Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To have laughed

161 replies

TellMeItsNotTrue · 09/02/2017 11:10

AIBU to have laughed at this and now be telling you?

I've spent the morning with my sister and while I was there she had to call and chase something up, they asked her for her order number and she read it out to them starting with S for Sea. That made me laugh so I walked out of the room so I didn't distract her, she gave me a dirty look. I walked back in after composing myself to hear her arguing about the order number being wrong, apparently it was too many digits. So the man on the other end of the phone read it back to her "S4C...." which started me off again Grin looks like it wasn't just me that heard it that way! The S was the only letter in it as well so he couldn't have realised from her saying F for frog or whatever

Anyway, she is in a huff with me and the useless member of staff who works for that company, WIBU for telling her to lighten up when she was moaning about it?

Does anyone else have any S for Sea type mistakes they have made or heard someone else make? I could do with some more laughing Grin

OP posts:
kaelea · 09/02/2017 12:57

I once worked taking telephone orders, we often had people ring giving 'letsbe avenue' etc as their address so I thought I had another one.

A lady rang, "your address plz" "its No??? Rightspank .. so I tell her I don't have time for idiots and hang up.

she rang me back, I'm trying to place an order the address is No? Rightspank, so I told her if she rang again I would immediately put the phone down on her, she must have gone else where as she didn't ring again

it actually dawned on me a few days later, the address was Wrights Bank
and I'm an idiot

SevenTillFour · 09/02/2017 13:00

Colleague, changing an existing airline booking -
"Passenger name, please sir?"
"Mariana Plant" (it was)
CLICK.
Wonder what they heard it as ... Grin

LiefieLiefie · 09/02/2017 13:02

I used to have to use the phonetic alphabet daily in my old job, so it's ingrained to use it when asked to spell.

I once had someone say "it's Q for cucumber" Grin

user892 · 09/02/2017 13:06
ToriaPumpkin · 09/02/2017 13:09

I know the phonetic alphabet. I have done since I was a very small child due to my uncle being an air traffic controller. So imagine how I felt the day I had to spell something on the phone at work and literally the only word I could think of that started with W was Wanker...

LadyTmalia · 09/02/2017 13:10

Having had to deal with letters for every single phone call was frustrating, especially as a lot of our callers did not have English as a first language as they were here on holiday, but we did have a lot of fun and mostly got there in the end :D

N for Nike was one - M for Mike usually, so that one had me confused. K for Kappa not to bad that one, doesn't sound too much like a "P"

Caller was listening to Queen and I had F for Freddie, M for Mercury Which I smiled at, that was inadvertent apparently :)

Lots of W for Wanker and B for (your a) Bitch

One regular made up his own, which was fun. O, October, D, December etc and lots and lots of names! Americans mostly with T for Tom H for Harry D for Dick (oh I am sorry, didn't mean to be rude - Bless )

I miss it actually :D

GallivantingWildebeest · 09/02/2017 13:12

Love these!! I always fear when I'm trying to use the phonetic alphabet on the phone that I will use an inappropriate word. You know, when your mind goes blank and all you can think of is swear words??

DesolateWaist · 09/02/2017 13:13

I moved into a new classroom a few years ago that had a alphabet chart on the wall, a for apple, b for ball and that kind of thing.
I got rid of it as the picture for g was gnome.

ScarlettDarling · 09/02/2017 13:13

Am hooting at 'v for vagina' and ' p for paedophile'! Grin

OctopusesGarden · 09/02/2017 13:16

There's a famous kiwi episode of the wheel of fortune where boxer David Tua asks for an "o for awesome"

UntilTheCowsComeHome · 09/02/2017 13:20

I had a guy drop off a parcel and ask for my surname

"It's clarke" I say,
he asks "with an E?"
"Yeah"

When I went to sign it he'd put Clerk.

Grin
Jaysis · 09/02/2017 13:22

I had a caller say "N for Knickers"

Goodasgoldilox · 09/02/2017 13:24

My dad has an old joke alphabet starting:
A for horses
B for mutton
C for yourself
D formation
E for gas
F for (v)essence
G for Pete's sake get off my foot

We spent long hours on car journeys making up new ones.

JustHereForThePooStories · 09/02/2017 13:25

Once had a caller give "F for fridge", immediately followed by "R for... um... refrigerator"

BreakfastAtSquiffanys · 09/02/2017 13:27

My postcode used to end.. NB
Every time I had to give it, my mind went blank and instead of saying N for November, B for Bravo, I ended up say N B for naughty boy!

DonaldStott · 09/02/2017 13:32

I remember working with a woman who was trying to spell something on the pgone, with a particularly strong itialian accent. She had a strong scouse accent and was spelling something out, doing very well on the phonetic alphabet, until she got to 'O' and said 'O for octopus'. Grin It was years ago, but still gives me a giggle.

Preschoolprimadonna · 09/02/2017 13:32

We lived on Alderman Crescent.

After a conversation with a not-very-bright-or-good-at-listening operator, I received a package delivered to Older Man Crescent.

DonaldStott · 09/02/2017 13:33

*phone to someone with a strong italian accent. Ffs. Fat thumbs

TheHodgeoftheHedge · 09/02/2017 13:33

Oh god I am one of these people! I know the phonetic alphabet but as soon as I have to use it I can only think of rude words!!
I also recently discovered that they use a couple of different words for the phonetic alphabet in America which confused the hell out of the team I was working with over there.

BakeOffBiscuits · 09/02/2017 13:35

I always make up my own as I can never remember the proper phonetic alphabet.

Normally its. B for Bertie, S for Sugar, P for Pork[HMM] and just other random stuff I can think off.

Maybe I should learn the real thing.

thetwocultures · 09/02/2017 13:39

I had a customer service advisor say Q for Cucumber ....
I didn't know wether to laugh or cry considering he was responsible for my account Grin

TondelayaDellaVentamiglia · 09/02/2017 13:40

I have DD in my postcode, I always say Double Diamond....which dates me horribly.

Screwinthetuna · 09/02/2017 13:41

This is funny! Besides a for alpha, I know none and make them up as I go along. C for cunt, that's hilarious

UnimaginativeUser · 09/02/2017 13:42

I got very cross with an American chap from Amazon the other week when I had the misfortune to call them about a missing order. I have an old AOL email address that I use for Amazon (how much junk??).

He asked me for my email address, so I gave it and he declared he had no customer with that email address so couldn't help me. After a lot of to'ing and fro'ing and me getting more and more angry with him (I'd had a really bad day and had already drunk a couple of glasses of wine), I got him to read back my email address, having repeated and repeated the first part.

He then says "name at Eol.com". Now I live in the south of the UK, and I believe I have a fairly nondescript accept - clearly southern, but not much of a London/Essex twang, nor am I posh, but somehow my "a"'s sound like "e"e's?!

I wouldn't have minded so much but AOL stands for America OnLine!! Angry

WizardOfToss · 09/02/2017 13:43

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.