Strange phone call

[captpackrat.livejournal.com]

(A bit of background: I'm the IT Manager for one of the largest construction companies in Southern California. I deal only with internal users.)


Confused: Hi, I'm Jane Doe and I'm with *health insurance company*

Me: Umm... OK... *thinking this call should have gone to HR* How can I help you?

Confused: I need some technical support.

Me: Umm...

*silence*

Confused: Hello?

Me: Umm, why are you calling me?

Confused: I need some technical support.

Me: Are you sure you're calling the right number?

Confused: This is *company name that sounds like ours*, isn't it?

Me: Yes...

Confused: Are you new?

Me: No, I've worked here for years! Umm... Are you sure you're calling the right number? We're a construction company.

Confused: Huh? I called the same number I always call, 800-4-*name that sounds like ours*

Me: Yes, that's our phone number, but we've had it for years.

Confused: But I just called this number last week!

Me: 800-4-*spell out our company name*

Confused: Oh! I must of dialed the wrong number. Sorry.



Apparently there is another company with a name very similar to ours, and with a phone number one digit off from ours, which when spelled out, sounds the same.

Weird.

Comments

U reminded me of ...

[annamaryse.livejournal.com]

That's funny. At my last job we had a watts line through which calls were directed to us after the 'system' verified the callers' user ID... (no support unless you're registered)... and when we answered the line we always got a recording first before the live actual customer patched through.

Every watts line has a local number behind it. Ours was one digit off from a doctors office. If there was a human on the phone when I answered rather than a machine, I knew it was a wrong number, so I just used to say "Sorry you have a wrong number" and that always threw people for a loop. "How do you know?" they'd say... etc.

[kitschicat.livejournal.com]

Heh. A few weeks ago, I had a similar type call. I work for a publishing company in Detroit. I received a call from a Detroit police officer asking me how to login to Groupwise.

Now, we use Groupwise, and we are in Detroit, but besides that, there is no connection.

I explained to him that I have no idea what the Detroit Police Department's systems setup were like and that he would have to contact someone within the department, that we are a private company and I could not assist him.

He started to argue with me, stating that he saw "on the internet" that this was where he could get help. I assured him that we can only provide assistance to our own employees because they are the only ones on our Groupwise server, and he most assuredly was NOT.

He finally gave up and I was able to end the call. Curious, I googled around to see how in the world he would have gotten the idea to call us. Well, combining "Detroit" and "Groupwise" as search terms revealed that our company's web portal for email acccess is one of the top hits, and our help desk number is listed on the page. I guess he figured anybody with the same email system in the same city could help him out. Or, he thinks Groupwise is exclusive to the PD in Detroit? I'm still a bit boggled but whatever.

I'm just hoping he wasn't a detective, because if this is indicative of his sleuthing skills, I'm skeered.

[dkphoenix.livejournal.com]

I used to support ATI (Allied Telesyn International), makers of assorted network hardware with a name verrrry similar to the better-known ATI video card people. At the time the other ATI had no toll-free support number, and we did. Some brainiac at Future Shop, which is a Canadian chain store similar to Best Buy or Circuit City, found our toll-free and distributed it to every freaking Future Shop in Canada with the instructions to give it out to purchasers of ATI video cards.

Can I get an "ARRRRGH!!"?

Half the callers, when finally convinced they had the wrong company, would still ask to be "patched through" to the correct number, because it was a "free call" and "wouldn't cost anyone anything".

On the up side, I learned to never, ever purchase an All-In-Wonder card, since 99.9% of the calls were about it.

[kayfox.livejournal.com]

I actually havent had any issues with the AIW *card* most of the issues Ive had are with the braindead software, which I dont use for 2 out of my 3 AIW cards, cause their in Linux boxes and although the Linux AIW software is kinda barebones, it works fine.

When I worked in support, I never gave out unverified or internal numbers.

[celyste.livejournal.com]

We had a rep at our one office who had a small issue that grew into a huge issue. He copied the correct phone number from our company and put it into his notepad... with one number off.

On the upside, the little old lady (she sounded about 80 years old) I talked to at one point gave me the best memory ever. "You just wouldn't believe what those girls are willing to do for 4.95 a minute!"

It took a while, but we finally tracked him down and updated his notepad. *L*