What’s in a name?
If your name is ISIS, beware. Your business may be vandalized. You may have your Facebook account locked. People may give you dirty looks because they assume you are associated with the terrorist group. It’s bad enough when it happens out of ignorance. But when a computer assumes your name is wrong or you’re using a word incorrectly, maybe we’ve gone too far with the filters.
Invalid name
According to The Consumerist, Leonard Slutsky attempted to order an item from Macy’s via their online store. The computer told him that his last name was invalid. Slutsky tweeted “I’m offended that @Macys thinks my last name is invalid” and got a response from a social media representative but the individual did not follow up. Slutsky completed his order through live chat, where a company representative had to finalize the order. Who wants to do that every time you order from a website?
Macy’s “doesn’t know why” it happened
Macy’s tried to say that they didn’t know why the computer flagged the last name as “invalid” and basically told Consumerist that they were busy with the holiday rush. It was suggested that a profanity filter was the reason the name was disallowed, but Macy’s did not confirm this.
Matthew Slutsky, Owner/President at BuzzBuzzHome reports “I had more issues about 5 years ago. Every now and then, I can’t create online accounts. But, pretty far and few between these days. I also appear in people’s spam sometimes due to my last name.”
Filters gone too far
Whether your name is Isis and you’ve had your Facebook account locked, or your last name is Slutsky, and you can’t place a simple order, this isn’t right. I’m not sure what the answer is, but there has to be a solution. Sure, it’s fun in junior high to make fun of someone’s name when you know them well enough, but it’s time to grow up at some point and let them take care of their business.
