Hello, this is Stan, from the Dinglemunch blog

So here's one little thing that bugs me at work.

Across the cubicle wall from me is an employee who works in the Payroll department, and one of her jobs is to the Payroll help desk line. I hear her half of every conversation. The thing that bugs me is that when she answers the phone, she says, "Hello, this is Laura* from Payroll." Now why, if someone is calling a Payroll help desk, does Laura need to identify herself as being from Payroll? Don't you think that the caller already assumes this?

I can understand it when she's calling someone else—they answer the phone, she says, "This is Laura from Payroll," and they now know who is calling. But those who call her are calling the Payroll department with a payroll-related question. There's no need to be redundant, Laura.

*Not her real name