Just after your thoughts on this?

[Mumsymumphy]

My daughter works in a call centre. She was going through the customer call list for that day, had to phone a customer called Barbara* (NC).
A man answered so DD said the company spiel and said, "Can I speak to Barbara please?" The man immediately shouted at her with "I think you need to have some company training on how to speak to people! I'm Barbara!"

Has it got to the point where we are now supposed to assume, or somehow telepathically know, that a male voice on the end of a phone is a man that identifies as a woman? 😡

Isn't the normal reply, when you answer the phone and you're the person the caller is asking for, to simply say "Yes, speaking", or "Yes, this is Barbara. How may I help you?" ?? What's with the aggro?

I'm not quite sure what to reply

When I get random calls they always say Is that Redshoe
I always ask whose calling

If she's working in a call center this is going to be the least of her problems

The caller doesn't know if the person answering is Barbara even if it's a woman's voice.

If someone called me and my MIL picked up, and the caller asked for Kittens, I'd expect her to respond with "she's in the garden, hang on a moment" rather than "#$@%#$% how fucking dare you assume I'm not Kittens!"

Tbh, I often just say "Yeah, speaking?" and because some people, depending on cultural background, are more used to my real life first name being a boy's name, they'll double check, and I just say "Yeah that's me. I'm . Can I help you?". It's really not a big deal, nor any reason to have a strop. Barbara's just being an unnecessarily rude bastard.

What a strange reply from that person - of course the person calling asks to speak to the person they want to speak to - they have no idea who answered the phone!

If they had inadvertently given Barbara's personal details to someone who was not Barbara based on assuming that Barbara must be the one answering the phone I can't imagine that Barbara would be happy about it.

As everyone else has said. I answer the phone, the caller asks 'Can I speak to X', I reply 'Speaking'. I am not offended that they do not divine from the ether that I am X, as there could be several people in this house who would pick up the phone if it is ringing.

Barbara was super-touchy because Barbara knows damned well that everybody can see (and hear) that Barbara was not their given name. And nothing is ever going to change other people's perceptions of Barbara.

Some people take offense like a drug to get high.

Obviously your daughter did nothing wrong because she would have said the said if it were a clearly female voice. However, be prepared for a complaint against her. This is what TRAs call microagression. According to someone on reddit, reacting in that way is a goof indicator that you're trans.

Works both way.

Customer “I’m returning a call I just had now.”
“Ah yes, I’ll just put you through to Christine who is dealing with your case.”
Customer: “No, no, it was definitely a bloke...”

It was Lily wasn't it? You can't fool us with your NC. I'm sure Lily Mad-again will be all over twitter calling your dd out for 'literal violence' and being called brave by followers.

I get this all the time (but I’m not rude about it).

Call centre (CC): Hello could I speak to Mr SimonJT please (simon isn’t my name, but I have a name that isn’t unisex).

SJT: speaking
CC: Can we speak to Mr SJT please?
SJT: I am Mr SJT who is calling type response

Sometimes they carry on asking for a Mr assuming I’m female, sometimes they explain what they want, sometimes they put the phone down.

At work when I answer I sometimes get clients who call/their PA who think I must be SJTs PA (sexist) despite me explaining that no I am Mr SJT.

You know when Alpha’s collar goes wrong in the film up, imagine instead of a dog, a big asian man!

Surely asking for Barbara is correct no matter what the voice answering sounds like?

I have a woman’s name, a woman’s voice, and I still get callers asking me if they can speak to Emily - because guess what?
They don’t magically know if I’ve answered the phone or if another woman in the house has answered the phone!

I’d be well hacked off if someone just assumed that whoever answered the phone was me and potentially gave my mum / sister / MIL / friend personal information about me because they sound like they could potentially be an Emily!

She handled it correctly. She didn't say "sorry Sir". Barbara's response was certainly one you'd expect from an angry man.
I have a customer who's female partner sounds very male on the phone. Not once, not twice , but 3 times I've rung the landlines and assumed I was speaking to my customer. She was only ever gracious and said she'd go and find him/he's out or whatever the situation was.

”I think you need to have some company training on how to speak to people! I'm Barbara!"

Barbara is a dick. Imagine calling a non-arsehole man and saying “Hello, is that Barbara?” Imagine the confusion!

Sounds like your daughter has a funny story to regale people with at parties. Even if she gets a complaint, her managers aren’t going to tell her to do something that would cause most of their customers to think she was an idiot.

It goes to show that offense isn't given, it's taken.

It’s a dick reply from the person answering. Maybe they were going through a shit time at that moment, still dickish to take it out on your daughter though.

My only concern would be if my colleagues and manager didn’t take her side. Anyone can see your DD is t in the wrong.

Is ITV just me wo thinks Barbara is a TRA?

The phone call would have worked with the name John or Barbara. "Hello can I speak to John please?" "Yes, this is John/ I'll just go get him, who is calling please?" .... so Barbara's twattishness was just that.

Too late now, but she could have answered "it's company policy to confirm that the person who answers the phone is actually the customer".
Barbara is angry because she knows her vocal chords betray her.
It's not your DDs fault.

SimonJT I don't understand your post, are you a woman?

That was a question about the content of the post, not a natural follow on from me not understanding BTW :o not a good post for this thread!

You know when Alpha’s collar goes wrong in the film up, imagine instead of a dog, a big asian man!

Got it

Simon are you a man with a female sounding voice?

Thats my understanding stealth

Alpha is well funny 😄