Re: Telephones and manners

lovesrecess · ‎03-14-2010

It’s called manners. I hate when someone calls my cell # but asks for DH who has a different #. We haven’t had a landline for several years. I can’t recall the last time someone identified themselves to me when I answered the phone. If they ask for DH on my phone, I ask “who is calling?” and they immediately get testy and either hang up or yell their name at me like it is none of my business. Hey, you called me, I didn’t call you, and you didn’t even call the right number.

J Town Girl · ‎06-13-2011

While my business phone calls haven't been as rude or humorous as some of you have experienced I've had my share while working in a veterinary hospital. One of the most common ones I received was after answering the phone with our hospital name and how may I help you the client would say "are you open" or "are you in the office today".

I often wondered if they thought I just answered the phone from my home in that manner.

I think the strangest call I ever received was from a gentleman who upon my answering the phone immediately told me this isn't a prank call and I'm not drunk but there's a kangaroo in my backyard. He said I'm standing here at my patio door and I'm looking at it. Since we were in Seattle and not Australia I didn't know what to say. I just assumed that he was seeing something but I didn't believe it was a Kangaroo. I gave him the number to animal control and told him to call them.

A few days later I spoke to the animal control officer when she came to our office and she said what was in his yard was a Wallaby that had belonged to someone in the neighborhood and had escaped. Little did I know that you could even have a Wallaby outside of a zoo and furthermore keep it as a pet. She told me this particular person had a permit to keep an exotic animal. I certainly do not agree with keeping animals such as this but for some reason, he was given permission. We also had someone who owned a serval cat but that person actually surrendered it after it escaped and terrorized a neighbors dog.

With all the wonderful animals that you can have as pets what possesses a person to own an animal that really belongs in its native habitat not as a status symbol used to impress others.

NYC Susan · ‎03-13-2010

@Anonymous032819 wrote:
I would have just deleted the picture, and thought nothing more of it.

I wouldn't have gotten the law enforcement involved.

I would have done the same.

And I wouldn't assume he had been drunk dialing. He sent it to the wrong number. People have been accidentally calling wrong numbers for decades, and no one assumed they were drunk. Obviously the photo was intended for someone else, and he accidentally sent it to the OP.

I would have laughed it off, and I would have deleted the photo. No need for a conversation with the guy and no need for law enforcement.

NYC Susan · ‎03-13-2010

@Shop Till you Drop wrote:
It's funny how things have changed. When I was young, my mother taught my brother and I that when we answered the phone at home we were to pick up and say " (Hello, our last name) , residence" ..That sounds so silly to me now, but my mom thought it was proper for children answering a phone.

My best friend's family did the same thing. "_____ residence. Allison speaking". Her parents were very strict about it.

My parents weren't as strict, but we definitely had to use proper manners when we answered the phone or called someone.

I've actually only rarely run into what I would describe as rude phone behavior. Or maybe I just have a high tolerance. If someone doesn't immediately identify himself, I can deal with that. And if they ask what I think are stupid questions, I shrug it off. Sometimes people get nervous or are unsure, and that's okay. Honestly, most of the examples I've read in this thread don't sound like a big deal to me at all.

songbird · ‎03-21-2010

This has been going on for a while. And I'm not sure what to do about it. For the past 3 months or so, a woman calls me. She knows my name (don't know how) She would laugh and say getting a hold of me was so hard. She then would launch in to a spiel about a cancer fund. Most of the time I would listen politely and refuse the request. (I never contribute to any solicited charities via the phone) She would continue to speak and never give me a chance to answer her. I ended up hanging up on her. But she continued to call. Then about 3 weeks ago, I received another call. It was from her. She simply said in a harsh, nasty way never to call her again or she will prosecute me! She immediately hung up. Never game me a chance to respond. I never called her in my life. She did all the calling. Then the following week, she called again, all charms & giggles. I told her as nicely as I could to never call ME again or I will report her. I have not heard from her for a while. Nearly 3 weeks now. Crossing my fingers....Very strange series of calls. I think she's not all there mentally. I think when she called to threaten me it was because she mixed me up with someone else

MoodeeFan · ‎10-13-2016

@songbird wrote:
This has been going on for a while. And I'm not sure what to do about it. For the past 3 months or so, a woman calls me. She knows my name (don't know how) She would laugh and say getting a hold of me was so hard. She then would launch in to a spiel about a cancer fund. Most of the time I would listen politely and refuse the request. (I never contribute to any solicited charities via the phone) She would continue to speak and never give me a chance to answer her. I ended up hanging up on her. But she continued to call. Then about 3 weeks ago, I received another call. It was from her. She simply said in a harsh, nasty way never to call her again or she will prosecute me! She immediately hung up. Never game me a chance to respond. I never called her in my life. She did all the calling. Then the following week, she called again, all charms & giggles. I told her as nicely as I could to never call ME again or I will report her. I have not heard from her for a while. Nearly 3 weeks now. Crossing my fingers....Very strange series of calls. I think she's not all there mentally. I think when she called to threaten me it was because she mixed me up with someone else

Ah! I had the same type of call! I would say 'Hello' and she would giggle, and in a rushed vocie tell me she had been so busy, but glad she finally was able to reach me.

What??

If I talked over her voice (and I was taught not to do that) the line would kind of go blank, and then her 'conversing' would continue.

I am pretty sure it is a computer generated voice. And yes, she said she was with the Cancer Fund, or some such group. This was all very strange considering our landline number is unlisted and unpublished, and only family & close friends have it.

Next time it happens, just hang upand then block the number. Good Luck!

MoodeeFan · ‎10-13-2016

@CrazyKittyLvr2 wrote:
In the same vein,cell phones and drunk dialing. 10 yrs. ago the only people who had my cell were bosses, a co-worker, my kids and my sister and her DDs. One night my sis said she had sent pics of her grandsons to my cell. No reception at house but when I got to work they would come thru.

Getting out of my car at 6:30 next am my phone went of and I just opened the text and attached pic. Remember, no one else had my # and I didn't check the number as I was entering the office. Weelll, no kids, a man sitting in a chair, bucked nekkid fromwaist down with the camera pointed toward this lap.One of the few times I was speechless. Then I was livid. It said Stan. Never new a Stan. At 6:45 I called the number and a man answered and said angrily "what, who is this". I said "this is the middle-aged woman who was unfortunate enough to get a text and pic from you this am" "I am too old to be interested or impressed by your shortcomings and you should be glad a kid didn't get" He was stammering sorry it was a wrong #. I told him not to drunk dial.

When my boss came in I said I think I have something the sheriff might need to see. He took my phone and he looked at it and said "who is it?" I laughed and said I didn't recognize him. He realized what he asked and laughed and said to take it to the sheriff.

They took the name and number. I said I just this off my phone. I don't think they did much to try and find him. I double check numbers now even when I'm in a hurry.

At work, about eight years ago, my cell phone buzzed with a text message. I looked at it and the photo of a little boy dressed in cowboy outfit that was attached thinking it was one of our directors contacting me...it was not. I debated whether or not to let them know they had a 'wrong' number. Thinking it might be important to the intended recipient, I text back you have a wrong number, but the pix of the little boy was funny.

About 10 minutes went by and my cell phone buzzed again, this time with a two page rant about how I had called the little boy 'funny' and how rude I was to do so. How dare I 'explitive' what a horrible person I was was 'explitive' etc.

That was the first and last time I did that!

MoodeeFan · ‎10-13-2016

@vermint wrote:
For 2 loooonnnnggg years I worked the switchboard that covered 4 then 5 divisions of a manufacturing company. Approximately 3,000 people on site. You would not believe how many people called and asked for someone by their 1st name only!

Also the wives that called for their husbands without knowing what department he worked in, or even which company (predominately male employees by far)! To be fair, there were a couple of different contractors that supplied personnel to the various companies, along with those actually employed by those companies (yes, it was confusing). I really tried to help, down to asking "what color hard hat does your husband wear?". Different companies wore different colors. That way, I could at least connect them to the personnel department for that company.

I was never so glad to transfer to another job in my life!

Oh wow, that is so funny it reminds me that when I work for a non-profit, but in a different branch. When the director was out of the office, we were the only two who had regular office hours, I had to listen to the voice mail messages and make notes of who and what. Easy right?

Not so much, as there were always at least three or four calls that went like this "Hi_______, it's me. Put me down for 2 for Friday's event. Thanks." Or "Hi_______, I'd like to use George's ID for Saturday's event, he says it is OK, call me back." Oh, and some never left their phone numbers.

Because I did not know his clients or what event (there were multiple each week) they were referring to I could not help them. So I just left the messages for the next day, along with my notes on each one! The director had no problem deciphering who everyone was, and what the were calling about.

Even now, I still laugh at how entertaining those voice mail messages were.

this is my nic · ‎03-30-2010

@songbird

I bet that wasn't a live call, rather a recording. I've received them also and they do sound like a live call, but the voice never responds to you. If you were to say you were interested in donating to the organization, etc., probably by saying 'yes" or pressing the right phone button you would be automatically transferred to a real person.

songbird · ‎03-21-2010

@MoodeeFan wrote:
@songbird wrote:
This has been going on for a while. And I'm not sure what to do about it. For the past 3 months or so, a woman calls me. She knows my name (don't know how) She would laugh and say getting a hold of me was so hard. She then would launch in to a spiel about a cancer fund. Most of the time I would listen politely and refuse the request. (I never contribute to any solicited charities via the phone) She would continue to speak and never give me a chance to answer her. I ended up hanging up on her. But she continued to call. Then about 3 weeks ago, I received another call. It was from her. She simply said in a harsh, nasty way never to call her again or she will prosecute me! She immediately hung up. Never game me a chance to respond. I never called her in my life. She did all the calling. Then the following week, she called again, all charms & giggles. I told her as nicely as I could to never call ME again or I will report her. I have not heard from her for a while. Nearly 3 weeks now. Crossing my fingers....Very strange series of calls. I think she's not all there mentally. I think when she called to threaten me it was because she mixed me up with someone else
Ah! I had the same type of call! I would say 'Hello' and she would giggle, and in a rushed vocie tell me she had been so busy, but glad she finally was able to reach me.
What??

If I talked over her voice (and I was taught not to do that) the line would kind of go blank, and then her 'conversing' would continue.

I am pretty sure it is a computer generated voice. And yes, she said she was with the Cancer Fund, or some such group. This was all very strange considering our landline number is unlisted and unpublished, and only family & close friends have it.

Next time it happens, just hang upand then block the number. Good Luck!

Oh I feel so much better!!!! I thought soemone was hounding me. The last time "she" called, I hung up on her. Now that I know it was not a "real" person. It's been several weeks now and no call yet