I have to verify the STATE

[myswtghst]

But the purpose of most policies are to be stupid and annoying, and to convince the customer that you, the rep, are an idiot.

We too do a great deal of verifying in my call center. It's one thing I'm willing to be docked points on in my monitors--given that I talk to some of these techs multiple times a day, several days a week, I don't need to verify their phone number each time, as they'll start wondering about my mental health if I do.

[Pagan]

Just be glad you're not from Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysilio gogogoch.

That's "Smith" right?

Albuquerque doesn't have anywhere near as long a name as Santa Fe. But we've got a certain mayor that tries, every now and then, to re-insert the "r" that got lost somewhere along the way! I think the Crown Prince of Spain brought it on one of his visits.

My hometown, Las Cruces....well, there's a lot of debate on just exactly where the name came from. But there's been a settlement there since 1598. There is a variation, "El Pueblo del Jardín de Las Cruces". Meh, who knows!

Then there's El Paso, TX. A lot of people think the name is "El Paso del Norte". But that's actually the original name of Ciudad Juarez.

Come to think of it, it does get a little confusing in New Mexico sometimes!

[HALFHUMANHALFZOMBIE]

lol KCMO wtf?? People and their made up ways of communication!

[Jester]

lol KCMO wtf?? People and their made up ways of communication!

Actually, no.

There are, of course, two Kansas City's, right across the Mississippi River from one another. There is the big KC, in Missouri, and the smaller KC, in Kansas. And the locals differentiate them by referring to them as either KCMO or KCK, as I recall. I'm not from there, I've never been there, but saw that reference in a book about a killer from the area. (See, I learn weird stuff just by reading about deranged psychopaths!)

So if you were from the area, KCMO or KCK makes total sense. Just like folks in the Phoenix area refer to the town of Apache Junction as AJ, but other people would have no idea what AJ is. Ditto New Jerseyans and Atlantic City, aka AC. If you were just from that area and didn't realize that everyone else didn't use those names, it would make perfect sense to you to use them and expect everyone to understand you.

[Max]

Anyone from southern Ontario will know where I'm from when I tell them I harken from the T dot. It's kind of retarded, but it slips out from time to time.

But ignoring the issue of stupid company policies, why on Earth would you assume that the CSR you are talking to on the phone is from your immediate area? Unless he/she is talking into a can with a string attached to it, no rational thinking human being would make that assumption. Why should a CSR from India or Canada know what the hell KCMO is? I'm sure their training manual includes every possible abbreviation and colloquial name for EVERY CITY IN THE WORLD, just in case a person is too stupid to know the actual name of where they live.

Don't get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with slang. But if someone honestly can't tell the difference between slang and official terminology (and stubbornly REPEATS the slang, all the while calling the CSR stupid!), that is ignorance, which I cannot excuse and will happily abuse.

[jb17kx]

Is there a thing in that manual about accepting postcodes that aren't 5 digits long? Say, like, 3144, or W1N SW1?

Because that, from a customer's point of view, is annoying.
So, come to think of it, are systems where "Queensland" isn't a state.

But these people who spend more energy repeating KCMO ad infinatum rather than saying Kansas City, Missouri once are beyond salvation.

[SnapAddict218]

Jester: No. I have to get all the info from the caller. I couldn't help them in anyway. Their reasoning is that I'm giving the customer the information to verify security with, which isn't really verifying anything. The call where I did tell the guy to "just say pennsylvania", they failed me on that. Very stupid.

[Jester]

Snap, remind me to never ever EVER apply to work at your company. Unless I win the lottery and feel like messing with their heads.

[SnapAddict218]

Aw babycakes, that right there is just one of the many reasons I got out of that Nazi hell hole!

[hellhathnofury]

Anyone from southern Ontario will know where I'm from when I tell them I harken from the T dot.

ahhh the good old T Dot my favourites are the people who used to tell me they lived in the GTA. GTA isn't a city- you can't address your letters to "12356 Yonge Street, GTA" GTA is the Greater Toronto Area, which means it encompasses York, Durham and Peel Regions. I don't know why people do this, but they do. If you live in Thornhill, or Pickering or any other area like that, just say so.

Before the days of amalgamation, I had people telling me they were from Metro. Here's the thing - we didn't just handle information for Toronto, but for the entire country, which means that Metro could be any city that has a metropolitan area.

Im just glad I don't have to deal with that.

Although I do think the policy to say the entire state name is a bit bizaare. I don't see why you can't verify it the way Jester said, but so many company policies are archaic and made to make the cs reps look like morons. Been through that and managed to live to tell the tale.

[Tria]

El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Poriuncula, California

The house of our Lady of Rain of the Angels (Whatever for porniculs).
Los Angeles.

[Tria]

That's "Smith" right?

Albuquerque doesn't have anywhere near as long a name as Santa Fe. But we've got a certain mayor that tries, every now and then, to re-insert the "r" that got lost somewhere along the way!

Just remember to take that left turn. *Ducks*

[TwoScoopsSciath]

The house of our Lady of Rain of the Angels (Whatever for porniculs).
Los Angeles.

Actually, "reina" is queen, "lluvia" is rain.

[Andara Bledin]

I must be weird. Ok, I know I'm weird, but I almost never abbreviate place names when speaking. When I'm writing I will, but when I'm speaking, I can't see any point to knocking a syllable or two off just to be lazy or cute.

On the flip side, I'm really bad about giving people shorter nicknames. Unless they have a name that's only one syllable, then I'll double it. *shrug*

^-.-^

[Dreamstalker]

Albuquerque doesn't have anywhere near as long a name as Santa Fe. But we've got a certain mayor that tries, every now and then, to re-insert the "r" that got lost somewhere along the way!

"And by the way, if one day you happen to wake up and find yourself in an existential quandary, full of loathing and self-doubt and wracked with the pain and isolation of your pitiful meaningless existence, at least you can take a small bit of comfort in knowing that somewhere out there in this crazy mixed-up universe of ours there's still a little place called...Albuquerque!"

Come to think of it, it does get a little confusing in New Mexico sometimes!

Especially during tourist season

Is NM the only state that has a town named after a game show (Truth or Consequences)?

A few times, my dad has tried to order something over the phone and been told "we don't ship to Mexico" O_o (does Mexico have 5-digit zip codes?!)