Ironically (being a former pilot), I DID use radio phonetics when spelling out my name - I just wish ALL call centre staff used the same baseline too.. :)
Me: That's ABCD as in Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta.
Them: So, that's Alpha, Burger, er, Charles, Diamond??
That's one of my pet peeves... There's an official phonetic letter system, why don't they train these people in call centers to use them?
My last job used radios for site communication, and everyone had to use the NATO phonetics, and was provided with a cheat sheet for learning. You'd think that would be something they could tape up in every cube in a call center...
Me: That's ABCD as in Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta. Them: So, that's Alpha, Burger, er, Charles, Diamond??