Car 54 Where Are You?

Car 54 Where Are You?

If you were born prior to the 50’s, you may remember a sit-com filmed in black and white about two New York cops and their exploits in the city. As they pursued criminals and responded to various neighborhood incidents there was always the prescribed call on their radio – “Car 54 where are you?” Back in those days televisions shows were light hearted and of course shallow and that’s what we called entertainment.

Now wind the clock to the present and many of us pose a similar question when we are on the phone with representatives of various companies. For example, when I get in contact with a rep I always ask – “where are you located?” In that regard, I have spoken to people in Romania, the Philippines, India, Canada, and even locations in the U.S.A. including Rock Island, Illinois of all places. For whatever reason, there are some people, mainly in America, that are reluctant or actually refuse to tell you where they are located.

Why do I find this so perplexing? I just like to form a bond with the reps because I have learned that doing so often times gets you a better outcome on a transaction or a reduced rate on a payment. The rep feels like you a friend and you might just get the so-called “friends and family rate”. Trust me, it works.

What is interesting though are the reps who will not disclose where they are located. I spoke to a rep the other day who offered that she was located in Michigan. When I asked “where in Michigan”, she demurred and stated that they are not allowed to give out their specific location. Do you find this strange? I sure do! Does the management actually think that once supplied with this information I plan on making a personal visit for a better deal?

The rep in this case indicated that even if she would like to disclose her location, all the calls are recorded and thus someone would discover that she revealed this top secret location. Heck, we know where most of the super-secret missile silos are in the United States but trying to discover the location of a rep in a utility or grocery store call center is apparently taboo!

So give it a try next time you are on the phone with a sales rep. Ask for their location. And unless they are somehow in a Secret Witness Protection Program, I would think that they would reveal their location. Just maybe though the reps in Romania and India and the Philippines have no concern about our flying there to confront them on some type of dispute. And by the way, when you get those scam calls from the IRS or Rachel from card services, tell the rep you are in Romania and that should end the call!