Can You Hear Me Now? The Hilarious Struggles of Dealing with People Who Don’t Listen (and Don’t Care)

There’s nothing more infuriating, more maddening, more soul-sucking than dealing with people who just. don’t. listen. I’m talking about the folks who you swear have selective hearing when you’re trying to get even the simplest thing done. You know the type: the pizza delivery person who conveniently forgets the extras you paid for (and which you specifically emphasized five times), the receptionist at the doctor’s office who couldn’t find your file if it were attached to a neon sign, and those customer service reps who “register your feedback” and then poof—disappear like Houdini, never to be heard from again.

In this day and age, where we literally have computers in our pockets and can FaceTime someone on the other side of the planet, you’d think listening wouldn’t be that hard, right? WRONG. Turns out, some people treat listening like it’s an optional life skill. Buckle up, friends. We’re diving into the hilarious (and often infuriating) world of people who simply do not listen and apparently don’t care.

1. When You Order Pizza… and Get “Pizza Adjacent”

There’s a special kind of rage reserved for food-related screw-ups. We all know the feeling—you’re starving, you’ve had a long day, and all you want is a perfect pizza with those sweet, sweet extras that you so thoughtfully paid for. Extra pepperoni? Check. Garlic crust? Heck yes. Dipping sauce? Gimme, gimme. You place your order, your stomach growls in anticipation, and then finally—the doorbell rings. You sprint to the door like it’s the last episode of your favorite series.

And then… disappointment.

There’s no extra pepperoni. No garlic crust. No dipping sauce. What you have is a basic pizza. No, scratch that—a bare-minimum pizza. A pizza that looks like it was made by someone who decided, “Eh, close enough,” and called it a day.

Of course, you immediately call the pizza place to give them a piece of your mind, but instead of an actual human being, you’re met with an automated system that cheerily says, “Thank you for your feedback! We’ll get back to you as soon as possible.” Spoiler alert: they never do. And when you finally get a hold of a human after shouting “REPRESENTATIVE” into the phone 400 times, they hit you with, “Well, the computer system didn’t register the extras. Sorry about that!”

Well, okay, Janet, but did the computer system not register that I PAID for the extras? Can I get a refund, a new pizza, or at least an apology that doesn’t sound like it was typed out by a robot with a grudge?

2. Receptionists: The Gatekeepers of Confusion

Oh, receptionists. We know you have a tough job, and we appreciate you for it, but why does it always feel like you’re actively trying to make our lives harder? The saga begins when you call your doctor’s office for something simple, like getting a referral or rescheduling an appointment. But instead of a quick solution, you’re suddenly in the middle of an interrogation.

Receptionist: “What’s your date of birth?” Me: Gives it Receptionist: “Are you sure you’re a patient here?” Me: “Uh… pretty sure, considering I’ve been coming to this office for the past three years.” Receptionist: “Well, I can’t find you in the system. Are you sure it’s this office?” Me: Internal screaming

At this point, you start questioning your own existence. Was it all a dream? Am I even a real person? Was I birthed from the Matrix and don’t actually belong to this realm?

And don’t even try to explain to them that you’re having phone issues (looking at you, Verizon), because they will hit you with a patronizing, “Well, our phones are working just fine.” Oh really, Karen? Is that why I’ve been trying to call for 20 minutes and got disconnected every time? Must be my magical, ghost-phone acting up again.

3. The Customer Service Black Hole

Customer service. Two words that strike fear into the hearts of millions. We’ve all had that one experience where we contact customer service, fully prepared to explain a problem, only to be met with someone who clearly couldn’t care less about resolving your issue. You pour your heart and soul into describing what’s wrong, and they hit you with, “Thank you for your feedback. Your opinion matters to us.”

Oh, does it? Because judging by your tone, I’d wager my left kidney that you’re one more “feedback” session away from throwing your headset into a lake and walking into the woods, never to return.

Let me paint you a picture: I once ordered a gadget online (something ridiculously simple, like a charger), and when it arrived, it was broken. I reached out to customer service with photos and proof of purchase, explaining the situation like I was delivering an opening argument in a murder trial. What did I get? A pre-written email thanking me for my feedback and offering me a 5% discount on my next purchase.

5%?! What is that, like, the cost of the air inside the box? Gee, thanks. Now I can afford to buy exactly one packet of gum. How generous.

4. Why Apps Make It Worse

Remember the days when you could call a place, speak to a human, and resolve your issue? Ah, simpler times. But now, thanks to the rise of apps, you can’t even talk to someone when things go wrong. It’s like they’ve taken customer service, shoved it into the digital void, and hit “Do Not Disturb.”

For example, I ordered from a food delivery app recently, and not only did they mess up my order (because why wouldn’t they?), but they also charged me for items I never received. Naturally, I tried to get in touch with someone to fix it. Cue the app directing me to a chatbot. “We’re sorry you had an issue. Please describe the problem.”

Oh, I’ll describe it all right. I typed out my grievances in such detail that you’d think I was writing a novel. But instead of being transferred to a human being, the app replied with: “We’ll look into this for you. Expect a response in 48-72 hours.”

Forty-eight to seventy-two hours?! My food will have decomposed into fossil fuel by then!

Apps are supposed to make life easier, right? So why do they consistently make me want to yeet my phone out the window? Technology is supposed to evolve, not devolve into a series of maddening pop-ups asking me to rate my experience (which, by the way, was a solid 0/10).

5. “Thanks for Your Patience” (But No, Really, Thanks)

Have you ever noticed how people who don’t listen love to say, “Thanks for your patience,” as if that somehow makes up for the fact that you’ve been on hold for an hour, only to be told, “Oops, looks like I transferred you to the wrong department”?

Patience? Honey, I’ve been holding onto my sanity by a thread while this smooth jazz hold music serenades me into a coma.

It’s like a universal script. You call to fix an issue, and after being placed on hold, the person comes back on the line and says, “Thank you for holding! Now, how can I assist you?” You explain the problem—again—and they respond with a sentence that makes you want to Hulk-smash your phone: “Hmm, let me transfer you to someone who can help with that.”

Transfers you to another department …and cue the hold music again. At this point, I’ve lived entire lifetimes waiting on hold, raised imaginary children, and successfully run for president.

6. The Rise of the “Not My Job” Mentality

We’re in an era where people have become experts at the “Not My Job” defense. You know the ones. You ask a question that’s slightly outside their job description, and suddenly, they’re backing away like you just asked them to perform brain surgery.

Scenario: I called a customer service line once and asked for help tracking a package. The representative, without missing a beat, said, “Oh, that’s not my department. You’ll need to speak to logistics.” Great. So I get transferred to logistics, who says, “Hmm, actually, that sounds like something our shipping department handles.”

And so it continues. It’s like an endless relay race of “Not My Problem,” where no one actually does anything, and I’m left feeling like I’ve just participated in an Olympic sport I didn’t sign up for.

7. If You Could Just Listen, That’d Be Great

At the end of the day, it all boils down to one simple thing: just listen. Seriously, it’s not that hard! Half the problems we encounter in life would disappear if people actually paid attention to what we’re saying.

Ordered pizza? Give me the extra pepperoni, for the love of mozzarella. Called for a referral? Send it to the right office. Trying to get customer service? How about we skip the bots and go straight to a human being who cares enough to do their job? Radical, I know.

In conclusion, my friends, we are living in a world where listening is apparently the rarest commodity on the planet. It’s as if some people have mastered the art of pretend listening—nodding along, throwing in a few “uh-huhs” here and there, but when it comes to action, you might as well have been speaking in Morse code.

If just one more person says, “We’ll get back to you” and then promptly doesn’t, I might just put them on my holiday card list with the title: “The People Who Tested My Last Shred of Patience in 2024.” At this point, I feel like my next life goal is to hunt down the world’s last remaining good listener, shake their hand, and offer them an honorary sainthood.

So What Do You Do When No One Listens?

If you’ve made it this far, congratulations! You’re either an expert in dealing with people who don’t listen, or you’re currently tearing your hair out at the thought of yet another customer service disaster. But fear not, there are some things you can do when no one listens:

1. Be Persistent – Don’t let that pizza place off the hook! Call, email, send a carrier pigeon if you have to. Sometimes the squeaky wheel gets the grease (or, in this case, the extra pepperoni you paid for).
2. Document Everything – You want screenshots? I’ve got screenshots. Whether it’s emails, app screenshots, or pictures of your sad, pepperoni-less pizza, make sure you have the receipts. It’s much harder to ignore evidence, even for the most negligent listener.
3. Demand Escalation – If Janet from customer service is giving you the runaround, politely (or not so politely, depending on your mood) ask for her supervisor. Sometimes the only way to get results is to take things up a notch. Janet might not care, but her boss might.
4. Social Media Power – The customer service department may ignore your calls, but you better believe they’ll pay attention when you tweet about your experience. In the age of social media, public complaints can work wonders. Go ahead and tag the company in a “friendly” Instagram post. You might just get a DM with a solution.
5. Embrace Humor – Sometimes, you’ve just got to laugh at the absurdity of it all. If you don’t, you’ll be stuck in a perpetual state of frustration. So next time your pizza arrives without extras, or the receptionist misplaces your records for the fifth time, just chuckle to yourself and think, “This will make a great story for the blog.”

Final Thoughts: Let’s Start Listening!

In all seriousness, if people would just take two seconds to listen (and maybe double-check those orders), the world would be a much smoother place. We wouldn’t have to deal with a doctor’s office that forgets you exist, or a pizza place that thinks “extra” means “less.” In fact, listening could save us all from the daily small catastrophes that seem to pile up in this bizarre dance of life.

So to all the non-listeners out there, we say this: PLEASE, for the love of all that is good and cheesy, just listen. It’s not that hard. And if you can’t listen, at least give us some free dipping sauce to soothe our souls.

Until then, we’ll keep fighting the good fight—one miscommunication, incorrect order, and laugh-out-loud customer service disaster at a time. Stay strong, my fellow humans. Together, we can conquer the land of those who don’t listen!

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