Not consultancy related, but hey a bit of fun as we near the weekend!I have an important question (well to me anyway) – more of a problem actually… ...I have a date this weekend - a girl I meet last week, but I have forgotten her name...not good!!! Not that I was that drunk but for some reason when she said it to me my mind went blank... So can anyone think of a smart way to find her name out while talking to her without having to straight out ask her??? This is time you put your gifted minds to good use!! Help me!

It must be love!

This is one of the most important questions I have seen asked on this forum.My suggestions:1. Call her mobile and write down what she says when she answers it. Better still, record the whole thing. If you are worried she'll identify you, put 141 in front of her number when you dial2. Ask any of her mates who were there at the same time.3. Google her mobile - you might get lucky if she has a web presence of any kind. Ditto her home tel no4. If you know the company she works for etc, look on their website for clues. If there are none, call and ask them her name as you met her at a client's site etc.5. Ask one of your mates if they remember.6. When you meet, ask to see some form of ID, proving she's over 18.7. Take a friend with you to the date. Get him / her to approach the woman and ak if she's Joe's mate Sue. A quick thinking individual will then find out her name, go round the corner and text you.8. Ask her to book a restaurant and then call them up and ask what name the booking is under.9 Get ready to grovel. Set the tone for your relationship.

I had this same problem only a short while ago and what worked was simply to brazen it out - what were you going to do anyway, use her name at the end of every sentence? Sooner or later she will drop her name into conversation and bingo you have it. Get some booz in her as well, and if in fact she does suddenly realise you dont know her name she will be - hopefully - in a good mood and will be more forgiving...

If you have her number then just prank it, or get a friend to:"Hello is this [insert relevant fantasy name]?" and then use common sense to work it from there.I'm guessing you probably don't have her number as you would have thought of this, and so may have pre-arranged a date to meet - bit trickier. This has happened to me before, but within 45 mins of meeting someone. Got out of it by talking about photos, then 'are you photogenic?. Whatever the case, chuckle and give it a cheeky 'can I see your driving licence/passport etc?'. Show her yours and pretend to be generally amused. Bond formed, and ulterior motive achieved. It's lame, but it worked.

Confess all, profess yourself to be an inexcusable and insufferable version of the male gender and throw yourself upon her mercy.Good luck, last time I tried this approach I ended up getting married to the girl in question...

Why do you need to know her name anyway?

I had this problem with a girl from Slovakia. So I asked her to spell her name for me.....SMITH - she married an English guy.

Ask her how her mother and father came about giving her, her name and you really like it...... she'll repeat her name and if its plain like Sarah or something you just nod and go yea I really like it did they name you after someone famous??? You've given her a compliment and found her name out. God I need a promotion

Jstone,You call her mobile tomorrowSCENARIO 1: STEP 1.1 she replies: you chat some did-le-do about the date, the time, or change of venue or whatever. STEP 1.2 Your colleague/friend calls her whilst you're in conversation with her. The voicemail kicks in: "Hi you've reached XXXX..."SCENARIO 2: STEP 2.1 she doesn't reply: well, just go back to STEP 1.2, and you've got her name!Either way, hope it goes well!

Option 1 - Dial 141 before her number (to make it withheld) and call her at 4am. Hopefully you'll reach voicemail with a personalised greeting. Alternatively, call when you think she might be on the underground or out of reception.Option 2 - Get a friend to call and then launch straight into "Hiya, I've got the presentation ready to go, in a bit of a rush but do you want it sent to Michael or David or both?". She'll then reply "WTF" or something similar and your friend then asks "Hello? Is this Lauren? I've got through to the right number yes?". She'll then reply "no, wrong number" and he then asks "Oh, who have I got through to then out of interest? What's your name then? Can I check that number again?". Basically try and social engineer it so that she doesn't feel threatened into giving her name, just to confirm it's the "wrong number". Very stalker-like but it might work.Option 3 - Google her based on what limited info you might have. Probably won't work though. Do you know where she works or anything that might help you find related info? Option 4 - Blag it for a few weeks... just call her "hiya" or something until you see her pay for something.Option 5 - My second favourite one - Give her a missed call from your home landline (NOT your mobile). Let the phone ring twice or something then hang up. When she calls you back, ask "Who is this" or say "The line's really bad... I can't hear you... who is this?". With any luck, you'll then get the confirmation you need. If you don't hear it the first time around, say "Can you repeat that? I didn't quite hear". Do Option 1, then Option 5.

Ned - If it's a mobile, then your scenario 1 might not work. She might just have call waiting kick in. But you're right... if she rejects the call then it may well go to voicemail. Could look a bit dodgy though, esp if she doesn't normally receive many calls on her mobile?

amazing work lads!Am going to have to pick a couple to try out, or I will end up spending the whole date using tricks to find her name and forget why I'm there!Mac - I think my motives are something less romantic for the 1st date ;)Decas - Amazing amount of suggestions!1. Good idea but doubt she will say her name wihtout any chat from me2. Dont know her mates3. Googled the mobile - no joy4. She is last year of uni - nothing on website5. My mates were off thier rocker6. I like this idea - she is also a part-time model while at uni, so it works well with that banter...could joke about how model photos are all touched up - not like real life?! may get a slap tho! hmmm...7. My mates would not be so kind, they would happily tell her what is going on!8. Think a girl was be gutted if I made her make plans for the first date9. May have to be done...ha.Mars A Day - She doesnt really drink (so she says) which I can see causing me numerous problems from now in...otherwise a great option.Seeker - Possibility here, but don't want to arouse suspicison - as I am not good at multiple accents, dont want to drift into my own...Imi - Risky option, but could be well worth the risk...always could be good banter...either that or she won't come back from the bathroom later on...Ma Student - You Dog you.LA - Would work well with foreign girls, but if her name is 'Lucy' or something she will think I have the brain power of an 8 year old child..Tony - You have made a problem into something I can even score points with...you my friend need to start charging for this!Ned Flanders - You have done this before...this is a definate option!Sophie - May well try option 1 and 5...tho I think option 3 is a no, as my texts during this week just saying 'hiya' and 'hey' are getting tiresome and more obvious each time, ha.----------------------------------------------From your array of awesome suggestions I am going to try:1. Ringing her voicemail (after I ring from my house phone) to see if she has a personalised message with her name...2. Go for the compliment of her name and ask if it is after anyone etc...3. Be honest and see what happens......Will just have to see how it goes!!--------------------------------------------------------Great work lads...indebted for your help - now just to get on with the date :)

Easy. I've had to do this - worked....You'll need a stooge wherever you meet her. Get said stooge to introduce himself/herself (thus getting your date's name in return) then make a polite and rapid exit.Show's you're happy for her to meet friends etc which gives you a couple of 'seems normal' brownie points.Good luck

How does that work then? Surely as the mutual contact, your role would be to facilitate the introduction?I can imagine it going:"Hi again *mwah*. Hey, meet my friend. This is Dave. Dave, meet... uh... erm... *pause* thingy".

Ahh the answer my friend is in technology! I had this problem a while back.... the solution is, get her to add you as a friend on facebook, hey presto you know her name, and you can check out her mates!Or tell her its difficult to text at work, give her your email address, and get her to mail you!

NICE ONE! That is an AWESOME idea! And so simple too!!Just ask for her e-mail address!!!!!!!!Hats off to DJD. Well done!

DJD what can I say...awesome! Problem sorted already - have got her name now ;) amazing idea...

This is a heart-warming thread indeed! I trust JStone will keep us periodically informed of developments to brighten our days. Could be the Top-Consultant equivalent of the old Nescafe adverts, with everyone just dying to know the next twist in the tale?!Your next update eagerly awaited!

ahah, no worries! what can i say, I live to add value, well that and i spend a lot of time drunk, trying it on with girls ;-)Good luck!

Erm - can I just point out that it took 19 replies and a whole stack of options from MCs to get to, what is in effect, a really simple solution to a problem...Am scared about what this says about us...

ErmIn my opinion, no need to be "scared about what this says about us..." as the 'client' states, just one day after posting the question:"...what can I say...awesome!...Problem sorted already...;) amazing idea..."Outcome fully achieved. The rest is not up to us!D

So...what was the outcome JStone? Was she nice?

Sorry meant to update on Monday...The date went v well - great girl - so got another one lined up for this week again! sweet...Although I certainly cannot take all the credit for securing the 2nd date...knowing her name was a key base for me to work on of course ;) great work again lads!!! awesome.