Not Going To Happen 'Cause I'm Not Harry Potter (Impossible Patron Requests)

[ladyknight1]

For seven years, I have been answering emails about a particular program from students. I received such an email from our front office yesterday then responded as usual. Later, I was speaking with my boss and I told her I had responded to that email, so if she was copied not to worry about it. She was incensed. Doesn't the front office know that I am not to get these emails any more? She had informed them of a new procedure early this week!

Only, I didn't know about the new procedure.  She never thought to tell me! It is all for a good reason, I have new duties that are taking a great deal of my time and we have other staff who can answer those emails.

[MissRose]

I still can't get over the customers who want us to disclose sensitive details on their accounts without answering the security questions first.  Some say I call here a lot, but still I am NOT getting in trouble even if I recognize voice!

[Reika]

I still can't get over the customers who want us to disclose sensitive details on their accounts without answering the security questions first.  Some say I call here a lot, but still I am NOT getting in trouble even if I recognize voice!

I work for a supplemental health insurance company so unfortunately my call center ends up dealing with the agents in addition to our customers. The agents take it as a personal insult that they have to verify who they are before we disclose any information to them. Sure, you may be "Bob Smith" from Sarasota, we still need you to prove it. Even if we were limited to just the state of Florida (which we're not, we're in all 50 states plus all of the American Territories) that's still at least a thousand agents. We need them to prove who they are so we know we can disclose confidential information to them.

[StuffedGrapeLeaves]

I still can't get over the customers who want us to disclose sensitive details on their accounts without answering the security questions first.  Some say I call here a lot, but still I am NOT getting in trouble even if I recognize voice!

I work for a supplemental health insurance company so unfortunately my call center ends up dealing with the agents in addition to our customers. The agents take it as a personal insult that they have to verify who they are before we disclose any information to them. Sure, you may be "Bob Smith" from Sarasota, we still need you to prove it. Even if we were limited to just the state of Florida (which we're not, we're in all 50 states plus all of the American Territories) that's still at least a thousand agents. We need them to prove who they are so we know we can disclose confidential information to them.

This reminds me of the time when I had to call my insurance company for some information.  Even after answering the security questions correctly, the CSR refused to give me the information because she said that my name was a man's name, so it couldn't really have been me.  She also refused to transfer me to a supervisor.  Fortunately she had identified herself with her name upfront, so I hung up, called back, and got another CSR.  I asked for the supervisor and reported the first CSR.  The supervisor apologized and said that she would look into the situation.  I wonder what they did with that CSR.

[twiggy]

This reminds me of the time when I had to call my insurance company for some information.  Even after answering the security questions correctly, the CSR refused to give me the information because she said that my name was a man's name, so it couldn't really have been me.  She also refused to transfer me to a supervisor.  Fortunately she had identified herself with her name upfront, so I hung up, called back, and got another CSR.  I asked for the supervisor and reported the first CSR.  The supervisor apologized and said that she would look into the situation.  I wonder what they did with that CSR.

DH's first name is a "girl's name" so we have fun with CSRs as well. He sometimes has trouble with people not believing that he is who he says he is. It works out in my favor though because people assume that I am DH when I call, and give me the info without arguing about whether or not I, as DH's wife, and Payer of The Bills, am authorized to know how much we owe the phone company.

A couple of "fun" issues:
1. People who won't give me information once I've identified myself as DH Name's wife because same gender marriage isn't legal where I live. And since DH Name is a girl's name, we must be le$bians.

2. The cable company won't talk to DH because he is a man, and therefore not DH Name. So I talk to them and introduce myself as Mrs. DHFirstName Lastname. It's a technically appropriate, if overfly formal/outdated way to refer to myself.   

[cwm]

I've pretended to be my mom and my sister for various phone calls. They were at work, I wasn't, and they needed the information and couldn't make the call. So I called, introduced myself as MomsName Lastname. I didn't even have to verify anything else to get banking details from the account. I soon convinced mom and sis to leave that bank.

[MommyPenguin]

I have a frustratingly high voice, so that even when I deepen it a bit intentionally, I can't pass for a guy.  This is really annoying, because most of our bills/utilities must be in my husband's name (he's military and has certain protections in terms of ending contracts early if he has to PCS, but I don't have all of the same protections), and since I'm the one who pays the bills and changes addresses on things every time we move, sometimes I need them to deal with me.  Very, very annoying.

[jedikaiti]

Can he add you to the accounts as someone able to take care of things for him?

[VorFemme]

Can he add you to the accounts as someone able to take care of things for him?

Spouse of retired military who used to be the one who moved with the kids - usually three weeks to a couple of months behind VorGuy - he had a reporting date when he had to start work and we stayed put until after school was out (or he'd found a place for us to live - whatever was the reason that time).

You can add the spouse or the military member can get them a power of attorney (POA) from the base (post) legal office with a signature, date, and the power to sign anything "as if it were the legally the military member" - which came in handy a few times when the danged utility office claimed to have mislaid/misfiled the letters ending our contracts early due to the military moving us. 

I'd hand write a replacement letter on the back of a printed copy of the relocation orders, staple a copy of the POA to it, and hand it to them - referencing the earlier notification which "appeared to have been misdirected" - so we were still cutting the contract short and they still didn't get any extra money out of us.  They just put themselves on a short list of service suppliers that we preferred not to deal with, if we could avoid it (mostly certain cell phone companies - power & water are a little harder to find alternative suppliers for in some areas). 

Although there is one cell phone company and one cable tv & internet company that we might not choose to move to an area (now that we are retired) if they are the only alternatives....

[ti_ax]

I once needed some info about an account in DW's name. The CS rep wouldn't talk to me, so I had teenage DD call and say her name was DW's name. 

[Kimblee]

I think this is kind of right here...

I work with over 200 people. I've only ever talked to a few of them on the phone and never with any regularity. So why, when they call me, do they say, "Do you know who this is?" No, dude, I don't. Because I've never talked to you over the phone before. You must give me more detail.

One of a few pet peeves of mine is people who don't identify themselves when calling. I always do it, even for my family (especially now since my teen DD and I apparently have the same voice over the phone). It would make the calls go so much faster if people would just skip the guessing game.

Oh geeze... for a short period my mom and i seemed to share a phone voice.  Enough so that my poor stepfather informed me he "wanted to do" something he most certainly did NOT want to do. (To me at least.)   

He, to the day he died, turned beet red if anyone brought it up. (I thought it was hilarious. I did cut him off before he got to specific with "Umm, Pop... This is Kim you know." There was a long silence then. "I need to talk to your mother... and you need to start answering phones with your name.")

[Dazi]

I think this is kind of right here...

I work with over 200 people. I've only ever talked to a few of them on the phone and never with any regularity. So why, when they call me, do they say, "Do you know who this is?" No, dude, I don't. Because I've never talked to you over the phone before. You must give me more detail.

One of a few pet peeves of mine is people who don't identify themselves when calling. I always do it, even for my family (especially now since my teen DD and I apparently have the same voice over the phone). It would make the calls go so much faster if people would just skip the guessing game.

Oh geeze... for a short period my mom and i seemed to share a phone voice.  Enough so that my poor stepfather informed me he "wanted to do" something he most certainly did NOT want to do. (To me at least.)   

He, to the day he died, turned beet red if anyone brought it up. (I thought it was hilarious. I did cut him off before he got to specific with "Umm, Pop... This is Kim you know." There was a long silence then. "I need to talk to your mother... and you need to start answering phones with your name.")

I had that happen with an old boss...it didn't help that his wife and I sounded exactly the same on the phone, we also had the same first name.

[violinp]

I was ticket tearer last night at the theater. Part of the duties with that also involve answering the phone for the theater and answering people's questions about what movies are playing and at what time. However, there were a couple odd calls last night.

1.) Ma'am, I am only a lowly ticket - tearer tonight at the theater. I don't know what other stores are in the mall other than the ones I can see from my ticket box. So, no, I can't tell you if there is a T-Mobile store in the mall, because I can't see it. And, no, I'm not going to go leave the job I'm paid to do to go roam around the mall, looking for a store which may or may not exist and is close to closing time at this point (And there isn't one anyway, which someone could have found out from the online directory of stores in the mall or calling the mall customer service phone line, NOT the number for the blasted movie theater).

2.) Sir, I'm sorry you're upset that I'm not an automated service to tell you movie showings and times. However, I can still tell you those things and, even better, respond to what you are saying! Wait...you're still irritated that you have to talk to a living person? Okay, I'll just turn myself into Hel the Robot from Metropolis. *headdesk*

[Sirius]

A long time ago I worked for a restaurant that was a very popular spot for high school and college students to come after games, parties, etc.  The night of graduation I received a call from a parent asking me to page their child.  The child wasn't at our restaurant, and their parent asked me if I knew where their child was.  No, I didn't. 

[kherbert05]

A long time ago I worked for a restaurant that was a very popular spot for high school and college students to come after games, parties, etc.  The night of graduation I received a call from a parent asking me to page their child.  The child wasn't at our restaurant, and their parent asked me if I knew where their child was.  No, I didn't. 

The Mom might not have meant to ask you More like They aren't there were are they thought process said out loud.

My sister tried to pull that. They arranged a sleep over at our house. Another Mom dropped them off at Pappy's (hamburger place). Mom knew they were up to something and had sis paged - neighbor with same name came to the phone. Said SIs and others had been there but left in a taxi. MOm searched Sis's room found map. Dad went to keg party location on map just in time to see Sis and friends jump in a car and leave. He followed the car -sis knew the game was up had driver pull over. Village or Hedwick cop breaking up party sees this comes over. Decides sis and friends are in more trouble with Dad than with the law (technically he doesn't have anything on them because they were not on the property of the illegal party and haven't had anything to drink.  ) Sis was grounded (Technically she still may be), one or two of the other girls were grounded. The other "parents" were mad at Mom and Dad for spoiling the kids' fun.

HOnestly my parents must have been magical they called the cops on so many keg parties that they never knew about it was simply amazing. If a car vaguely like my parents drove by the illegal party at anytime before it was busted - my parents had to have called the cops.

Dad was in the beer business and basically refused to sell kegs to any of my classmate's parents unless they could prove it was for Adults only - which they could never do. If they were having an adult party it was catered and they hired someone to tend bar - and that person would buy what they required..