‘Literally 1 out of every 5 calls’: Call center worker discusses verbal abuse from customers in viral TikToks

A TikToker is sharing how stressful it is to work at a call center, with the hopes that people will cut customer service workers a little bit more slack.

Milo (@mcmilotg) appears to use borrowed audio in skits that demonstrate how out of control and abusive customers can get. Despite their staged nature, the videos resonate with people who have lived through the horrors of customer service work.

His most popular video, which has over 571,000 views, features a woman screaming about making sure someone loses their job if she doesn’t get what she wants.

Another one ramps up right away, with the “customer” immediately declaring, “I am absolutely…your worst nightmare,” and only escalating from there.

While these may not be real calls that Milo himself is dealing with, the spirit of it all hit a little too close to home with other call center workers.

“People who’ve never worked a call center do not understand how much trauma & mental abuse come with trying to make a living!” wrote one viewer. “This is a trigger!”

Another pointed out that “after this call you got 2 sec to regain yourself before the next call.”

“These jobs are mentally and emotionally fucking taxing,” Milo himself explained in another video. “Even if you don’t give a fuck, it is still draining you in some type of way. I’ve always wondered, for the longest time, when I get off, why do I feel so fucking exhausted? It’s because of this fucking job. Getting yelled at over shit I can’t fucking control.”

Some folks did express empathy for customers who have real issues they feel aren’t getting addressed. But taking that frustration out on a low level worker just doing his job isn’t helpful either.

“I love when people say ‘just leave/quit’ — then who’s gonna do call center?” asked @dragonfruit.34. “Just treat all agents with respect, easy peasy.”

The Daily Dot has reached out to Milo via TikTok commment.