A Phone isn't a license to..........

In this day and age where cell phones are becoming more prevelant in our every day lives there are still people with home phones who should have a license to use them. It seems like when people get on a phone and don't get their way because the customer isn't always right they lose their minds, religion, social graces or whatever you want to call them.
Working in a call center and taking calls from customers regarding bills, equipment and even directory assistance has given me so many examples of why there are problems in this world. Really.
Case in point number 1: It was about 3 am and a call comes in when i was handling directory assistance. "What city, what listing" "Yeah, can you tell me where i am" "Sir, did you need a specific name or city?" "Ah,yeah, can you tell me where I am?" "Sir, not sure i am following you. What do you mean where are you?" "Yeah, I am outside a motel and need to know where i am" "Is the office open?" "Yes" "Sir, go to the office and ask them where you are located at." "ok" click. Really........you call directory assistance for a telephone number people.
Case in point number 2: A gentleman (i use the term loosely)calls into our customer service center and is upset because his services are not working yet. In reviewing his account, he has an order pending for phone service but it isn't due to be completed until 3 days later. Also, it appears that there were issues with the order from the beginning and his services really should have been up and running a day ago. Ok, so we all can understand someone being upset that their order got messed up and we are all human beings and come to some kind of compromise right?! Ah, no. Being ex Army, i have heard my curse words and have even used some myself including in two languages. But a phone doesn't give ANYONE the license to make it personal and threaten someone, their family and their lively hood. And, I am sorry but when you start screaming so loud you no longer can be heard and drop the "C" word. I have removed the headset and allowed you to throw your temper tandrum to dead air. Really......
Case in point numbr 3: I get a manager call for a lady in Virginia. When i call her back, she sounds like my grandmother. She wants to talk to a manager about this one call that appears on her bill every month and is costing her .12 cents. All the previous representatives have explained that they have called the number and it belongs to her granddaughter and it is her cell phone. As i am reviewing these findings with her, she says "I know all that i am old not stupid" Naturally, that gave me pause for a minute. I said "no ma'am" and again attempted to explain why she is being charged for the call and offering alternative options to avoid the charge. She proceeds to explain that she is old, on a fixed income and she doesn't have a cell phone and can't afford .12 every time she calls her granddaughter and I have to remove the charges. While I personally feel for her and if it were my money, i would just give her the blasted .12 and be done with it. However, there is no company fault, the customer is billed correctly and no credit is due. In explaining this to her, she loudly (i assume she thought i was deaf)shouts into the phone "bitch" and hangs up.
Case in point number 4: Now, i had been working directory assistance for about 3 months and had recently lost my mom to a long illness. A gentlemen called in wanting a number for a hospital in New York City. Now, Directory assistance doesn't have ever number because to do so they would need a computer the size of the plant to house them. Plus, companies and individuals have to agree to have their information listed......think people think. You also have to know how to spell what you are requesting AND how it is listed. We individuals who work in call centers don't go to work every day thinking of new and varied ways to screw with people but some people think so. As i was saying about the guy looking for the hospital....his mother was there and not expected to make it through the night. I tried multiple ways of looking up the hospital and even offered the local police number as a last resort thinking that they might have some information. After explaining i was sorry but unable to locate the information for him multiple times, he said "i hope your mother lays dying in a hospital and you can't get their in time to say good by. Fuck you" and proceeded to hang up. How could this "gentleman" know that my mother did die in a hospital far away from me and i wasn't there to say good by......really...people should have a license to use a phone.