Conversation with my auto insurance customer representative (CR) regarding the hole in my windshield which desperately needs to be fixed (see post: Mile 1,380/ Km 2,221 (Yukon Territory & British Columbia) .
CR: What make is your vehicle?
WS: '96 Toyota Tacoma
CR: Where did the chip happen?
WS: When I was driving through the Yukon on my way to Colorado from Alaska.
CR: No, where did the chip happen?
WS: The Yukon Territory.
CR: No, not the make of the car, where?
WS: Um...the Yukon Territory is a Province of Canada - it's kind of like a state in the US.
CR: I thought you meant you were driving your Yukon car when it happened. So the Yukon is a state?
WS: Um, my vehicle is a Tacoma. The Yukon is a territory of Canada, it is similar to a state.
CR: Why were you driving in Canada?
WS: You have to drive through Canada to get to Colorado from Alaska.
CR: Are you sure?
WS: Quite.
CR: So what date did this happen??
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this reminds me of the man you met in Alaska who had dressed for warm weather in some cold month, believing that Alaska was next to Hawaii (since that's where the Alaska insert shows up on most maps of the US) and therefore, should be warm.
ReplyDeleteThat is way too funny. Thank you (as she wipes the tears from her eyes)
ReplyDelete"Quite." pushed the post over the edge from delightful into exquisite. Nicely done.
ReplyDeleteI love when people ask "are you sure" about something you have actually done. never mind the fact that DUH! geography 101 people!
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if I should horrify your US readers by telling you that I have actually, really, my personal self, been asked by a guy in America if Australia is a state in England. Sorry to tell you, but it actually happened a few years ago when I was over in the US.
ReplyDeleteGives me the creepies :(
ReplyDeleteDon't think it's funny. I mean, the post is funny but when you finish reading it and start thinking about the level of ignorance... It's a planetary trend though, I don't think is exclusively a US thing, they're making us more and more ignorant all over the world.
This is so hilarious that I just had to chime in with a comment after months of silence. Thanks for the laugh, and geez.
ReplyDeleteGo look at the conversation on Jo(e)'s page for comic relief from this one.
ReplyDeleteI am still laughing. [from both ]
FA
froghair, oh yes. It does.
ReplyDeletebrigindo, it's the better for being shared.
post-doc, why thank you. :)
madge, as if we will suddenly not be sure!
parlance, I believe it. Sadly, but truly.
jonzie, indeed, the sad state of the knowledge of the world is a bit worrisome.
saxifraga, good to hear from you!!! Hope all is well.
fireant, I'm going...right now.
good luck with this. I had a similar conversation with a waitress when I requested lemon wedges to go with fried fish.
ReplyDeleteWow. I'd forgotten how geographically clueless some Americans are. I've befuddled people with African geography, but this is a whole new level of ignorance. Thanks for that.
ReplyDeleteWell, I guess there's a reason certain people end up answering the phone at an insurance company. That's hilarious.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I can't tell you how many times when I tried to order something over the phone when I lived up there, that the person would say - "We don't deliver outside the U.S." - not 'outside the lower 48' which is what they probably meant. And for a long time, UPS didn't deliver up there, which didn't help things any.
ReplyDeleteHey!
ReplyDelete(I eventually snagged some time to catch up You've been busy!)
In a way, I'm reassured to learn that any phone call to car insurers involves a high risk of one's brian dribbling out one's ear whilst waiting for the person on the other end to evolve into a suitable species to converse with. Mind you, yours is a particularly special example of this behaviour.
(Apologies to all the non-infuriating car insurance call centre workers out there. I'm sure there must be at least three of you...)
That's hilarious...LOL! Although I'm sure it's funnier to us than it was to you at the time....
ReplyDeleteWow. Just wow.
ReplyDeleteI was once asked if Illinois was in South America. By an Australian.
ReplyDeleteHilarious!
ReplyDeleteMy Scottish friend was once asked by an American "oh yes, Scotland - that's in England, right?" (Although I confess the whole England / UK / Britain thing can be a little confusing).
And I've heard of US tourists being OUTRAGED that there are "American Eagles" in Canada. Erm, Bald Eagles don't recognise no border, man.
ms chica, they didn't think lemon wedges went with fish???
ReplyDeletedr lemming, it is amazing how ignorant some people are of geography.
hypoglycemia girl, perhaps that explains it.
silver fox, oh, yes, a very common experience. Did you ever get people who asked you what currency you were using? That was my favorite.
but why, hi! Glad you have some time to catch up. And yes, my brain dribbled.
mad hatter, oh, I was amused, indeed, more amused then impatient.
qt, indeed.
jenny f. scientist, ah yes, geographic ignorance is by no means limited to this continent but it is always more astounding when it comes from folks who presumably had a bit of an education.
cae, damn American Eagles, who do they think they are?? Grin.
somehow i'm really not surprised....
ReplyDeletebijoutery, welcome! And thanks for commenting. No, I wasn't really surprised either.
ReplyDeleteI've got tear running down my face - thanks :)
ReplyDeletePeople should read this.
ReplyDelete