The Meaning of Words and How to Listen to Them

One recurring annoyance here at SBLB is our customers' lack of reasonable listening skills.

Since we are servicing our customers over the phone and are therefore unable to verify their identity with a photo ID, we must compensate using other methods of identification. For SBLB, the information we require is the customer's full name, full address, and last 4 digits of their social security number.

For some people, this is very complicated.

Once the caller gives their account number, I have all of their account information up on the screen in front of me. I now ask them to verify it for me.

"May I have your first and last name, please?" I ask.

"Natalie, N-A-T-A-L-I-E, Smith, 'S' like Sam, 'M' like Mary, 'I' like Ig--"

"Thank you Ms Smith, I can see your name here, I just needed you to verify it. Now can you please verify your FULL address?"

"Oh, ok. 4231 Imadumbass Lane."

"...And the city, state, zip code, and apartment number, please..."

"Oh. Milwaukee. Apartment B2."

Whatever, I think, because that's allowed, according to our policy.

This happens several times a day. I've thought of keeping a tally, but it would be too exhausting. I just wonder, when I say SO clearly and deliberately put a lot of emphasis on the word "full," why so many people either can't hear, or actually think that their full address does not include their city, state, and zip code. And their apartment number!

Let's not forget the constant spelling of names. I want to tell them all to STFU because I'm looking at it, and what do they think, that we type it in each time they call? Why even ask for the account number? But I say nothing because before I worked in a call center, I would do the same damn thing anytime I called any company.

BUT, there are weird ones. Like, for example, Taquanisha Jones calls in and tells me her first name is Taquanisha and her last names is Jones, J-O-N-E-S. As though I should know how to spell an uncommon and unique first name, but be totally clueless as to how to spell one of the most common names in the US.

(I haven't really talked to someone with that specific name, but that happens a lot, you get the idea.)

Or, when someone says and spells their entire name for me so freaking fast that they'd be insane to think that anyone actually typing it would have not only heard, but typed it all in that time period.

I guess as customers, we don't often think of these little nuances or irritating things that we do, or don't do, or how we just don't listen. I certainly hadn't, until I started encountering them 20, 30, 100 times a day.

Sigh.