Is it sooooo hard?!?!?!!

[Nikepallas]

Need to vent hear.

My name is not all that hard to pronounce now at days. At one point it was VERY uncommon and people would often mispronounce it and I was calm and understanding. NOW a days it is VERY common enough for people to beable to know how to pronounce it SO when someone calls asking for me BUT use the wrong prouncement I want to scream... THey are Often trying to sell me something so now at days I just say you have the wrong number. But lately I have been getting a phone call from a department store. (ends up they confused my account with someone else's account.) Anyways they were demanding payment for stuff I did not buy and they kept calling me by the wrong name!

So after I got it straighten out I told the person to close my account.
They said I would be charged for closing my account. I said You will close my account and I will not be charged because 1st of all you proved you cannot keep your accounts straight that you have confused me with another customer and have harrassed me and 2nd of all though out all the calls you have YET to call me by my actual name.

Well, the person on the other line got all huffy and said IF your parents had enough sense to give you a PROPER name you would not have this problem.

I demanded to talk to a supervisor. They get on the phone and said they were sorry about the mistake and wanted to give me a coupon for the store and everything. I said I would not step into a store that could not take enough time or respect me enough to pronounce my name right.

They closed my account and I was told I would not be charged but I'm waiting to see if I get a bill.

Did I over react?

[Midlodemocrat]

1. You did not over react.

...but I am curious, what is your name?

[Nikepallas]

5. Jenna. In high school their were 2 of us. I have met 2 others

my age (30) with my name. I have mostly been seeing younger children having the name.

Early in life it was unusual. I was the only one with it (it seem--wasn't named after the Dallas character but actually after my Great Grandmother.)


They always pronounce it Gina. I've talk to two other Jennas who get that a lot as well now at days and they are getting as frustrated as I am.

[buckettgirl]

19. Jenna? I didn't think that was uncommon...

if ya look at it, its pretty hard to mispronounce... so it is pathetic that they did. I wonder if they call people with the name Jennifer - Ginafer....I mean duh...It's not that hard.
I can empathize with you, although my first name is easy enough, but my maiden name was always butchered, especially by people who weren't from around here...its a Volga German name (Schlyer - pronounced shlyer) Around here we have Pfiefer (piefer), Schmidt (d is silent), Dreiling (dryling), Pfannenstiel (fonensteel), Goetz (gets), Gottschalk(gutchalk).... all Volga German names and they always get butchered by people who aren't familiar with them...

[Midlodemocrat]

20. Darling, that is just plain stupid of them.

Would they pronounce Jennifer as Ginafer? What idiots.

[RagingInMiami]

2. She should be fired for saying that about your parents

[jdots]

3. NO

I tell phone goobers how to research a little before they call and get the damned name straight.If people do phone work they should be pros.

[northzax]

15. as a phone person

I do try as hard as I can to get people's names right, If I'm uncertain, I always ask "I'm sorry, did I get that right?"

[MsAnthropy]

4. It happens to everyone so, yes, you over-reacted

With the average American IQ hovering around 60, telemarketers manage to mangle every name they tackle. It happens to me and everyone I know.

[AlCzervik]

6. No you're not wrong.

My daughters name is Anastasia, granted it's not name you hear everyday but i don't think it's totally unusual. sometimes she or i will get comments from people like..."What kind of name is that!?" "Is that foreign?" People are just unthinking and ignorant sometimes.

[realisticphish]

8. they actually say that?

i mean, its not a name i hear a lot, but i am certainly aware of it. now, it CAN be hard to figure out which way it is pronounced, though


:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[AlCzervik]

10. yup and then i tell them i had a one nighter with Putin

and that usually shuts them up. Anna-stazee-uh

[realisticphish]

12. lol

and thats how i pronounce it in absence of other info


:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[buckettgirl]

21. Anastasia's a great name...

I love classical names like that, in fact we may name a child Anastasia some day. My first choice is Guinivere though.

I usually only wonder what on earth parents are thinking when it sounds like they just made up a name or take a classic name and spell it all weird.
For instance, a friend of mine has a niece that is named Kynedi (pronounced Kennedy). To me, that IS odd.
I also have 2 cousins with some different names: the girl is Jori and the boy is Javyn.

[AlCzervik]

24. Thanks, it was her Grandmothers name on her Dad's side

Here's the weird part, my family is Russian Jew and when i was growing up i was always facsinated by the story of Anastasia and i always loved that name, when i first met my husband, then boyfriend i knew he was italian but what i didn't know until like a year later that he was half polish and his mothers name was Anastasia.

[realisticphish]

7. yes and no

i feel for you; my last name ends in -uex, so we get EVERY known pronunciation. but you did overreact a little...unTIL the clerk said that. then all bets were off

:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[redqueen]

9. I don't think you overreacted.

What a rude little creep!

[the Princess]

11. I say

Unless you bought a shotgun and were on your way over - there was NO over reaction.

[warrens]

13. You think you got it bad?

I have a friend named Osama. Really.

[Nikepallas]

18. OUCH!!!! man I really feel for him.

[Modem Butterfly]

14. We have an employee with the last name Jimenez...

I got a call from a car dealer wanting to verify employment for an autoloan, and I asked for a social. They give me Mr. Jimenez' SSN, and I say, "Ah yes, Jimenez. He's been employed since..." and the lady cut me off and said, "I'm looking for JIM-en-ez, not HIM-en-ez," and I said, "I'm pretty sure it's pronounced 'him-EN-ez'" and she said, "No, he spells it with a 'j'".

:wtf:

[obreaslan]

16. No, you didn't overreact....

Listen Je...Jee...Gina...Jenenennanana, or what ever, anyway, people should give your name the respect you deserve.

Yours Truely,
Mr. Styx Myxsyxlplyx

[skygazer]

17. You did not over react

No one is ever going to offer decent service if no one demands it. It's not just about pronouncing your name - it's also about screwing up accounts and being rude by saying your parents should have given you a proper name (any idiot should be able to say "Jenna").

I work retail and so have to deal with customers every day. Some of them I'd like to throttle but it is my job to help them and to be polite. If they become abusive, I turn them over to my manager but I don't simply become abusive in return.

I don't blame you a bit. If I can provide good customer service, then by golly those who I patronize can do so as well. And we should hold them up to it.

[Dora]

22. I sympathize.

At least you have the comfort of knowing that they're true morons. My name is unusual enough that I can't get pissed at people who can't say it. I once had a landlord who, even after I lived in that apartment for three years, still couldn't get my name right and called me Diarrhea.

My name is Dreya. It sounds just like Andrea, but with out the "An" at the beginning. Or, like the Nordic Freya, but with a D instead of an F.

And then after I explain how it's pronounced, there's always the topic-diverting question, "that's such an unusual name.... is it short for anything?"

It's so hard not to get shnippy.

[Left Is Write]

23. I have never heard of being charged to close a charge account.

What a rip-off THAT would be!

If it makes you feel better, I have a common name that's been common for centuries and some people STILL can't pronounce it.