What the Fark?

[Aria]

I'm posting this on behalf of one of our techs. I don't actually deal with customers.

Tech gets an order. Tech goes to address and customer is there and expecting him. Tech does all the work and calls another department to get it turned ON and he should be out the door. Good job tech!

Wait. Hold on. The customer is Richard Smith? The customer is supposed to be Abdul Wahhabi. (seriously, that was about the name difference) Um.... you got a problem...

So then that department brings the tech to me and I figure out what the hell's going on. Richard Smith TRIED to place an order a week ago. He never paid his deposit and it got cancelled. Can I cough up service for him so all the poor tech's work doesn't go to waste? Well, if he wants to pay the deposit, sure. Well, unless he wants to port a number. That ain't happenin' today. And Abdul Wahhabi? He's wondering where the tech is. Some dingaling put in the wrong address. That they got the address of someone who had deluded himself into thinking he'd ordered service? Pure coincidence.

But Richard, what the hell is wrong with you? We never booked a due date with you! And why didn't you say, 'uh, what're you doing here' when the tech showed up? For shame!

I can't even blame the tech on this one. Like he said, he came to the house on his order and the guy said he was expecting him, he didn't think he had to check the name too...

[wolfie]

I'd put some of the blame on the tech for not checking the name. I've had a few (and read about a few more) situations similar to that.

- See "How not to pick up a load" in roadkill.
- LTL shipment from Springfield MA to Montreal PQ. Took a quick look at master waybill on leaving the dispatch window, went right back - they scrambled to get the trailer put pack in a door. Someone saw "Ontario" on a shipment so they put it on the truck to Canada, but it was actually going to the city of Ontario California.
- Guy shows up in Duluth MN, apologizes for being late due to having trouble finding the place. Plant he shows up at wasn't expecting him. Turns out the shipment was supposed to go to Duluth GA.
- Portland ME and Portland OR are a fun pair, as are Bangor ME and Bangor WA.
- Not quite as hard to mix up, but "Eau Claire" (city in WI) is French for "Clear Water" (and is a LONG way from Clearwater FL)
- The U.S. has more Springfields than a Civil War battlefield.

Moral of the story is READ YOUR EFFING DOCUMENTATION.

[eltf177]

Moral of the story is READ YOUR EFFING DOCUMENTATION.

Agreed, a few moments checking locations, dates and order numbers can save you a load of headache's in the future. And also avoid getting the blame for the screwup...

[Captain Trips]

- The U.S. has more Springfields than a Civil War battlefield.

I once read that there are 54 "Springfield's" in the U.S. Seems some states have more than one...

Big question remaining is which one is home to the Simpsons?

[Sapphire Silk]

I'd put some of the blame on the tech for not checking the name. I've had a few (and read about a few more) situations similar to that.

- Portland ME and Portland OR are a fun pair, as are Bangor ME and Bangor WA.

Moral of the story is READ YOUR EFFING DOCUMENTATION.

And then there's Bangor, CA.

How's this for confusing: Hollywood, MD and California, MD, which are right flippin' next to one another!

[Antisocial_Worker]

And then there's Bangor, CA.

How's this for confusing: Hollywood, MD and California, MD, which are right flippin' next to one another!

The fact that there is a Minneapolis, NC, not to mention a Lowell, a Denver, and a Dallas, always amuses the tourists.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

The fact that there is a Minneapolis, NC, not to mention a Lowell, a Denver, and a Dallas, always amuses the tourists.

Don't forget Oxford (not the famous one in England) or Wilmington (also one in DE) and Greenville (also in SC.)

And there's also the following in NC:


Columbus (OH)
Cleveland (OH)
Harrisburg (PA)
Jacksonville (FL)
Lansing (MI)
Macon (GA)
Marietta (GA)

So yeah, reading IS definitely essential if you're a truck driver.

[dalesys]

My dad was born in Riverside, UT (now part of Benson) on the Bear River at 41.81N 111.89W. There is also a Riverside, UT on the Bear River at 41.79N 112.15W, 13 miles away.

[CorneliaMarieRocks]

Funny you should mention Macon, GA Goddess, I live about 30 mins from there (in Warner Robins)

*now back to your regularly scheduled thread*

[rose_metal_nz]

This is the same kind of suck where a taxi pulls up "Are you Susan?" "Yes" then "why are you taking me here, I want to go to blah-blah-blah" <ring> <ring> "Susan is still waiting for you" "Is your name Susan?" "No it's Mary" **then why did you say you were Susan?!**

[Ironclad Alibi]

How's this for confusing: Hollywood, MD and California, MD, which are right flippin' next to one another!

And also the following:

Florida, Indiana
Florida, Massachusetts
Florida, Missouri
Florida, Montgomery County, New York
Florida, Orange County, New York
Florida, Ohio

[katzklaw]

Hayward WI, Hayward CA, Hayward MN (this one's fun because there's a big yellow franchise campground in two of three of those places...and of course it's in neighboring states WI/MN.... you don't wanna know how many times the reservations get mixed up between the two of them... or how often calls were received at the WI one thinking it was somewhere in CA)

Paris, TX

[Pagan]

I once read that there are 54 "Springfield's" in the U.S. Seems some states have more than one...

Big question remaining is which one is home to the Simpsons?

But their baseball team is in Albuquerque!

In NM we've got:
Las Vegas
Madrid
Derry (which is named for Londonderry, Northern Ireland)

[BPFH]

- Portland ME and Portland OR are a fun pair, as are Bangor ME and Bangor WA.

Also, Portland, MI, though that's far less known than the other two.

Moral of the story is READ YOUR EFFING DOCUMENTATION.

Read documentation. That's a good one!

[SilverOrb]

This is the same kind of suck where a taxi pulls up "Are you Susan?" "Yes" then "why are you taking me here, I want to go to blah-blah-blah" <ring> <ring> "Susan is still waiting for you" "Is your name Susan?" "No it's Mary" **then why did you say you were Susan?!**

Yes yes and yes!

I was a taxi dispatcher. I told the drivers a hundred times... "Don't ask if they are 'Jane Smith'. Ask them if they are waiting on a cab and what their name is. If it's the same as on your screen, then you are good. If not, then they either are not your rider or there is a mistake somewhere."

Too many seemed surprised at the 'new' idea