[Russ]

It's essential to get the extension number and/or supervisor's names - it's the easist thing in the world for them to tell you whatever you want to hear in order to get you off the phone. Just taking their first names isn't good enough (they aren't supposed to give surnames) so it's best to get as much info as possible, even though the 'bad apples' are in the minority. Although this isn't restricted to NTL of course...