When abroad, the average Brit can often come unstuck - lost passports, robberies or an injury sustained in the pursuit of the ultimate night out.
In such an emergency, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is there to provide advice and guidance, dealing with half a million calls to consulates around the world last year.
But there's a key word in there - emergency.
In order to help the British public define what one actually is, the Foreign Office has provided 10 astounding real-life examples of what definitely isn't.
1) The man moving to Spain who was worried he would encounter nudists walking through streets.
2) The homesick ex-pat who wanted to know where he could buy English bacon.
3) The lady in Lebanon looking for help to recruit an English butler.
4) The holidaymaker trying to find travel advice for Coventry.
5) The European filmmaker looking for an English pensioner to play a part in his new film.
6) The woman who was disappointed the British Embassy has not sent someone to give her a tour of St. Petersburg on her arrival in Russia.
7) The British man asking for assistance to get illegal employment in Singapore.
8) The mother who asked for the contact details of a young British YouTuber, as her son was a fan of his Minecraft videos.
9) The confused businessman looking for information on the construction of plug sockets.
10) The man in South Korea asking what he could do with his old pound notes.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister James Duddridge said: "Our consular staff are a helpful bunch and do an amazing job helping out Brits in trouble around the world – but it is important that people remember they are there to help with genuine emergencies and not as an alternative to directory enquiries.
"Every minute they spend handling a call requesting advice on butlers or nudists is time taken away from dealing with life and death cases, so I urge the public to think before picking up the phone."