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Oct. 10th, 2005 12:17 pmI thought I would be able to avoid work-related stupidity over the holiday long weekend, but I accidentally activated my corporate credit card today. Technically this isn't work-related stupidity as much as it is American Express related stupidity, but here's a brief transcript (paraphrased slightly for brevity) of the transaction.
[ring][ring]
AE: THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING AMERICAN EXPRESS. (Could the have made that any louder?)
AE: (en français) La même chose. (and something about pressing "2")
AE: THIS CALL WILL BE RECORDED FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE PURPOSES.
AE: YOU MUST HAVE YOUR OLD CARD AND NEW CARD PRESENT IN ORDER TO COMPLETE THIS PROCESS.
ME: (Hangs up and toddles off to fetch the old card.)
[ring][ring]
AE: REDUX
AE: TO BEGIN THE ACTIVATION PROCESS, ENTER THE 15-DIGIT CLIENT NUMBER ON YOUR CARD.
ME: [beep][beep].. etc.
AE: PLEASE ENTER YOUR MOTHER'S 4-DIGIT BIRTH DATE. FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOUR MOTHER'S BIRTHDAY IS JANUARY 24TH THEN YOU WILL ENTER 0104.
ME: [beep][beep][beep][beep]
AE: [long pause] THANK YOU. YOUR CARD IS NOW ACTIVE.
...
Wait a minute. Which part of this call were they recording, and for that matter, at what point in the process did I need the old card? Maybe they were just covering all of their bases in case the procedure ever changed. Why stop at asking for a card that you don't need, though.
"IN ORDER TO COMPLETE THIS PROCESS YOU WILL NEED A WORKING KNOWLEDGE OF VOODOO."
"IN ORDER TO COMPLETE THIS PROCESS YOU WILL NEED A CURRENT, BINARY PRINTOUT OF YOUR FULL GENOME."
[ring][ring]
AE: THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING AMERICAN EXPRESS. (Could the have made that any louder?)
AE: (en français) La même chose. (and something about pressing "2")
AE: THIS CALL WILL BE RECORDED FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE PURPOSES.
AE: YOU MUST HAVE YOUR OLD CARD AND NEW CARD PRESENT IN ORDER TO COMPLETE THIS PROCESS.
ME: (Hangs up and toddles off to fetch the old card.)
[ring][ring]
AE: REDUX
AE: TO BEGIN THE ACTIVATION PROCESS, ENTER THE 15-DIGIT CLIENT NUMBER ON YOUR CARD.
ME: [beep][beep].. etc.
AE: PLEASE ENTER YOUR MOTHER'S 4-DIGIT BIRTH DATE. FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOUR MOTHER'S BIRTHDAY IS JANUARY 24TH THEN YOU WILL ENTER 0104.
ME: [beep][beep][beep][beep]
AE: [long pause] THANK YOU. YOUR CARD IS NOW ACTIVE.
...
Wait a minute. Which part of this call were they recording, and for that matter, at what point in the process did I need the old card? Maybe they were just covering all of their bases in case the procedure ever changed. Why stop at asking for a card that you don't need, though.
"IN ORDER TO COMPLETE THIS PROCESS YOU WILL NEED A WORKING KNOWLEDGE OF VOODOO."
"IN ORDER TO COMPLETE THIS PROCESS YOU WILL NEED A CURRENT, BINARY PRINTOUT OF YOUR FULL GENOME."
