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What Happens After Surprising DNA Test Results? (bloombergquint.com)

schwit1 shared an interesting article from Bloomberg: Though genetic tests are frequently marketed as family-friendly entertainment, they sometimes wind up surfacing life-altering surprises. And when those surprises show up in someone's test results, the first move is often a call to customer service.... At 23andMe, those types of calls are so frequent that preparing for them is integrated into the company's months-long training program.... "We always try to steer the conversation toward the data, tell them that this is science," said Kent Hillyer, head of customer care for the genetic-testing firm 23andMe...

Lindsay Grove, a customer-care representative at 23andMe, still remembers one call in particular years later, a dad who took the test only to find out that his child was not, in fact, his child. At first, like most, he was just trying to figure out whether the results were accurate. So Grove explained the science behind the data. The customer then became somber and quiet. He questioned whether he should talk to his wife, and, if he did, how.... "That process of figuring out what to do next is very difficult for customers...."

Such emotional calls can take a toll on employees, too. That's perhaps inevitable when technology interfaces with such sensitive, personal information.... At 23andMe, Hillyer often encourages representatives to go for a walk after an intense call, or cracks open a bottle of wine to help them decompress. "We kind of do these internal therapy sessions,'' he said. "Here, maybe more so than most places, you have to be really supportive of each other."

6 of 238 comments (clear)

  1. What happens? by nospam007 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Some white supremacists discover they are not quite _that_ white.

    1. Re:What happens? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Elizabeth Warren finds out she's not _that_ Indian.

    2. Re:What happens? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

      Donald Trump should take the test and find out if he has a higher percentage. If he does, he should then claim to have discovered himself to be genderfluid (the left says you can't question it!), and is now the first minority woman to become president.

    3. Re: What happens? by nospam007 · · Score: 3, Funny

      "Donald Trump is very likely more "Indian" than she is."

      No, his granddad was a whorehouse owner in Klondike, not an Indian.

  2. Wine? by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 4, Funny

    At 23andMe, Hillyer often encourages representatives to go for a walk after an intense call, or cracks open a bottle of wine to help them decompress.

    If experience has taught me anything it's that to decompress something you usually need pkunzip.

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    #DeleteFacebook
  3. Re:That was due to 23andme faking results by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 5, Funny

    I tried to use my white privilege at Costco but they wouldn't give me any discount.

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    #DeleteFacebook