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This took place exactly 3 days before I gave birth to my daughter, which happened to be on her due date, so I was nearly 10 months pregnant. Any woman who has been pregnant can tell you that at this stage, you take 0 crap from anyone. You are tired, swollen in places you can no longer reach, your clothes are tight across the belly, which now has corners, you have to pee every second and you can only eat three bites before you're full. I was miserable and I was working up until my due date only because if I'd been stuck at home all day with nothing better to do, my husband was afraid I would need to be committed.
So, that lays the groundwork for my frame of mind. The verification process at my company is fairly strict, with a few exceptions. They insist on the telephone number being verfied. However, if you absolutely don't know the number, we will accept other information, and then we will update the number and then, finally we can move on and assist you with your problem. 99.9% of the time, this works out.
I answered the phone, customer said he needed whatever, and I asked for his telephone number. I will be playing the part of myself (imagine) and this "man" will play the part of the SC.
SC: "What for?"
Me: "Just to access your account, sir."
SC: "What!? Why would you ask for a phone number?"
Me: "That's company policy, sir. If you do not remember the number-"
SC: "What!? That's ridiculous."
Me: "I'm sorry you feel that way, sir. If you do not remember the number-"
SC: "So what you're saying is, if I take a woman out on a date, and I give her my number, she could call you up and access my account and just do whatever she wanted to it?"
Me: wondering why in the world your random hookup would want to do this, but stranger things have happened "We do have other information we request for verification, but that is possible, I suppose. I am sorry if your upset by our process. I can certainly pass that information along to my manager. If you don't remember the number-"
SC: "What if I don't, or if I changed the number since I set up the account? You telling me I just can't access it? That's ridiculous! I can't believe you idiots ask for a telephone number! Who does that?"
Me: "Sir, if you don't remember the telephone number-"
SC: "Forget it! Cancel my account!"
Me: "Sir, I am sorry to hear that you want to discontinue your service. However, I haven't accessed your account. So...if you don't remember your telephone number-"
SC: "Just forget everything! I've been a customer for years and this has ruined everything good about this company! God, you people make me sick!"
And he hung up on me. Without ever allowing me to finish the sentence that would have advised him that his account number/address/name would have sufficed if he truly did not know the number. However, my skeptical nature/experience leads me to be wary of the fact that he was that upset about me asking him for his telephone number. He mentioned being a customer for years. I have worked here for 6 years-4 1/2 when this call took place-and we have always required a phone number so if he had ever called before, he would have been asked the same question. That used to actually be our greeting, just a request for a phone number before any offer to help was extended. But maybe he was just a jerk.
So, that lays the groundwork for my frame of mind. The verification process at my company is fairly strict, with a few exceptions. They insist on the telephone number being verfied. However, if you absolutely don't know the number, we will accept other information, and then we will update the number and then, finally we can move on and assist you with your problem. 99.9% of the time, this works out.
I answered the phone, customer said he needed whatever, and I asked for his telephone number. I will be playing the part of myself (imagine) and this "man" will play the part of the SC.
SC: "What for?"
Me: "Just to access your account, sir."
SC: "What!? Why would you ask for a phone number?"
Me: "That's company policy, sir. If you do not remember the number-"
SC: "What!? That's ridiculous."
Me: "I'm sorry you feel that way, sir. If you do not remember the number-"
SC: "So what you're saying is, if I take a woman out on a date, and I give her my number, she could call you up and access my account and just do whatever she wanted to it?"
Me: wondering why in the world your random hookup would want to do this, but stranger things have happened "We do have other information we request for verification, but that is possible, I suppose. I am sorry if your upset by our process. I can certainly pass that information along to my manager. If you don't remember the number-"
SC: "What if I don't, or if I changed the number since I set up the account? You telling me I just can't access it? That's ridiculous! I can't believe you idiots ask for a telephone number! Who does that?"
Me: "Sir, if you don't remember the telephone number-"
SC: "Forget it! Cancel my account!"
Me: "Sir, I am sorry to hear that you want to discontinue your service. However, I haven't accessed your account. So...if you don't remember your telephone number-"
SC: "Just forget everything! I've been a customer for years and this has ruined everything good about this company! God, you people make me sick!"
And he hung up on me. Without ever allowing me to finish the sentence that would have advised him that his account number/address/name would have sufficed if he truly did not know the number. However, my skeptical nature/experience leads me to be wary of the fact that he was that upset about me asking him for his telephone number. He mentioned being a customer for years. I have worked here for 6 years-4 1/2 when this call took place-and we have always required a phone number so if he had ever called before, he would have been asked the same question. That used to actually be our greeting, just a request for a phone number before any offer to help was extended. But maybe he was just a jerk.
I never once gave in 
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