We’ve all been there, right? We get a phone call or an email or a text that’s clearly for someone else.
Whether that someone else meant to give the wrong email or number is irrelevant, but it can sometimes be way too hard to correct the error.
This person started getting emails from a US company.
Happened a few years ago, and was very frustrating.
Out of the blue, I get this email from some internet company in the US (I don’t even live in that country) thanking me for signing up with them.
I think they were called Centurylink, or something. Anyway, they don’t exist in my country.
He tried emailing back.
Needless to say, I didn’t sign up with them, so I helpfully replied and said my name isn’t Douglas, and they have the wrong email.
And figured that would solve it.
Nope.
They kept sending me emails meant for this Douglas dude.
They 100% ignored any communication from me multiple times telling them they have the wrong email.
He tried chatting, only for them to tell him they couldn’t change the email without him being able to answer security questions.
I eventually looked up their website, clicked on their chat link, and spent the better part of 2 hours out of my life that I’ll never get back telling them that they have the wrong email.
They said they couldn’t remove the email without the customer’s permission, due to “security” reasons.
But they’re quite okay sending me their customer’s information in their emails.
I pointed that out to them, and they said that’s all right, because they don’t send sensitive information via email.
So…. in other words, these people were quite okay with continuing to send me someone else’s emails.
They had zero interest in fixing it.
He wasn’t sure what to do next – but then they asked him to verify an appointment.
So I let that stew for a while, and one day I get yet another email from these people.
I glanced at it. It was confirmation for an appointment for their techs to come out and do something, I forget what.
I was about to delete the email, when I noticed a little link that said if I wanted to cancel the appointment, click here.
All righty, then! Time for some petty revenge! I cancelled the appointment.
I chuckled to myself thinking of Douglas taking time off work or whatever out of his day to be home for that appointment that never occurred..
And I pictured him calling the company and yelling at them for not showing up, and the company telling him that he cancelled the appointment himself from the email they sent.
Anyway, shortly after that, no more emails from these people. So, win, I guess.
Reddit is going to love it, right?
You have to make them listen.
They kind of asked for it.
Makes you want to change your name.
This person went above and beyond.
Why is this so hard?
It should not be this hard.
Sometimes this modern world is too frustrating.
If you liked that story, check out this post about an oblivious CEO who tells a web developer to “act his wage”… and it results in 30% of the workforce being laid off.