What’s my name?

 

Story number one…

A few pieces of mail arrived recently at my home as well as the homes of family members. What I saw on the outside of them concerned me.

A catalogue was one of the items retrieved. Label said it was for someone that had passed away several years ago. We knew she had ordered from the company, so the idea of a catalogue wasn’t too strange on the surface. What did catch my attention was three pieces of information presented in the labeling setup.

First, it referenced a customer number. The identifying of it as a customer number suggests that it was part of an account record, which would mean information exclusive to this person.

Second, it included a promotional code. Inside the pages were notes saying that the promotion was essentially a reward for her long-time loyalty to the company.

Third, the second line in the mailing address area indicated that it was for her “or current resident”.

Umm…

A company sends something out indicating that it has been personalized based on the account of frequent customer, with rewards associated with that business, but if anyone that receives it wants to use it that would be fine.

So, the current resident can essentially act like the intended recipient? Sounds a bit falsification of identity to me, but ok. Moving on…

Story number two…

Person I know bought a car. It was totaled after an accident. The incident ended up being brought to the attention of the dealership he purchased it from when some arrangements involving that very vehicle needed to be wrapped up.

Yup. He went, personally, down to the dealership and sat in an office and discussed that the vehicle was no more. Officially off the road and gone.

This was the only transaction he had ever had with this brand of vehicle and this dealership. He had made no purchases there previously and has made no purchases there since.

About a year after everything was finished, a text message arrived. It was from the dealership, explained they hadn’t seen him in a while and would like to offer him a discounted oil change service. A few hours later, a second text arrived, as a nudge of sorts to let him know it was a limited time offer.

Story number three…

I recently updated some information on a variety of websites, including a few specializing in employment, job postings and professional networking. The unsolicited emails began arriving soon after.

One person has emailed me multiple times about opportunities that may interest me. She explained that she had thoroughly reviewed my information and was impressed with my qualifications. In the last line, her email included the condition that I had to be a resident of Canada in order to apply. You know, a country that… while lovely and pleasant… is most definitely not the one I list as the country I reside in.

Another company continues to express interest in employing me as a registered nurse or an anesthesiologist. (This one requires a bit of dot connecting, because as you may have figured out, I have never been a nurse or a doctor or in any way administered anesthesia.) Years ago, I did work in a few places related to the medical field. One of them was an operating room. Somehow, this company’s software had to be interpreting the wording in my work history in a way that licensed me as a nurse. Expand from there.

As if those two examples weren’t enough to get you wondering about software, quality reviews, algorithms and artificial intelligence, I have one more.

In the past week, a person has emailed me three times about contract work that matches my special skills and talents. Her clients were looking for individuals and businesses just like mine. Further details showed she was looking for acrobats, gymnasts, balloon artists and more to appear at a private outdoor party, a business conference, and a second private party that was indoors at a home. Unlike the anesthesia opportunity, I have yet to sort out how this idea was matched to me.

At the heart of these three stories is a very concerning foundation. People have access to our information. And that information is being used in strikingly haphazard and ill-informed fashion. At best, the software development is off. At worst, it’s just horrible stuff from people that have no ability to troubleshoot, problem-solve, or conceptualize around what’s resulting.

A deceased person’s account and rewards being offered to the current resident. Services for a car that hasn’t been on the road in a year and was reported as totaled to the company offering the services. Employment opportunities being discussed that have no connection at all with any of the qualifications on display.

Even when I joke around or complain about advancements in the world and specifically technology, the reality is I have great respect for the folks leading most of these developments. They are asking questions, exploring opportunities, and creating products that are literally changing the world and how we experience things. All of that said, these accomplishments make it even more striking when they are so obviously used poorly. An observant “maybe we should be careful about” idea expressed at a marketing meeting, or, three or four pieces of data entered and a few options enabled by someone in the IT department.

What might be even more scary however, isn’t how easily they could be cleaned up. Instead, it’s that they haven’t been cleaned up. Because that implies companies and individuals that should be capable of doing better just aren’t hitting minimum expectations and have no desire to clean up collateral mess. It’s confirmation that no matter how many steps we take forward, the garbage-in-means-garbage-out user error limitations can bring it crashing in embarrassing and reckless ways.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get the oil changed on my car before heading to a party where I’ll take a stack of my published books and attempt to juggle. At least I will, once I find out how much the job pays.

 

If you have any comments or questions, please e-mail me at Bob@inmybackpack.com