it's going to burn me again. I already have a burn mark on my leg from it. I had picked it up off the table and put it on my lap temporarily. That was a month ago and you can still see the burn mark on my leg. I notice it most on the left hand side and on the bottom towards the back.
Agent: Confirms the issue
Agent: So what are you up to these days?
Me: Well I am on EI now
Agent: I heard what happened... from the rumours. I'm sorry about that.
Me: It's all about the rumour mill. I'm okay with it. It was probably for the best.
Agent: Yeah this place can get stagnant after a while.
Me: Yeah... You know... I am thinking I should have got pictures of the burn mark on my leg
Agent: Yeah that would have been good to have,
Agent: Well I haven't seen any Bullet*News on this subject. Let me just contact IRC and see what they have to say. More then likely they'll just say to take it into a service provider.
Me: Well maybe this should be escalated by voice since it's already burned me
Agent: yeah good idea. Let me just change my notes and classifications here. Possible fire hazard. So if you don't mind holding I'll contact a product specialist.
Agent then transfers me.... The product specialist asked me two questions. He asked me if I had required medical attention which I didn't. I try to avoid the Peterborough hospital at all costs. The other question was about property damage. Since there wasn't I was told to turn the computer off, not use it and take it in to an AASP as soon as possible to have it looked at.

I'm speechless. I don't even know where to begin on that one. And that is unusual for me. *lol* Let's start with procedures. The word "burn" is a safety word... especially since I indicated it was hot enough to burn my flesh already. Do you want a lawsuit? No... then transfer the damn call immediately. For anyone keeping track that is now a failed call. Safety is huge! IRC and Bullet*News are internal words and should not be relayed to the customer. The only reason I was asked for the serial number is because my original MacBook Pro was replaced already. No hold time was given. So if I were listening to this call they wouldn't be doing so hot.

But the kicker... and the shocking one is the clear lack of transparency. Yes I do know this person but it wasn't even all that well. So accentuating the fact he knew me right off the bat made me somewhat uncomfortable. But asking me what I am doing now was not appropriate. Even more so was telling me he heard what happened from the rumours. How am I supposed to reply to that? Then to go on and say that the job can get pretty stagnant. I didn't feel that way. I don't feel that way. But I don't want to answer as to why I am no longer there and how I was fired. I'm calling in about my computer and I don't like being put in a position where I am giving my opinion on what happened and the company as a whole. I want to be treated like a customer and I really don't feel that happened. As a result, the rest of the call has now been called into question. And I really don't want to call tech support ever again. It made me that uncomfortable. When I call tech support I certainly don't expect to be put in that position. Also makes me think twice about Apple if this is what I can expect when I call in for help.