Mikefule
Abominable Snowman
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2009
- Messages
- 583
- Reaction score
- 1,749
- Points
- 149
- Location
- Lincolnshire UK
A remarkable coincidence on Wednesday at work.
The background: I spent about 37 years in a job dealing with customers by phone and in person in their homes, then took early retirement and now work 3 days a week in a customer service role taking an average of just over 50 phone calls a day. I have spoken to thousands of customers.
On Wednesday, I had a phone call from a Mr Derham. I noticed his surname because it is fairly unusual, and because I used to live near East Dereham and I have the sort of mind that makes quick associations between words that have similarities. Of course, I cannot be certain, but I'm pretty sure that in roughly 40 years in the workplace, I had never spoken to anyone of that name before. I would have noticed because of the similarity to Dereham.
My very next call (I keep a list of calls received and it was literally the next call) was from Mrs Derham. She had no reference number but offered me a postcode. I started to say, "Oh, I've got the reference here on my pad from when Mr Derham just called" before I realised that she had given a postcode for a different area of the country.
So, roughly 40 years without ever speaking to someone of that name, then two in a row, completely independently of each other.
The background: I spent about 37 years in a job dealing with customers by phone and in person in their homes, then took early retirement and now work 3 days a week in a customer service role taking an average of just over 50 phone calls a day. I have spoken to thousands of customers.
On Wednesday, I had a phone call from a Mr Derham. I noticed his surname because it is fairly unusual, and because I used to live near East Dereham and I have the sort of mind that makes quick associations between words that have similarities. Of course, I cannot be certain, but I'm pretty sure that in roughly 40 years in the workplace, I had never spoken to anyone of that name before. I would have noticed because of the similarity to Dereham.
My very next call (I keep a list of calls received and it was literally the next call) was from Mrs Derham. She had no reference number but offered me a postcode. I started to say, "Oh, I've got the reference here on my pad from when Mr Derham just called" before I realised that she had given a postcode for a different area of the country.
So, roughly 40 years without ever speaking to someone of that name, then two in a row, completely independently of each other.