Address Fail: In Color

[Mr Hero]

I had this bit of a gem. He's not a customer since he ended up not getting the room.

SC checks wants to get a room. He's not the same race as I am. This detail becomes later.

I take down the info and all is well. That is until I ask for the zip code.
SC: I don't know the zip code!
Me: I need to have a zip code.
SC: (to random guest) What's the zip code for Atlanta?

SC walks out mumbling under his breath about the white man getting in his way.

I assume he was leaving, so I help the next people in line. I check them in (and out since one of them was a cute gal)

SC is back. I ask for the same info and again stumbles at the zip code. Finally he resigns and we use his friend's info. They didn't stay because of the price.

ETA: He does try to give me his zip code. He does a large string of numbers like 77xxxxxx that's much longer than a zip code. Plus, the 77 part would suggest a Texas zip code if there were fewer numbers.

[dbblsanta]

Geez what a moron. How can you not know your own zip code?? I even know my 9-digit zip code!

And Atlanta must have a bazillion zip codes.

[Android Kaeli]

You'll be surprised at how many people don't know their own zip codes, people who just moved aside.

[Automan Empire]

You'd also be surprised how many adults are illiterate, not to mention otherwise intelligent people with reading disabilities like some types of dyslexia. These are often the customers who ask me to fill out the work order because they "forgot their glasses." It was a customer service skill that took me trial and several errors to learn to handle with aplomb and dignity for all.

This zip code guy though? It sounds like he's trying to conceal his identity for nefarious purposes, so all bets are off, compassion-wise.

[The cat whisperer]

Maybe he just moved from Texas to Atlanta? Can't keep a straight face. And yes, Atlanta has a lot of zipcodes. Mr Hero, do you guys actually check zip codes or in theory could the guy have just blurted out any five digit number? (Forgive my ignorance. I've never actually been the one who would deal with the front desk if we go on vacay and need a room. I only vaguely have an idea of how check-ins work.)

[dalesys]

You'd also be surprised how many adults are illiterate...

I worked with a man who learned to read when he was a senior in high school... he'd bluffed his way until he ran into a perceptive teacher.

[Mr Hero]

Maybe he just moved from Texas to Atlanta? Can't keep a straight face. And yes, Atlanta has a lot of zipcodes. Mr Hero, do you guys actually check zip codes or in theory could the guy have just blurted out any five digit number? (Forgive my ignorance. I've never actually been the one who would deal with the front desk if we go on vacay and need a room. I only vaguely have an idea of how check-ins work.)

When we type in a zip code, it automatically enters a city, or pulls up a list of possible cities.

[The cat whisperer]

Thanks!! Learn something new each day.

[Chromatix]

Most British addresses can be determined from the postcode and the house number. There are a lot of Brit-oriented online forms which use that fact to validate and speed up input - they use a database supplied by the postal system. There are exceptions, of course. Postcodes usually apply to a street or a segment thereof, but there can be different names and number sequences associated with one street.

I would occasionally get mail addressed to some Polish-sounding name at my address (let's say, 2 Penny Road), because there was a poorly-labelled set of houses further down the same road which included a "2 Penny Court". I don't know whether that had the same postcode, but it's likely.

Fun fact: in the days before postcodes, railway stations were occasionally renamed so as to change the name of the town for postal purposes, to disambiguate it from some other town in another part of the country.

[Broomjockey]

SC walks out mumbling under his breath about the white man getting in his way.

What the hell?! Argh. I hate it when anyone bitches about any "The Man" keepin' ya down, or getting in the way, or whatever. It's quite possibly the surest sign of an entitlement-minded individual, because I've never EVER heard it used in a legitimate situation, such as being denied a business permit, or turned down for assistance, or whatever. It's always for trivial crap. Not getting a hotel room, not getting some shiny consumer product, something like that. Argh! *head explodes*

[infinitemonkies]

When we type in a zip code, it automatically enters a city, or pulls up a list of possible cities.

Nice. Your software is better than mine. Mine won't even auto-fill Canada or U.S.A after you select a state or province from a drop-down list.

On the other hand, my software doesn't recognize the existance of Nunavut, so I guess it's not all bad