Then go call Seattle

[bhskittykatt]

I am not Central Reservations. I can't look up a reservation for you at another property. Furthermore, I can't give you detailed driving directions to another property. I don't have a database of all our locations in my head. Central Reservations does (not in their heads, in their computers, but you get the idea), so they are the appropriate people to call.

*Ring Ring*

Me: *opening spiel*
SC: "Yes, I have reservations tonight under [name] for Seattle. Can you give me driving directions?"
Me: "To Seattle? This is [city]."
SC: "Yes, how do I get there?"
Me: "I'm sorry, this is [city], you'll need to call the motel you have reservations at for directions."
SC: "Then transfer me."
Me: "I'm sorry, I can't do that on this line, but if you tell me which one in Seattle you're going to, I can look up their number for you. Or I can give you our 800 number." (Note: We have about half a dozen different locations in Seattle)
SC: *exasperated sigh* "NEVERMIND! I'll just call back LATER!" *hangs up*

I am a two hour drive from Seattle. Why would you call me to get directions there?

If she does call back later and calls here, she's going to get the same answer.

[Mr Hero]

I've had a varient of this. Customer calls to get information for a hotel 2 hours south of me. I offer to give them central reservations so he can be connected to the appropriate hotel.

SC: You mean I have to make another call?

[Teskeria]

I am a two hour drive from Seattle. Why would you call me to get directions there?

silly you. You need to pull up yahoo maps, enter the address of a store in your area (say wallyworld) and then destination: seattle. Then you start giving directions=
Starting at the Wallyworld on Blank st in MYCITY, you drive so far west. turn left onto highway #, drive 6 miles...

[superhotelworker]

LMAO Tesk, I've done that.
Lady called and told me she was in Godfrey, which is 20 minutes outside of MY city.
PUlled up mapquest and sent her to a B&B there. I'm not dealing with her LOL
BHS, I get this too! "Hi, my sister is staying at [chain] in Chicago. Can you transfer me?"
Nope.

[Magpie]

But she told you which one she wanted. I was working at the national office for an oil company. I got a call from a sub-contractor asking for a list of bidders.
"Ok, what site are you calling about?"
"The [company] station."
"No, I need to know which site you mean"
"The [company] station!"
"Which one?"
"The one in [city]" (as if it was obvious). There were only three we were building at that time in that city, so I asked about one site and it turned out to be correct. But it didn't occur to her that there were other choices.

(In my defense, the language that we used in the office was such that I couldn't think of a way other than asking which site she was talking about at first, hence me repeating my question.)

[HawaiianShirts]

I am a two hour drive from Seattle. Why would you call me to get directions there?

Because you're in the same state? To me, it seems to be the same mentality that makes people think all book stores are owned by the same company or that they can get a refund at one fast food chain for bad food received at another fast food chain.

Or that everyone knows everyone in a foreign country. "Oh, you're from Paris, France? Do you know my friend in Marseille?"

It's still stupid behavior, though, even if I think I can vaguely explain it.

Maybe she'll get lost and end up way out on Whidbey Island or something before she realizes she made a wrong turn.

[Captain Trips]

I think we've all gotten that in one form or another. When trying to help one user, I asked her "which location are you at?" Her answer: "The one on Main Street." (I kid you not!) I pointed out that we have locations all over the country, and I needed to know a little more specific than that. She said, "Oh, the one in Springfield." (Great. I'll send Bart and Homer...) Finally, I asked her for her <store> NUMBER! (She had to ask someone for that.)

[mattm04]

My company has three stores in the town next to us. Often time we will get calls, asking us to transfer the call, we can't. I ask for which store. I almost always get back, the one in <CITY>. Well their are three! It is next to impossible to get any identify details about which one. Once I got, well it has <company name> on the building, a parking lot, some trees in the islands...

[Andara Bledin]

My response to this sort of stupidity is always to list off all of the options available and ask which one they really mean.

It tends to drive home just how necessary additional information is really is.

That doesn't mean it will sink in long enough for it to stay, but it's worth trying. Plus, it tends to irritate the caller but gives them nothing valid to complain about.

Of course, if you have a lot of options to choose from, then it would be best to go with the top few (or bottom few, if you're feeling particularly irritable and don't mind spending more time on it), and note that there are X number of additional possibilities.

^-.-^

[Difdi]

silly you. You need to pull up yahoo maps, enter the address of a store in your area (say wallyworld) and then destination: seattle. Then you start giving directions=
Starting at the Wallyworld on Blank st in MYCITY, you drive so far west. turn left onto highway #, drive 6 miles...

I once did something similar to someone who claimed to be from a certain cult, who called me six times in six days trying to solicit donations and/or arrange a time to come to my house to deliver their literature.

Finally, after many, many demands they stop calling me, I asked them (in a defeated tone) if they knew my address. They didn't. So I gave them one. Just not mine. Assuming they tried to actually go there, they'd have needed a boat and SCUBA gear, seeing as how the address was the geographic center of a local lake. They never called me again.

[mharbourgirl]

I once did something similar to someone who claimed to be from a certain cult, who called me six times in six days trying to solicit donations and/or arrange a time to come to my house to deliver their literature.

Finally, after many, many demands they stop calling me, I asked them (in a defeated tone) if they knew my address. They didn't. So I gave them one. Just not mine. Assuming they tried to actually go there, they'd have needed a boat and SCUBA gear, seeing as how the address was the geographic center of a local lake. They never called me again.

You know they went there... and proceeded to try and convert the guy minding his own business fishing in the middle of the lake. I wonder how many fish-hooks they went home wearing.