half a HAT

Ya'all know I have issues w/ language, and w/ my name. Perhaps that's why I keep running into irksome situations related to my name. Why, tell me stupid, crazy world why is it so difficult to get a name correctly spelled? Hmmm?!

Thursday night, I went to the Sprint store on Telegraph looking for a new phone b/c the current phone's battery is dying a quick death, and b/c I wanted to buy a new phone for a friend (story later). (Don't tell me how bad Sprint service is b/c I surely know very well how horrible it is, but can't get out of it unless I pay the wretched $200 early termination fee and since my entire family is on Sprint and I get free mobile to mobile and family seems like the only people who'll talk to me, I'm sorta stuck.) After an hour, I finally purchased the new phone, set up a new account, and paid for everything. Deciding on a new phone for myself was hard, but I finally chose the Rumor.

Unfortunately, this particular phone was out of stock, so I had to leave my name and phone number in order for the sales associate to call me back. (Even as I'm writing this, I'm starting to get all riled up. sheez.)

She writes down my phone number and then asks how to spell my name -- this after an hour of her working on my account, and seeing my name on the computer screen, and after hearing me spell it at least twice.

She's half listening to me as I spell the letters "H, O, A..."

and she's half looking at the contract on the table which already has my name written on it, and then I say "...and then a hyphen, then..."

at which point she stops writing and says "I'll just write that."

Come again? Excuse me?

There's only 8 letters in the name! (ok, plus a hyphen, but so what?) And, I'm spelling each letter, goodness sakes.

I have issues with this b/c it wasn't her way of writing shorthand or even writing initials. She couldn't understand how to handle a different spelling name. It confused her, and in her baffled state simply decided to cut it short. And, it was like she was in a rush to get it done and over with, to quicken the pace and speed up the process, she'll just cut out the rest of my name as she writes her note. (I can't wait to see how she's going to figure out how to pronounce half my name when she calls me to say the phone's arrived.)

First of all, that's not my name. Second, leaving it as is my mother's name. And I am not my mother. Not. Third, who does that? I mean, when I meet someone named Laura Grace or Mary-Anne, I wouldn't just decide to cut them off in the midst of spelling their name and write "Mary-" as if that's enough. Oh, yeah, was that your full name, oh sorry about that, I'm "linguistically challenged" and didn't learn my alphabet so I'm just going to change your name for you so that I can better deal with something so different from my own context.

It was like having a limb cut off. Am I exaggerating? Yes. Am I just a *tad* upset? Yessss. Do I feel like something personal has been taken from me? Well, sort of. It's illogical and unreasonable, but it feels that way. What right, I ask you. What right allows them to do that? Or, what ignorance allows them to do that?

Where I come from, names are important, and you don't just change people's names (well, not like that you don't). In customer service, I'd say that's not a smart move.

I would not presume such liberties. Or, I hope I would never do that. In my angry haze, I feel like you have to demonstrate a modicum of respect and courtesy for one another through the use of proper names and titles. I mean, you great one another with certain names and titles -- it is a way of addressing each other with politeness and respect.

Plus, I would know that some folks would get really pissed off. I would also know how to spell someone's name, especially while they're spelling it out loud for me.

I didn't bother correcting her b/c it would embarrass her and would be a moot point b/c she would have no idea how significant this is for me.

I just muttered things in my head. In Vietnamese. Which she would never be able to spell out.

After this, I better get my phone.