Wireless What?

I have to confess that I bought my first ever notebook computer only last month. It's a Dell Inspiron 1501, and although it received average reviews, it totally suits my personal needs. I did, however, run into a little snag connecting to certain wireless networks. I figured it was my idiocy regarding networking that created the problem, but I asked several tech people at work, and they both said something to the effect of, "really? I don't know."
Well, what the hell? My problem is this. I work for an organization that has several locations, of which I split my work time between two. Location A has a secured wireless network, where employees can enter a password and be connected to the network. Location B has an unsecured wireless network, which is available for public use. The problem is that whoever set up the networks used the same exact name for each location. But because they don't have the same settings, it's a mess every time I try to connect. I have to go in and configure the security settings each time I work at a different location.
Why not name the networks by location? This is getting to be a drag.