Fan gets apology from Setanta
TELEVISION channel Setanta has apologised to a football fan with cerebral palsy after a call centre worker laughed at his speech problems.
Lee Kingsberry was trying to take out a new subscription to the pay-per-view sports channel after moving to a new flat.
The 23-year old says the person taking his call started laughing at him - and then hung up.
Lee said: "I wanted to watch the Man City versus Chelsea game. I know that the person who was on the line could understand what I was saying but he kept saying `What?' and `Sorry?'. We had been speaking for a few minutes and he started to laugh at me and put the phone down.
"I thought it was very inconsiderate and very unprofessional. If he had been trained professionally, he would have had a better understanding of how to speak to people. If you find it difficult to understand people you should say `I'm sorry, can you repeat that'."
The M.E.N contacted the sports station to point out Lee's appalling treatment. Managers listened to the recorded call and have now taken disciplinary action against the call handler. Station bosses have also offered Lee free subscription to the channel for a year.
A Setanta spokeswoman said: "We have dealt with the customer service agent who took Mr. Kingsberry's call and also spoken to him to apologise and offer him a 12 month free subscription.
"This is a matter that we have taken very seriously and we would not want this to happen again."
Lee uses a wheelchair and has speech difficulties because of his cerebral palsy - but he lives independently and enjoys clubbing and holidays to Ibiza.
The former pupil of Abraham Moss School in Crumpsall, Manchester, does voluntary work and has starred in a video about living with a disability. He is currently working on a TV documentary about nightlife in Manchester.
Cerebral palsy is a disorder which affects the parts of the brain that control movement - sufferers often find speaking difficult, but are not usually mentally impaired by the condition.
Lee says he is used to prejudice and offensive comments - but that his treatment on the phone was the last straw.
He said: "I'm used to people thinking that because my speech is slow that I'm not all there.
"People make judgments about me all the time but you expect a better level of service from a big company."
Lee Kingsberry was trying to take out a new subscription to the pay-per-view sports channel after moving to a new flat.
The 23-year old says the person taking his call started laughing at him - and then hung up.
Lee said: "I wanted to watch the Man City versus Chelsea game. I know that the person who was on the line could understand what I was saying but he kept saying `What?' and `Sorry?'. We had been speaking for a few minutes and he started to laugh at me and put the phone down.
"I thought it was very inconsiderate and very unprofessional. If he had been trained professionally, he would have had a better understanding of how to speak to people. If you find it difficult to understand people you should say `I'm sorry, can you repeat that'."
The M.E.N contacted the sports station to point out Lee's appalling treatment. Managers listened to the recorded call and have now taken disciplinary action against the call handler. Station bosses have also offered Lee free subscription to the channel for a year.
A Setanta spokeswoman said: "We have dealt with the customer service agent who took Mr. Kingsberry's call and also spoken to him to apologise and offer him a 12 month free subscription.
"This is a matter that we have taken very seriously and we would not want this to happen again."
Lee uses a wheelchair and has speech difficulties because of his cerebral palsy - but he lives independently and enjoys clubbing and holidays to Ibiza.
The former pupil of Abraham Moss School in Crumpsall, Manchester, does voluntary work and has starred in a video about living with a disability. He is currently working on a TV documentary about nightlife in Manchester.
Cerebral palsy is a disorder which affects the parts of the brain that control movement - sufferers often find speaking difficult, but are not usually mentally impaired by the condition.
Lee says he is used to prejudice and offensive comments - but that his treatment on the phone was the last straw.
He said: "I'm used to people thinking that because my speech is slow that I'm not all there.
"People make judgments about me all the time but you expect a better level of service from a big company."
Labels: Cerebral Palsy, holiday, Sports
posted by Susie | 1:08:00 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home