Pivot Table will not properly sort value="SEP" properly

[RBo]

Whenever I create a Pivot Table over a worksheet or table that includes the value "SEP", and include the column containing the "SEP" value in my Pivot Table, the "SEP" value automatically sorts to the top. Even if I change the pivot table column to sort ascending or descending, SEP remains at the top of the Pivot Table.

Row Labels
SEP
AAG
AC
ACL
ADC

I have tried changing the source table or range column format from General to Text, and also did the same with the column in the Pivot, and those changes have no effect. This is not a new issue in Pivot Tables -it has been this way going back to Excel 97. I am relegated to manually moving "SEP" into the proper alphabetical sequence every time I create a Pivot Table containing this value...and since SEP is one of roughly 300 product line values, its in nearly half of the Pivot Tables I create.

Any workarounds for this?

Interestingly, the source table itself sorts SEP values correctly. Also, if I add my source table to a data model SEP sorts properly in a Power Pivot.

I assume Microsoft has something in their pivot table code that treats SEP as a short Month date value (MMM), but I am only making an assumption.

 

[RoryA]

Right-click the pivot, choose Pivot table options, then on the Totals and Filters tab uncheck the option to use custom lists when sorting.