"I don't give out my last name"

[ChibiJones]

Has anyone ever been told this by a company they have called!?

I just got off the phone with a company my office does business with. I asked them a question, he answered it & now I have to document who I talked to & the answer for my boss. The guy wouldn't even transfer me to a supervisor who would give his complete name. IMO, the only acceptable answer when someone asks for a supervisor is "yes, ma'am".

This is a huge company with probably hundreds of employees with the same first name. This guy isn't even in the same state as me, had our account # so he knew he was dealing with a law firm. He said he didn't give his full name out because of personal safety concerns.

Now, a few years ago I was working retail, at a downtown store, with a name tag with my complete name. I can't even tell how many drunk/high whack jobs I ran into at that place & every one has my name.

 

[FOJMO]

I also work for a large company and whenever someone calls and asks to verify that they called me and asks for my name, I DO NOT give it to them. Sometimes they ask me for my birth city or the month and day of my birthday.

These are highly personal questions, I don't care WHO is asking them or that they are required to ask that.

As for not transferring you or anyone to their supervisor, THEY are probably under strict instructions that their supervisor does NOT want to talk to these people, and they have every right to not transfer the call. I would be in trouble in MY job if I just said "Yes M'am" and transferred the call to my boss!

If you work for a law firm, I would think that there would be a better way than asking people personal questions to identify/confirm answers.

The way the world is today, you have to be worried about more than just "drunks and high whack jobs" with your name and personal info!

 

[kidzmom3]

I work at a local hospital in the Emergency Dept and we do not have our last names on our badges and we are not required to ever give it out. If someone demands it for a complaint, you can tell them to let the boss know your first name and the date and time you spoke with me. We also have the right to put a false name on our badge, if we so desire, but then you have to remember to answer to it. When my husband worked at a Catalog call center, they each registered a fake name.

 

[Pugsley]

In my job I get calls from lots of salespeople, and they only want my name so that they can act like they know me or say they were referred by me when they talk to someone else in the company. So I’ve been known to use a fake first name with some people. When they ask for my last name, I often ask them why they need that info and then they usually back off (but they do seem offended!). In my position, there’s really no reason that they need my last name. That may be different in a customer service environment.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

It's actually pretty common for Customer Service Lines. Disney's CRO is a perfect example.

 

[ChibiJones]

I'm sorry you both disagree with me, but I do not consider anyone's name to be personal information. This was a short conversation with a long-standing customer who may need to follow-up, who isn't even in the same state.

I would understand him being afraid to give his name to someone who was pissed & aggitated, but that wasn't the situation at all. I asked a question, got an answer, hung up - that was it.

As a customer, I don't really care if the supervisor doesn't want to talk to me. It's his job. The company charges us, we pay our bills. He didn't say his job was on the line if I talked to his supervisor, he just went into a dissertation on how company policy leaves it up to the individual rep. Just sounded to me like he would have gotten in trouble if I had complained that he didn't give his name.

 

[FOJMO]

Originally posted by ChibiJones
I'm sorry you both disagree with me, but I do not consider anyone's name to be personal information.

You can't get more personal than a person's name... except maybe their SS#...

 

[ChibiJones]

You can't get more personal than a person's name

If you never give your name out to anyone, how can you do business? We give our names to phone companies, banks, the cable company, credit card companies, etc. If he owns a home, his name and address are available to the public at the Registry of Deeds. I have to have my name on my mailbox in order to get any mail delivered. How is giving a name to an existing customer any more dangerous than giving it to any of those?

 

[ChibiJones]

BTW, he asked for my name & our account number at the start of the conversation. So, he now knows my name & exactly where I work. All I have is a common first name, that may or may not be fake.

 

[mtemm]

when I worked retail I would never have given out my last name, if only for security reasons.

As for the fake name thing...I can't remember what company I called or was calling me...think they were calling me...but I got several calls from different people (very different voices) all claiming that their name was Mrs. X. I can't remember the name now, but it was not a common one. I started laughing by the time the third different person called...she told me that yes, they do use fake names at that particular call center.

 

[FOJMO]

I give up -- sorry, it's not worth the time...

 

[DVC-Don]

Pretty much standard these days, "First name only" given out and on name tags.

 

[Planogirl]

At my last place of employment, I worked in CS for a while and giving out my last name was grounds for termination. We were also not allowed to EVER transfer anyone to a supervisor but could take a message to give to the supervisor or transfer the individual into the supervisor's voice mail. The company was EXTREMELY strict about this. I argued with more than a few individuals about this but what could I do? I had to follow the rules of the company.

 

[SonjaB]

I don't give mine out, either. I will give out my last initial, if requested, but not my whole name. As for doing business without a name, when I'm at work, my company is doing business, not me, I merely represent the company. If I have personal business with someone, they have my name. There is never a need for an employee's last name to be given out to a customer.

 

[JohnTBap]

Everybody knows my last at work - it's the first that I am trying to keep secret!

 

[LucyStorm]

If it is company policy that someone not give out a last name, then the company has a responsibility to assign some identifying tag to the employee for customer service concerns, whether it be a false name or even just Customer Service Rep #43506. The customer may not be entitled to know personal information, but they have a right to know which representative they spoke to. Even the police have badge #'s.

So, I will be in the minority here, and say that you did have a right to have some way to identify who you were speaking to. AND if I ever ask to speak to a manager, and someone refuses, I will do three things: I will call back, and I WILL speak to a manager. I will also not do business with you again if I have a choice. Lastly, I will make sure that my boss is also aware of your poor customer service and that of your company.

 

[CamColt]

This happened to us recently with American Airlines. We called to get info and were told we could get a refund if we wanted. Then we thought about it, called back about a week later and tried to get a refund. At first we were told no, they couldnt do it, we asked for a supervisor, the rep went and checked and came back and said ok, we would get a full refund. We wanted her name just in case and she gave us her first name. We pushed and asked for her last name and she said she would give us her "sign on" name which was actually a US city.

 

[flrose]

First, I would like to say it is a pretty sad world we now live in when people are afraid to give out their full names. We have become so paranoid that we have to guard even our names. Use to be you didn't give out your DL#,your SS#, or a credit card #. How can we do our jobs without proper documentation for the information given. What good is it going to do if you call back a company you are working with and advise them "Susan" gave you some information you needed to check on. Only to find out "Susan" gave you the wrong information. How are they going to let her know she made a mistake so she won't do it again? I agree that if people don't feel safe in giving out their full names then companies need to supply their employees with some kind of identifying #, name or secret code. That way I can feel secure with the business at hand and they won't feel threatened by someone "knowing" their full name. JMHO

 

[d.kurz]

Originally posted by Planogirl
At my last place of employment, I worked in CS for a while and giving out my last name was grounds for termination. We were also not allowed to EVER transfer anyone to a supervisor but could take a message to give to the supervisor or transfer the individual into the supervisor's voice mail. The company was EXTREMELY strict about this. I argued with more than a few individuals about this but what could I do? I had to follow the rules of the company.

And the funny thing about all of this is the DEPARTMENT is called CUSTOMER service! LOL!! Not being able to speak to a supervisor is absolutely ludicrous. And these companies can't even SEE THIS. I'm glad you don't work there anymore, Planogirl!

And the not giving a last name thing is BS! If companies want to do that, then they DO need to provide codes of some sort!!

Customer service is quickly becoming a thing of the past.

 

[JºoºhnG]

I don't work in the retail industry. I am a Police Dispatcher. I give out first name only or my badge # only. When I work nightshift I do not even give out my first name, only badge # if requested.

Of course I deal with whack jobs on an hourly basis!

Have a Disney Day!