Why are people so adamant they can’t be wrong?

[Chatterbait]

A couple of recent incidents have sparked this question, but I’ve noticed this a lot. People are genuinely baffled/horrified at the idea that they might be wrong about something; even when it’s a very simple mistake and not as if they’ve done something stupid/unacceptable. Examples:

At work the other day, I took a call on the general enquiries line. “Good afternoon, [company name]”, I say.

Caller (sounding confused): “What? Is that the John Lewis bed department?”
Me: “Sorry, you’ve got the wrong number”.
Her: “Are you sure?”
Me (wondering how she thinks I wouldn’t have noticed being surrounded by beds): “Yes, this is a printing company”.
Her (huffily): “Well that’s the number they gave me”.
Me: “Well then I’m afraid they either gave you the wrong number or you misdialled”.

She makes a humphing noise and hangs up.

Then last night I was out and went to get my things from the cloakroom as I was leaving. It’s one of those where they give you a raffle ticket for your hanger. I hand over my ticket, noticing it’s ticket 966. Attendant brings out a bag and coat that aren’t mine.

Me: “Sorry, that’s not my stuff”.
Him: “That’s what I’ve got for this number”.
Me: “Well, that isn’t mine. Maybe you’ve got it upside down”.
Him (looking again): “966?”
Me: “That’s right”.
Him: “Well that’s what I’ve got for 966”.
Me: “Well, maybe it is… but that doesn’t change that this isn’t my stuff. Can you check again please?”

He rolls his eyes and stomps off. Reappears with my things (hey presto) and says “This it?” I say “Yes, thank you”. He stomps off again without a word.

What is wrong with people like this? How can they be so convinced they are right that they will believe literally any other explanation than “Whoops, my mistake?” Wrong number woman thought it was more plausible that I can’t tell the difference between a print house and a bed department than the possibility that she pressed the wrong button. Cloakroom man thought, rather than him having had a ticket the wrong way up, I had either forgotten what my own bag and coat looked like, or simply fancied swapping it for whatever ticket holder 699 might have had.

If I dialled the wrong number, I’d simply say “Sorry, wrong number” and then try again. If I’d brought out the the wrong things, I’d have said “Let me check again” and apologised when I realised my mistake. That’s normal, right?

I’ve just thought of another one, 2 incidents like this in one day. Was in the queue to check in at America’s busiest airport for a flight back to England, it was Christmas season and heaving, everybody was worried about missing their flights and the atmosphere was horrid. There were 2 flights to Heathrow a couple of hours apart, one going with American Airlines and one going with British Airways (my flight). It was clearly signposted that this was the BA queue, not the AA one.

After queing for hours, the man in front of me finally gets to the check-in desk. They can’t find him on the system. They ask to see his online reservation, and it is with American Airlines. They politely tell him he needs to check-in with them and he yells at them about how it’s terrible service by British Airways. And complains that he’s had to queue for 3 hours for nothing. The woman at the desk tries to get him to understand that she physically cannot check him in, as his flight is with a different company. He was holding everybody up screaming in the poor woman’s face and holiding everybody up, and we were already cutting it fine for the flight. Others in the queue started to shout at him, and he had to be escorted away by security.

Eventually it gets to boarding. A woman goes up to boarding desk and asks to upgrade to first class. They tell her there’s no space in first class, and she tantrums like a child that they HAVE to put her in first class and that there’s no possible way she’s flying economy all the way to London. She was a proper piece of work, and caused the flight to be delayed. She seemed to think the lack of space in first class was a personal thing against her. In the end, I believe she was moved onto the next flight that had a first class seat, but that was after much demanding they found her a seat on our flight.

It put me off flying for years.

I had a very earnest teenage helper at an activity tell me that my daughter was 'over there with her sisters'.

When I said no, she did look a bit like them but she didn't have any sisters, Earnest Teen told me I was wrong.

Clearly my mistake. I am a bit forgetful that way.

Every time I've called the council to apply for a wheelie bin I've been told repeatedly that no one by my name lives here, despite having lived here for 5 years. When I enquired if DP's name was registered here (bearing in mind we own the house) I was told that he's registered with the council but at an address on the other side of town. The woman on the phone literally told me that I can't possibly live here because her computer says so. I still don't have that fucking bin.

Ha I've had this too! My old house had the number listed for Zizzi's which had closed down years ago. I just gave up disagreeing with people in the end and would say "yep that's all booked for 7:30pm for you." I'd love to know how many people turn up for date night outside the WHSmiths that replaced it.

I did that once when a rather "irate" woman insisted I was wrong and she would be speaking to my manager and I'd never work in hospitality again once she'd finished. I mumbled an apology and "booked" her party of 8 in. Would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when she turned up especially as I'd given her a fake name and nobody working there was called that. Unless of course there was, in which case sorry VeraLynn.