In Case You Were Wondering

Maybe you've noticed a lack of crabbing and whining about working for the phone company. Want to know why? Because, as surprised as I was to find this out, I am actually good at it. Believe it or not, but the managers here actually tell you when you are doing a good job, not just sit around waiting for a chance to jump your ass. Every so often, a manager will listen in on my calls. They always complement me. The last time a manager listened to my line she actually complained because I was handling the calls so fast she had trouble writing all the information down. Sweet.

On the other hand, not every call is a joy for me. I still get callers who are rude, or can't speak English well enough to order a pizza, or don't have a clue what they are doing. I had a woman the other day who had to spell her mother's name for me, and spelled it wrong. Her own mother's name. I know how to spell my mom's name, and even how to spell her maiden name, but not this lady.

Then there are calls that should be easy, but never are. If you ever want to call a gas station, don't bother calling 411 for the number. Not many gas stations list their phone number by the brand of gas they sell. I hardly ever find a number for 'The Shell station on Oak' or 'That Conoco on Green; you know, the one next to McDonald's'. Either they just don't have a number listed because they don't want a bunch of idiots calling and wasting the clerk's time asking how much a loaf of bread costs, or their number is listed as Joe's Stop and Gulp, not Mobile or Phillips, no mater what the giant sign in front of the station says.

Hospitals also have a tendency to be hard to find. You would be surprised at the number of people who think they can call and get a hospital's phone number, without even knowing the name of the hospital. Hello? Even if it's the only hospital in town, that doesn't really help. I still have to sift through every business with any connection to medicine, including pharmacies, individual doctors, even veterinarians. Hardly any hospitals actually call themselves hospitals anyway. Usually it's Blah Blah Memorial, or Blah Blah Medical Center. If you ask me, any place with doctors and nurses, where people spend the night, should automatically be called a hospital. Anyplace with doctors and nurses that just pull splinters and give exams should be called a medical center. That's the way it would be in the Land of Ruth at least.