When I call my eye doctor for an appointment, they don’t ask for my name first. They ask for my birth date first. How brilliant is that? Now they are immediately down to 1/365 of the possible patients and we don’t have to go back and forth about how to spell my last name, which they are otherwise likely to question and/or “fix” as they go: they see it on their short list.
I don’t know what the lesson is in this. I just think it’s thinking outside the box and that it’s cool. Maybe you know where you can use this trick or maybe you’ll just question something you’ve “always done that way.” Let me know!
Jane's Lessons Learned 
When American Airlines checks a bag at the gate for a customer they ask for the passengers seat assignment, not their last name. We do verify the name and final destination after, But their seat is the most specific detail we have about each customer. There are lots of Smith’s and Patel’s in the world and an abundance of people heading to Tampa, but only one person sitting in 14A.
Fun to think about the strategic aspect of this practice. Now to see how I might apply the ‘lesson’ similarly in my own day-to-day living.