Sure-fire way to annoy me before...

[Camry178]

...even stepping foot through my door.

Entitled Much?

This happened over the weekend on a busy Saturday over the phone.

Me:
SC: Ms. Entitlement

(phone rings)
Me: (usual greeting), this is Camry. How can I help you?
SC: Yeah, do you have any appointments this afternoon?
Me: Sure, I have a 5pm available.
SC: Oh, okay. Well, do you have Prada's?
Me: We have some, yes.
SC: Well the one I'm looking for is black and--
Me: Ok, you're gonna have to give me a style number. (maybe I shouldn't have cut her off, but there is just no way I'm gonna look for a frame based on color and material with a store full of customers.)
SC: Oh, okay. I have it right here. (I hear her fumbling through some papers.)

30 seconds go by and she's still fumbling around.......60 seconds.......Here we go....

Me: Ma'am, would you like to make that appointment for 5pm today?

This is where she starts getting sucky.

SC: Well, I don't want to make the appointment if you don't have the Prada's I want!
Me: Okay ma'am. Then why don't I just let you go then and you can give us a call back when you find the model information?
SC: Or I can go back to the store I saw them at if I'm annoying you!
Me: Ma'am, it's not that you're annoying me (which she was), it's just that I have many others here that have been patiently waiting and I cannot spend all this time on the phone with you waiting while you try to find the information for the model you want.
SC: Well, fine then. Good-bye.

Yes. Cause I've been sitting by the phone all day just waiting for your call so I'll have something to do.

There's only four, pick one

I get this phone call every so often and it always pisses me off.

Me: (opening greeting)
SC: Yeah, where are you located?
Me: We're located right on the corner of End street and Eternity Avenue.
SC: Yeah, but where?
Me: Right on the corner.
SC: Yeah, but which corner?
Me: ..... uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh (I do that on purpose)
SC: Never mind, I'll just find it.

I mean, really. How hard is it to figure out which corner we're on? There's only four. Spin around, I'm sure you'll spot us. Or take a gamble. There's a one in four chance that you'll pick the right corner.

[Ironclad Alibi]

Me: Right on the corner.
SC: Yeah, but which corner?

The fourth one.

[Mango]

I mean, really. How hard is it to figure out which corner we're on?

I had a call like that, with a 911 operator of all people. Except the emergency was at the end of a dead-end. And dammit, the operator wanted to know what corner the emergency was on. "It's at a dead end of 19th Avenue. The nearest cross street is Larch. If they go to 19th and Larch, and then follow 19th until it dead ends, they'll find us." "Ok, but which corner is it on?" "THERE IS NO CORNER. Just tell them to go to 19th and Larch, and follow 19th to the end of it." "Yes sir, but which corner is it on?"

They ended up on the wrong side of the dead end and the guy got away

[Mnemjian]

I really wonder what answer you could have given them that would have been satisfactory? "No, not the big corner on the top. The LEFT corner on the fourth side." "OH!"

[Nurian]

SC: Yeah, but which corner?

"The one that has my store on it, you nimrod!"

[Automan Empire]

"Which corner" is a perfectly legit question. They're asking for NW, SE, etc. By knowing this, they can plan their approach to the place without a hairy left turn.

I find it VERY rare to meet someone who actually knows their cardinal directions, so it is a pleasure to me to tell them.

As far as the Prada lady, I get that a lot... "Can you give me a specific answer to a very vague inquiry?"

[JLRodgers]

I had a call like that, with a 911 operator of all people....

Know what's worse than the corner thing and 911 operator's asking "what corner?"

A 911 operator in a town that's only like 1 square mile, and only one city park (that has baseball diamonds, pool, swings) asking "what park's the city park? Well which one with the baseball diamonds? Which one with the pool? [you know, like we've got two+ with each] Sir you need to be more clear." And when I said "you've got two police cars here on the other side talking right now, one's the K-9 unit, just send them to the bathrooms at the place they're at (we only have one of those)".... she still had no idea who to call, both the cars left before I was able to reach them because she called them away to a school because she thought "park" meant "school" ---- the pedophile taking semi-dressed/nude photos of boys and girls got away.

[Mr.Customer]

I really wonder what answer you could have given them that would have been satisfactory? "No, not the big corner on the top. The LEFT corner on the fourth side." "OH!"

Well in a larger city it might make a huge difference to which route they will take to get there or where they will look for parking to avoid making left turns, or crossing the street at a buzy intersection, especially if they have to park out of sight of the store in order to find a space available. The really can be a legitimate question if they don't know the area.

And really how hard is it to say "the corner on the right as you come north up such and such a street"

[protege]

Know what's worse than the corner thing and 911 operator's asking "what corner?"

You could always do what my neighbor did once. When calling 911, and getting that question... he replied with "the big fucking house with the flames pouring out. Trust me, you can't miss it"

[Mr.Customer]

You could always do what my neighbor did once. When calling 911, and getting that question... he replied with "the big fucking house with the flames pouring out. Trust me, you can't miss it"

I was working at a gas station when a car caught on fire under the hood (it was the battery) We called 911 and the Firetrucks went to the wrong gas station that was on the same street but 2 miles away from us. (lol I can imagine their shock when a couple of firetrucks came racing in with light blaring etc) You really should give them as much information as possible, I think and emergency is the one time where it's ok to assume they might be somewhat dense (and likely the poor 911 operator has a fireman on the other line asking her which side of the street it is on)

As for the 911 operator who doesn't know where the park is and is asking which one, she might not, and probably doesn't, live in the town. And while it might seem obvious to the caller, I bet you that the park has a NAME, as people are fond of naming places. And even if the park doesn't have a name, I am willing to bet that the STREET that the park is on has a name.

[blas]

And sometimes, for some unexplainable and crazy reason, you can call 911 and reach an operator who is hundreds of miles away!

A friend of mine was in Wisconsin Dells and witnessed a car accident. He dialed 911 and the operator answered "911 dispatch for Sawyer County" (it was either Sawyer or Rusk County...both of those counties are almost 100 miles north of Wisconsin Dells!).

[JLRodgers]

And even if the park doesn't have a name, I am willing to bet that the STREET that the park is on has a name.

It does, it's called "townname's city park", "city park" if you're in-town. It's off three roads (or 4 if you include the one that runs along half of it) -- one runs into it, one is one of the 2 main roads in town (that's one block from the police station, and it's visible from them as well). I gave directions using all of the streets from easiest to "hardest" (talking one involved "leave the police station heading towards the court house, take the first, second or third streets south [turn left] the park is on your right, you'll be in it, or to your left (depending on the street). She still didn't get it... mentioned it's across from where the police get fuel (which she knew where that was), that it was off of the road leading to the #2 employer in town (that can be seen about 10 miles outside of town it's so big/tall)... finally had to have her go to a map to see the big "open space".... she said it's the park she takes her kids to all the time.

And she still sent the police to the wrong place and end of town.

[Hyndis]

Know what's worse than the corner thing and 911 operator's asking "what corner?"

A 911 operator in a town that's only like 1 square mile, and only one city park (that has baseball diamonds, pool, swings) asking "what park's the city park? Well which one with the baseball diamonds? Which one with the pool? [you know, like we've got two+ with each] Sir you need to be more clear." And when I said "you've got two police cars here on the other side talking right now, one's the K-9 unit, just send them to the bathrooms at the place they're at (we only have one of those)".... she still had no idea who to call, both the cars left before I was able to reach them because she called them away to a school because she thought "park" meant "school" ---- the pedophile taking semi-dressed/nude photos of boys and girls got away.

Not all 911 operators are local. They're generally a state or county thing, as such, the call center could be quite a distance away from the particular city you're calling from.

[JLRodgers]

Not all 911 operators are local. They're generally a state or county thing, as such, the call center could be quite a distance away from the particular city you're calling from.

They might not be in other places, but it's in our sheriff's office, actually when you walk into the office they're the first people you see -- they had to put up a sign that said "911 operator -- please use other window <---" because people went to them.

[Naaman]

They might not be in other places, but it's in our sheriff's office, actually when you walk into the office they're the first people you see -- they had to put up a sign that said "911 operator -- please use other window <---" because people went to them.

Would they have a system for "if it's busy the call gets routed to nearest available centre?", if so they may be working off Mapquest and TomToms...