Suddenly Makes It All Feel Worth The Hassle

You know how frustrating it is when you call a company and you keep having to prove your identity, even though you proved it to the last person? I learned why they do that a few years ago when I called to set up life insurance.

After doing a verification with the person who answered the phone:

Employee #1: “What can I do for you today?”

Me: “I’m calling about my application; I’ve got the results it was waiting on.”

Employee #1: “Great. Hold please, and I’ll transfer you to the person you were dealing with before.”

Hold went on for a while before someone answered.

Employee #2: “Hi. Am I speaking with [Not My Name]?”

Me: “No.”

Employee #2: “Well, based on your history of [detailed medical information that I absolutely should not have, especially not when I’ve just been told the person’s name]—”

Me: “Stop, stop, stop! I am not that person. I am waiting to speak to [Employee #3]. I do not know what you are talking about, but you shouldn’t be telling me this stuff.”

[Employee #2] apologised grudgingly — as if it were my fault they had picked up the wrong line — and put me on hold. I told [Employee #3] about it, and they were genuinely apologetic. Apparently, the procedure is to verify identity at every step to prevent exactly this problem.

The next time I called, they told me that [Employee #2] no longer worked there.