customer services getting my title wrong

[gasman]

I have just phoned a major UK retailer (famed for their customer service). Despite me introducing myself and then correcting them once they persisted on calling me Mrs Gasman.

I am not Mrs Gasman. I am Dr Gasman. They were also being unhelpful in actually dealing with my problem so I terminated the call. I told them it was because they couldn't get my name right.

WIBU?

[squoosh]

You were told your husband would have to ring even though you're the account holder? Who is your broadband supplier, the year 1952?

[PurpleRayne]

Yes. The assumption was that Dr.PurpleRayne, the account holder, must be my husband even though I had correctly introduced myself at the start of the call!

[SuperStrength]

I would hazard a guess that they have 'insisted' on a title as their credit check & fraud detection systems are tightly integrated with their CRM system which holds your contact details. If they were to record to incorrect title, this would probably flag an alert.

As with most AIBU, there is a perfectly logical explanation why something that seems unreasonable, actually isn't.

Once, when working on a rentention system for a call centre, I overheard an agent trying to deal with a customer who didn't want a title. They compromised on using a . instead of a title, this lasted about 30 seconds before triggering a fraud alert. The poor CS agent must have wasted 30 minutes trying to placate them. I think in situation like this, the business in question is better off refusing business rather than taking pointless calls.

Personally I think YABU as YOU are getting your title wrong, it is clearly PRINCESS Gasman not Dr.

[LadyClariceCannockMonty]

Super, insisting on a title is fine but obviously they should then get the title the caller gives them correct! I think their actions WERE unreasonable and I don't buy your 'logical explanation'.

[chattychattyboomba]

I think in a professional situation Dr is appropriate (for example, if you are treating a patient)... But just because you are a Dr doesn't make you NOT a Mrs, Ms, Miss, Mr etc.
on the other hand our insurance called after speaking to my husband- "is that 'miss' marriedname"
Errr no, as you just spoke to my HUSBAND who referred to me as his wife it's MRS marriedname...
Not so much a big deal as for 'respect' but just thought rather thick and incompetent... And worrying from a company where details do matter

[Arnie123]

I have a friend who has a psychology PhD who never uses his title especially on air flights as he is concerned someone may ask him for medical assistance in an emergency.

[Trills]

Both Dr and Mrs are titles that one is not born with - one acquires them by some action (getting a particular degree, marrying someone).

It is no more pretentious to insist upon Dr than it is to insist upon Mrs.

It is not pretentious at all to say "Dr" or to say "Mrs" when a title is asked for.

[cardamomginger]

I kept my name when I married DH, but still get called Mrs Ginger. It does kind of irritate me, but the payoff comes when I'm with DH and he sometimes gets called Mr Ginger.

Another thing that annoys me is that everyone assumes DH has a PhD. When it's actually ME who's working towards a PhD. Why not assume that I've got a PhD already/ Why him? What's so flippin' special about him?

(I quite happily admit to being an irritable pedant.)

[slapandpickle]

I use Ms when I am speaking to a woman and do not know her preferred title or marital status, never had any objections, was once gently corrected by a Rev though!

[BikeRunSki]

I am a Dr and a Mrs. I hate being called Dr in a non.professional/ academic situation, where it is irrelevant.

[LRDYaDumayuShtoTiKrasiviy]

arnie - reassure your mate this is a myth.

They don't do it like that, and your passport (as you will see if you look) doesn't have a title on it.

Your mate can keep using his title.

[BikeRunSki]

Arnie it has happened to me too! I got my PhD very shortly before I needed to renew my passport, so giddly put it as Dr. Next flight I was asked to attend to someone, and had to say I.was a Dr of Geology.

[BikeRunSki]

My old passport did have a title on, my flight was booked with it, and Easyjet had clocked it.

[LRDYaDumayuShtoTiKrasiviy]

How odd.

When did they stop putting titles on passports, do you know? Mine has never had one.

The only place I've ever heard this story is on MN, and when I've asked staff on flights if it's true, they thought it was ridiculous, as they explained they actually ask medics to identify themselves instead.

[LRDYaDumayuShtoTiKrasiviy]

Cross post.

Huh. I must be too young (refreshingly! )

[BikeRunSki]

I might have just used Dr to book my flight, to.tie up with my bank cards.

[ZingWidge]

Dr. Who will never get a credit card.

-your name sir?

-Who

-you sir, your surname please

• it's who
  

• you! your surname please... erm.. how about your full name please?
  

• well my name is Doctor Who
  

• no, I meant your full name, sorry... erm, let's try this, may I have your first name please?
  

• it's Doctor
  

• ok, so you are a Dr, that's your title, now can I have your first name please
  

it's Doctor

you mean you are Dr Doctor?

no, I'm Doctor Who

????




that's all I have to add

[ProudAS]

Titles may not matter in the grand scheme of things but if the OP has provided her details the company should address her accordingly.

[LRDYaDumayuShtoTiKrasiviy]

bike - or it could be they used to do it that way, and changed it because of confusions like this? I can imagine that TBH.

Sorry, I'm derailing anyway.

[StuntGirl]

I once worked in a shop where signing people up for mobile phones required a large amount of personal data. On asking one particular man's details I said "So it's Mr...?" and he haughtily replied "Dr actually", complete with nose in the air and snide look my way.

A few options later when selecting profession I asked cheerily "So, doctor is it?" and he went bright red and mumbled that he was an engineer. It was completely irrelevant to the whole damn thing as I found out several options later that all his bank cards and ID were in Mr, which resulted in a failure on the credit check as the details didn't match up. I felt it served him right for being a snotty fucker.

[VixZenFenchell]

I'm Dr in working hours, Mrs at home, "Muuuummmmmeeeee!" far too often (mostly when the teddy bear is lost), "DS1 / DS2's Mum" on the school run, VixZen to friends and their children and "Dearie" to most of my elderly patients. Lots of identity, no need to get hung up on one in particular.

I disagree with the thought that you'd want to broadcast your Dr-ness to the world - yes it's a 5-6 year stretch of study, yes there is lots of training afterwards - but I chose to do it. I always feel faintly embarrassed when people ask me what I do, I tend to answer "oh, I work up at the hospital".

With the passport thing - on the RFID page there is a line saying "the holder is a medical doctor" in caps, so it's flagged somewhere. Tickets are often booked in Dr for international conferences so I go by either Dr or Mrs depending on where I'm going & what for.

Although when we were entering the country the border control woman initially refused to let us in because I said I was coming to work and DH was tagging along to look after the boys (my passport had a work visa in) and she got snotty because surely DH was the one with the work visa because it said "work as a doctor" - to which I said "that's right, that's me" and she blushed profusely and waved us in :)

[ChristineDaae]

I work in customer service, it happens sometimes. Did it honestly bother you that much?! It's just a title.

[HoikyPoiky]

I knew an African guy whose first name was Doctor in South Africa. I think he was from Zimbabwe. It's no different from all the Hunters, Taylor's and Tylors really. (phonetic spellings )

[mummytowillow]

Oh dear, bit pompous don't you think! I work in customer services and your just being difficult.

As long as they help and are polite does it really matter. They would just think your strange and move onto the next call

Get over it ..

[ZingWidge]

remember me?