A West Virginia customer service representative who spent eleven years politely laughing when callers asked for the winning lottery numbers is facing difficult questions after winning a $218 million jackpot and immediately becoming unavailable to assist them further.
Former callers say the sudden retirement of Kevin Pritchard, 46, has cast doubt on thousands of recorded conversations in which he claimed he would provide the numbers “if he had them.”
“He told me, ‘If I knew those, I wouldn’t be sitting here,’” said longtime customer Brenda Wilcox. “Well, he ain’t sitting there now, is he?”
According to coworkers, Pritchard ended nearly every call by asking whether there was anything else he could help the customer with.
An estimated fourteen callers per shift responded by requesting the winning lottery numbers.
Pritchard typically answered with a brief chuckle, followed by some variation of “I wish,” “You and me both,” or “When I get them, I’ll let you know.”
Customers are now focusing heavily on that last one.
“I understand there may be a processing delay,” said Vernon Adkins, who made the request during a call about a billing adjustment in March. “But I believe I was ahead of him in the queue.”
Adkins has requested a supervisor, a copy of the recording, and clarification on whether the phrase “I’ll let you know” constitutes a binding agreement.
“I held up my end,” he said. “I completed the survey.”
The company confirmed that Pritchard had followed all procedures during his employment, including verifying customer identities, documenting account changes, and apparently maintaining exclusive access to information customers had been requesting since 2015.
His final quality assurance review awarded him full marks for protecting confidential information.
He lost three points for failing to offer an additional solution.
“We encourage our representatives to take ownership of the customer’s needs,” said call center manager Denise Harper. “Obviously, Kevin took ownership of this one a little further than we intended.”
Harper said management first suspected something had changed when Pritchard returned from lunch and asked whether his remaining paid time off could be converted into “never coming back.”
He then declined an opportunity for overtime without asking what it paid.
“That was when I knew,” Harper said.
Coworkers described Pritchard as dependable, patient, and capable of saying “I understand your frustration” with the same reassuring tone as many as thirty-seven times in one conversation.
During his final afternoon, however, several noticed a change.
“He got a man who said he was taking his business elsewhere,” said fellow representative Lisa Canterbury. “Kevin told him he hoped the move went smoothly.”
Canterbury said Pritchard also stopped checking the clock.
“He’d been checking that thing every four minutes since I met him. Suddenly time didn’t mean anything to him.”
Pritchard submitted his resignation shortly after the winning ticket was confirmed.
It read, in its entirety: “At this time, there is nothing else I can help you with.”
Management asked whether he would be willing to work a two-week notice.
Pritchard replied that their request was very important to him and would be answered in the order it was received.
As of Tuesday, it had not been answered.
Former callers have since organized a Facebook group titled KEVIN KNEW, where members are comparing account histories and attempting to determine how long the alleged numbers had been available.
One woman said Pritchard had placed her on hold for six minutes in August.
“He said he was researching my account,” she wrote. “Now I’m wondering what else he was researching.”
Another member recalled being told there was “nothing further showing in the system.”
“Which system, Kevin?”
The company’s legal department said a customer service representative asking whether there is anything else they can help with does not create an unlimited obligation to provide wealth, favorable weather, a new truck, or assistance convincing a spouse to stop buying decorative pillows.
That explanation has satisfied very few people.
“They say these calls are recorded for quality assurance,” Wilcox said. “Well, I would like somebody to assure me of the quality of that ‘I wish.’”
Reached for comment, Pritchard declined to explain how he selected his numbers, whether he had previously known them, or why he had continued bringing leftover spaghetti to work if his financial future was so secure.
He did confirm that he would no longer be taking calls.
Customers attempting to contact him now receive an automated message stating that their estimated wait time is forty-three years.
His position has been filled by a woman who claims she cannot make anyone’s husband start listening, either.
Management says it will be monitoring her marriage.
The Holler Herald — West Virginia’s Least Reliable News Source.
