Phones, and people who use them
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Yesterday I got a rash of phone calls. Quite a few were "unavailable ID". I totally ignore those. All the people I want to talk to don't block caller ID. (And almost every day, I get two calls from some telemarketer's fax machine. Ridiculous). But then, there were a few from unrecognized phone numbers. I ignore those too. Anyone I know is programmed into my cell phone. The amusing thing though is how many times an "unavailable ID" or "unrecognized #" caller will call, without leaving a message? What, you think that by calling 4 times in a row, I'll for some reason decide to answer the fourth time? Obviously, these people haven't understood the other half of the technology, namely, the "leave a message" part. If whatever is soooo important that you have to call four times in a row, doesn't it occur to you to leave a message one of those four times?!?!? And then, of course, on the off chance that someone DOES leave a message, it's often, "Hi Marc, this is John Doe. Call me back at 555-1212". Ummmm... why should I call you back? You don't tell me why you called, so why should I even care? I don't. And they don't get called back. If you want to be called back, then you have to leave some informative message! What people seem to forget is that when you call someone, they have a choice as to whether to answer or not. And a lot of times, the person being called forgets that they have that choice too! Of course, my favorite is "I'm on the other line, call me back later!" I do SO hate call waiting. I see. So I'm 1) less important than the person you're talking to, or 2) less important than the unknown person calling because you're interrupting the conversation to talk to THEM. No matter how you slice and dice it, whether you're the caller or the callee, it's a power play, not a communication device anymore. So, what are your personal phone etiquette rules for people who call you? Do you always answer the phone when it rings? Marc Microsoft MVP, Visual C# MyXaml MyXaml Blog
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Yesterday I got a rash of phone calls. Quite a few were "unavailable ID". I totally ignore those. All the people I want to talk to don't block caller ID. (And almost every day, I get two calls from some telemarketer's fax machine. Ridiculous). But then, there were a few from unrecognized phone numbers. I ignore those too. Anyone I know is programmed into my cell phone. The amusing thing though is how many times an "unavailable ID" or "unrecognized #" caller will call, without leaving a message? What, you think that by calling 4 times in a row, I'll for some reason decide to answer the fourth time? Obviously, these people haven't understood the other half of the technology, namely, the "leave a message" part. If whatever is soooo important that you have to call four times in a row, doesn't it occur to you to leave a message one of those four times?!?!? And then, of course, on the off chance that someone DOES leave a message, it's often, "Hi Marc, this is John Doe. Call me back at 555-1212". Ummmm... why should I call you back? You don't tell me why you called, so why should I even care? I don't. And they don't get called back. If you want to be called back, then you have to leave some informative message! What people seem to forget is that when you call someone, they have a choice as to whether to answer or not. And a lot of times, the person being called forgets that they have that choice too! Of course, my favorite is "I'm on the other line, call me back later!" I do SO hate call waiting. I see. So I'm 1) less important than the person you're talking to, or 2) less important than the unknown person calling because you're interrupting the conversation to talk to THEM. No matter how you slice and dice it, whether you're the caller or the callee, it's a power play, not a communication device anymore. So, what are your personal phone etiquette rules for people who call you? Do you always answer the phone when it rings? Marc Microsoft MVP, Visual C# MyXaml MyXaml Blog
Simple, I answer all the phones, if someone is telemarketing or something, i keep the message short n sweet " I am not interested" and hung up the phone wheather the guy on the other end wants to continue the conversation or not. It may be rude, but then i dont want to ignore any phone calls, coz you will never know the urgency of the call.
God is Real, unless declared Integer.
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Yesterday I got a rash of phone calls. Quite a few were "unavailable ID". I totally ignore those. All the people I want to talk to don't block caller ID. (And almost every day, I get two calls from some telemarketer's fax machine. Ridiculous). But then, there were a few from unrecognized phone numbers. I ignore those too. Anyone I know is programmed into my cell phone. The amusing thing though is how many times an "unavailable ID" or "unrecognized #" caller will call, without leaving a message? What, you think that by calling 4 times in a row, I'll for some reason decide to answer the fourth time? Obviously, these people haven't understood the other half of the technology, namely, the "leave a message" part. If whatever is soooo important that you have to call four times in a row, doesn't it occur to you to leave a message one of those four times?!?!? And then, of course, on the off chance that someone DOES leave a message, it's often, "Hi Marc, this is John Doe. Call me back at 555-1212". Ummmm... why should I call you back? You don't tell me why you called, so why should I even care? I don't. And they don't get called back. If you want to be called back, then you have to leave some informative message! What people seem to forget is that when you call someone, they have a choice as to whether to answer or not. And a lot of times, the person being called forgets that they have that choice too! Of course, my favorite is "I'm on the other line, call me back later!" I do SO hate call waiting. I see. So I'm 1) less important than the person you're talking to, or 2) less important than the unknown person calling because you're interrupting the conversation to talk to THEM. No matter how you slice and dice it, whether you're the caller or the callee, it's a power play, not a communication device anymore. So, what are your personal phone etiquette rules for people who call you? Do you always answer the phone when it rings? Marc Microsoft MVP, Visual C# MyXaml MyXaml Blog
Having beem unemployed for a couple of years, most of my incoming calls are bill collectors. They usually hide their phone numbers, so the strategy I've adopted is that I don't answer any calls unless I hear a known voice on the line, leaving a message. If they don't leave a message, or at least start one, I don't answer. If they leave a message telling me that we have an "urgent business matter to discuss" I don't bother to call back - it's not urgent to me unless it's a friend who needs my assistance. Some people think of it as a six-pack; I consider it more of a support group.
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Having beem unemployed for a couple of years, most of my incoming calls are bill collectors. They usually hide their phone numbers, so the strategy I've adopted is that I don't answer any calls unless I hear a known voice on the line, leaving a message. If they don't leave a message, or at least start one, I don't answer. If they leave a message telling me that we have an "urgent business matter to discuss" I don't bother to call back - it's not urgent to me unless it's a friend who needs my assistance. Some people think of it as a six-pack; I consider it more of a support group.
Roger Wright wrote: it's not urgent to me unless it's a friend who needs my assistance. Yes, I find it amusing how people assume that their own urgency can be foisted onto others. A possible retort might be: "You want your bills paid? Then how about helping me with my urgent business matter--FINDING A JOB!!!!" Marc Microsoft MVP, Visual C# MyXaml MyXaml Blog
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Yesterday I got a rash of phone calls. Quite a few were "unavailable ID". I totally ignore those. All the people I want to talk to don't block caller ID. (And almost every day, I get two calls from some telemarketer's fax machine. Ridiculous). But then, there were a few from unrecognized phone numbers. I ignore those too. Anyone I know is programmed into my cell phone. The amusing thing though is how many times an "unavailable ID" or "unrecognized #" caller will call, without leaving a message? What, you think that by calling 4 times in a row, I'll for some reason decide to answer the fourth time? Obviously, these people haven't understood the other half of the technology, namely, the "leave a message" part. If whatever is soooo important that you have to call four times in a row, doesn't it occur to you to leave a message one of those four times?!?!? And then, of course, on the off chance that someone DOES leave a message, it's often, "Hi Marc, this is John Doe. Call me back at 555-1212". Ummmm... why should I call you back? You don't tell me why you called, so why should I even care? I don't. And they don't get called back. If you want to be called back, then you have to leave some informative message! What people seem to forget is that when you call someone, they have a choice as to whether to answer or not. And a lot of times, the person being called forgets that they have that choice too! Of course, my favorite is "I'm on the other line, call me back later!" I do SO hate call waiting. I see. So I'm 1) less important than the person you're talking to, or 2) less important than the unknown person calling because you're interrupting the conversation to talk to THEM. No matter how you slice and dice it, whether you're the caller or the callee, it's a power play, not a communication device anymore. So, what are your personal phone etiquette rules for people who call you? Do you always answer the phone when it rings? Marc Microsoft MVP, Visual C# MyXaml MyXaml Blog
As far as I'm concerned the phone is there for me - I'm not there for it. So if I feel like answering I'll answer, if not, not. My personal favourite (in the 'say what?' sense) is the call where, when you answer, the machine says, 'this is an important call - please stay on the line so one of our operators can talk to you'. Say what??? You call me and I have to wait??? Oh and let's not even get started on when you're in someones office and the phone rings and they immediately answer. They don't even know who's on the other end and yet that unknown someone is more important? I'm almost inclined to feel about phones the way you feel about TV :) Rob Manderson Colin Davies wrote: I'm sure Americans could use more of it, and thus reduce the world supply faster. This of course would be good, because the faster we run out globally, the less chance of pollution there will be. (Talking about the price of petrol) The Soapbox, March 5 2004
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Yesterday I got a rash of phone calls. Quite a few were "unavailable ID". I totally ignore those. All the people I want to talk to don't block caller ID. (And almost every day, I get two calls from some telemarketer's fax machine. Ridiculous). But then, there were a few from unrecognized phone numbers. I ignore those too. Anyone I know is programmed into my cell phone. The amusing thing though is how many times an "unavailable ID" or "unrecognized #" caller will call, without leaving a message? What, you think that by calling 4 times in a row, I'll for some reason decide to answer the fourth time? Obviously, these people haven't understood the other half of the technology, namely, the "leave a message" part. If whatever is soooo important that you have to call four times in a row, doesn't it occur to you to leave a message one of those four times?!?!? And then, of course, on the off chance that someone DOES leave a message, it's often, "Hi Marc, this is John Doe. Call me back at 555-1212". Ummmm... why should I call you back? You don't tell me why you called, so why should I even care? I don't. And they don't get called back. If you want to be called back, then you have to leave some informative message! What people seem to forget is that when you call someone, they have a choice as to whether to answer or not. And a lot of times, the person being called forgets that they have that choice too! Of course, my favorite is "I'm on the other line, call me back later!" I do SO hate call waiting. I see. So I'm 1) less important than the person you're talking to, or 2) less important than the unknown person calling because you're interrupting the conversation to talk to THEM. No matter how you slice and dice it, whether you're the caller or the callee, it's a power play, not a communication device anymore. So, what are your personal phone etiquette rules for people who call you? Do you always answer the phone when it rings? Marc Microsoft MVP, Visual C# MyXaml MyXaml Blog
In South Africa we have a "Call Me Back" service. Basically, you use this service to have a text message sent to the person's phone, that basically says "Call Me Back at 999-999-9999". These I ignore. If I don't know you and you're too cheap to phone me and leave a message on my voicemail, you can bugger off.
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Yesterday I got a rash of phone calls. Quite a few were "unavailable ID". I totally ignore those. All the people I want to talk to don't block caller ID. (And almost every day, I get two calls from some telemarketer's fax machine. Ridiculous). But then, there were a few from unrecognized phone numbers. I ignore those too. Anyone I know is programmed into my cell phone. The amusing thing though is how many times an "unavailable ID" or "unrecognized #" caller will call, without leaving a message? What, you think that by calling 4 times in a row, I'll for some reason decide to answer the fourth time? Obviously, these people haven't understood the other half of the technology, namely, the "leave a message" part. If whatever is soooo important that you have to call four times in a row, doesn't it occur to you to leave a message one of those four times?!?!? And then, of course, on the off chance that someone DOES leave a message, it's often, "Hi Marc, this is John Doe. Call me back at 555-1212". Ummmm... why should I call you back? You don't tell me why you called, so why should I even care? I don't. And they don't get called back. If you want to be called back, then you have to leave some informative message! What people seem to forget is that when you call someone, they have a choice as to whether to answer or not. And a lot of times, the person being called forgets that they have that choice too! Of course, my favorite is "I'm on the other line, call me back later!" I do SO hate call waiting. I see. So I'm 1) less important than the person you're talking to, or 2) less important than the unknown person calling because you're interrupting the conversation to talk to THEM. No matter how you slice and dice it, whether you're the caller or the callee, it's a power play, not a communication device anymore. So, what are your personal phone etiquette rules for people who call you? Do you always answer the phone when it rings? Marc Microsoft MVP, Visual C# MyXaml MyXaml Blog
I will answer all calls. However, if i happen to have a missed call of some unknown number i will not call back. As for call waiting, i don't like the other party to put me on hold for too long. He/she must decide who's call is more important and end one of them immediately. However, i don't get much calls cos apparently, the people here prefer sending short messages than calling. :) Weiye Chen When pursuing your dreams, don't forget to enjoy your life...
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Yesterday I got a rash of phone calls. Quite a few were "unavailable ID". I totally ignore those. All the people I want to talk to don't block caller ID. (And almost every day, I get two calls from some telemarketer's fax machine. Ridiculous). But then, there were a few from unrecognized phone numbers. I ignore those too. Anyone I know is programmed into my cell phone. The amusing thing though is how many times an "unavailable ID" or "unrecognized #" caller will call, without leaving a message? What, you think that by calling 4 times in a row, I'll for some reason decide to answer the fourth time? Obviously, these people haven't understood the other half of the technology, namely, the "leave a message" part. If whatever is soooo important that you have to call four times in a row, doesn't it occur to you to leave a message one of those four times?!?!? And then, of course, on the off chance that someone DOES leave a message, it's often, "Hi Marc, this is John Doe. Call me back at 555-1212". Ummmm... why should I call you back? You don't tell me why you called, so why should I even care? I don't. And they don't get called back. If you want to be called back, then you have to leave some informative message! What people seem to forget is that when you call someone, they have a choice as to whether to answer or not. And a lot of times, the person being called forgets that they have that choice too! Of course, my favorite is "I'm on the other line, call me back later!" I do SO hate call waiting. I see. So I'm 1) less important than the person you're talking to, or 2) less important than the unknown person calling because you're interrupting the conversation to talk to THEM. No matter how you slice and dice it, whether you're the caller or the callee, it's a power play, not a communication device anymore. So, what are your personal phone etiquette rules for people who call you? Do you always answer the phone when it rings? Marc Microsoft MVP, Visual C# MyXaml MyXaml Blog
I have call blocking on the phone so if anyone witholds the number it doesn't even get to ring at my end. My pet hate at the moment though is people phoning me up and asking me security questions. I', like "What you phoned me. I have no way of verifying you are who you say wou are and you want me to answer personal security questions?" :mad: pseudonym67 My Articles[^] "They say there are strangers who threaten us, In our immigrants and infidels. They say there is strangeness too dangerous In our theaters and bookstore shelves. That those who know what's best for us Must rise and save us from ourselves." Rush
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Yesterday I got a rash of phone calls. Quite a few were "unavailable ID". I totally ignore those. All the people I want to talk to don't block caller ID. (And almost every day, I get two calls from some telemarketer's fax machine. Ridiculous). But then, there were a few from unrecognized phone numbers. I ignore those too. Anyone I know is programmed into my cell phone. The amusing thing though is how many times an "unavailable ID" or "unrecognized #" caller will call, without leaving a message? What, you think that by calling 4 times in a row, I'll for some reason decide to answer the fourth time? Obviously, these people haven't understood the other half of the technology, namely, the "leave a message" part. If whatever is soooo important that you have to call four times in a row, doesn't it occur to you to leave a message one of those four times?!?!? And then, of course, on the off chance that someone DOES leave a message, it's often, "Hi Marc, this is John Doe. Call me back at 555-1212". Ummmm... why should I call you back? You don't tell me why you called, so why should I even care? I don't. And they don't get called back. If you want to be called back, then you have to leave some informative message! What people seem to forget is that when you call someone, they have a choice as to whether to answer or not. And a lot of times, the person being called forgets that they have that choice too! Of course, my favorite is "I'm on the other line, call me back later!" I do SO hate call waiting. I see. So I'm 1) less important than the person you're talking to, or 2) less important than the unknown person calling because you're interrupting the conversation to talk to THEM. No matter how you slice and dice it, whether you're the caller or the callee, it's a power play, not a communication device anymore. So, what are your personal phone etiquette rules for people who call you? Do you always answer the phone when it rings? Marc Microsoft MVP, Visual C# MyXaml MyXaml Blog
I get loads of these too, a good 5 or 6 a day all without leaving a message. My guess is they are probably using some sort of auto dialling software which is just working it's way through a list of phone numbers til it gets a real person. Guarenteed, if you answer there will be a slight delay before the real phone operator is connected. :mad:
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I get loads of these too, a good 5 or 6 a day all without leaving a message. My guess is they are probably using some sort of auto dialling software which is just working it's way through a list of phone numbers til it gets a real person. Guarenteed, if you answer there will be a slight delay before the real phone operator is connected. :mad:
The way these systems work now is that they wait until you pick up, then they try to find someone in their call centre who's free to talk to you. If they can't find a free agent, they just drop the line. I've had dead-line syndrome quite a lot lately. Stability. What an interesting concept. -- Chris Maunder
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Yesterday I got a rash of phone calls. Quite a few were "unavailable ID". I totally ignore those. All the people I want to talk to don't block caller ID. (And almost every day, I get two calls from some telemarketer's fax machine. Ridiculous). But then, there were a few from unrecognized phone numbers. I ignore those too. Anyone I know is programmed into my cell phone. The amusing thing though is how many times an "unavailable ID" or "unrecognized #" caller will call, without leaving a message? What, you think that by calling 4 times in a row, I'll for some reason decide to answer the fourth time? Obviously, these people haven't understood the other half of the technology, namely, the "leave a message" part. If whatever is soooo important that you have to call four times in a row, doesn't it occur to you to leave a message one of those four times?!?!? And then, of course, on the off chance that someone DOES leave a message, it's often, "Hi Marc, this is John Doe. Call me back at 555-1212". Ummmm... why should I call you back? You don't tell me why you called, so why should I even care? I don't. And they don't get called back. If you want to be called back, then you have to leave some informative message! What people seem to forget is that when you call someone, they have a choice as to whether to answer or not. And a lot of times, the person being called forgets that they have that choice too! Of course, my favorite is "I'm on the other line, call me back later!" I do SO hate call waiting. I see. So I'm 1) less important than the person you're talking to, or 2) less important than the unknown person calling because you're interrupting the conversation to talk to THEM. No matter how you slice and dice it, whether you're the caller or the callee, it's a power play, not a communication device anymore. So, what are your personal phone etiquette rules for people who call you? Do you always answer the phone when it rings? Marc Microsoft MVP, Visual C# MyXaml MyXaml Blog
at many times i escape by asking them to shoot a mail regarding this... :)
It's not a bug, it's an undocumented feature.
suhredayan@omniquad.commessenger :suhredayan@hotmail.com
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Yesterday I got a rash of phone calls. Quite a few were "unavailable ID". I totally ignore those. All the people I want to talk to don't block caller ID. (And almost every day, I get two calls from some telemarketer's fax machine. Ridiculous). But then, there were a few from unrecognized phone numbers. I ignore those too. Anyone I know is programmed into my cell phone. The amusing thing though is how many times an "unavailable ID" or "unrecognized #" caller will call, without leaving a message? What, you think that by calling 4 times in a row, I'll for some reason decide to answer the fourth time? Obviously, these people haven't understood the other half of the technology, namely, the "leave a message" part. If whatever is soooo important that you have to call four times in a row, doesn't it occur to you to leave a message one of those four times?!?!? And then, of course, on the off chance that someone DOES leave a message, it's often, "Hi Marc, this is John Doe. Call me back at 555-1212". Ummmm... why should I call you back? You don't tell me why you called, so why should I even care? I don't. And they don't get called back. If you want to be called back, then you have to leave some informative message! What people seem to forget is that when you call someone, they have a choice as to whether to answer or not. And a lot of times, the person being called forgets that they have that choice too! Of course, my favorite is "I'm on the other line, call me back later!" I do SO hate call waiting. I see. So I'm 1) less important than the person you're talking to, or 2) less important than the unknown person calling because you're interrupting the conversation to talk to THEM. No matter how you slice and dice it, whether you're the caller or the callee, it's a power play, not a communication device anymore. So, what are your personal phone etiquette rules for people who call you? Do you always answer the phone when it rings? Marc Microsoft MVP, Visual C# MyXaml MyXaml Blog
My rule is very simple: No Caller Id, no answer. I get very few messages left - Usually the only company who leaves messages is my dentist as they phone a reminder about my appointment a few days in advance. My bank did phone once and ask me to call them back. Because it was my actual branch number they left I phoned back and they wanted to sell me financial products (and I was not impressed). The last time they invited me for a "review" just about every product they tried to sell me I was able to point out a bank with a better deal. I've never had dead phone syndrome, probably because they withhold their number, so I never answer. I'm also about to change my phone number and go Ex-directory - so that should cut the number of calls that I am not interested in.
"You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want." --Zig Ziglar Coming soon: The Second EuroCPian Event[^].
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Yesterday I got a rash of phone calls. Quite a few were "unavailable ID". I totally ignore those. All the people I want to talk to don't block caller ID. (And almost every day, I get two calls from some telemarketer's fax machine. Ridiculous). But then, there were a few from unrecognized phone numbers. I ignore those too. Anyone I know is programmed into my cell phone. The amusing thing though is how many times an "unavailable ID" or "unrecognized #" caller will call, without leaving a message? What, you think that by calling 4 times in a row, I'll for some reason decide to answer the fourth time? Obviously, these people haven't understood the other half of the technology, namely, the "leave a message" part. If whatever is soooo important that you have to call four times in a row, doesn't it occur to you to leave a message one of those four times?!?!? And then, of course, on the off chance that someone DOES leave a message, it's often, "Hi Marc, this is John Doe. Call me back at 555-1212". Ummmm... why should I call you back? You don't tell me why you called, so why should I even care? I don't. And they don't get called back. If you want to be called back, then you have to leave some informative message! What people seem to forget is that when you call someone, they have a choice as to whether to answer or not. And a lot of times, the person being called forgets that they have that choice too! Of course, my favorite is "I'm on the other line, call me back later!" I do SO hate call waiting. I see. So I'm 1) less important than the person you're talking to, or 2) less important than the unknown person calling because you're interrupting the conversation to talk to THEM. No matter how you slice and dice it, whether you're the caller or the callee, it's a power play, not a communication device anymore. So, what are your personal phone etiquette rules for people who call you? Do you always answer the phone when it rings? Marc Microsoft MVP, Visual C# MyXaml MyXaml Blog
My parents get so many 'marketing' calls they're thinking of getting an answering machine so they can screen them. They must get at least one a day, sometimes as much as 5 or 6. And half the calls they get have this dead-line syndrome. :mad: If I had a better memory I would remember more.
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Yesterday I got a rash of phone calls. Quite a few were "unavailable ID". I totally ignore those. All the people I want to talk to don't block caller ID. (And almost every day, I get two calls from some telemarketer's fax machine. Ridiculous). But then, there were a few from unrecognized phone numbers. I ignore those too. Anyone I know is programmed into my cell phone. The amusing thing though is how many times an "unavailable ID" or "unrecognized #" caller will call, without leaving a message? What, you think that by calling 4 times in a row, I'll for some reason decide to answer the fourth time? Obviously, these people haven't understood the other half of the technology, namely, the "leave a message" part. If whatever is soooo important that you have to call four times in a row, doesn't it occur to you to leave a message one of those four times?!?!? And then, of course, on the off chance that someone DOES leave a message, it's often, "Hi Marc, this is John Doe. Call me back at 555-1212". Ummmm... why should I call you back? You don't tell me why you called, so why should I even care? I don't. And they don't get called back. If you want to be called back, then you have to leave some informative message! What people seem to forget is that when you call someone, they have a choice as to whether to answer or not. And a lot of times, the person being called forgets that they have that choice too! Of course, my favorite is "I'm on the other line, call me back later!" I do SO hate call waiting. I see. So I'm 1) less important than the person you're talking to, or 2) less important than the unknown person calling because you're interrupting the conversation to talk to THEM. No matter how you slice and dice it, whether you're the caller or the callee, it's a power play, not a communication device anymore. So, what are your personal phone etiquette rules for people who call you? Do you always answer the phone when it rings? Marc Microsoft MVP, Visual C# MyXaml MyXaml Blog
I only have a cell phone. And it's very easy to turn off. Needless to say, I hate talking on the phone. :) -- Booohoo!
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Yesterday I got a rash of phone calls. Quite a few were "unavailable ID". I totally ignore those. All the people I want to talk to don't block caller ID. (And almost every day, I get two calls from some telemarketer's fax machine. Ridiculous). But then, there were a few from unrecognized phone numbers. I ignore those too. Anyone I know is programmed into my cell phone. The amusing thing though is how many times an "unavailable ID" or "unrecognized #" caller will call, without leaving a message? What, you think that by calling 4 times in a row, I'll for some reason decide to answer the fourth time? Obviously, these people haven't understood the other half of the technology, namely, the "leave a message" part. If whatever is soooo important that you have to call four times in a row, doesn't it occur to you to leave a message one of those four times?!?!? And then, of course, on the off chance that someone DOES leave a message, it's often, "Hi Marc, this is John Doe. Call me back at 555-1212". Ummmm... why should I call you back? You don't tell me why you called, so why should I even care? I don't. And they don't get called back. If you want to be called back, then you have to leave some informative message! What people seem to forget is that when you call someone, they have a choice as to whether to answer or not. And a lot of times, the person being called forgets that they have that choice too! Of course, my favorite is "I'm on the other line, call me back later!" I do SO hate call waiting. I see. So I'm 1) less important than the person you're talking to, or 2) less important than the unknown person calling because you're interrupting the conversation to talk to THEM. No matter how you slice and dice it, whether you're the caller or the callee, it's a power play, not a communication device anymore. So, what are your personal phone etiquette rules for people who call you? Do you always answer the phone when it rings? Marc Microsoft MVP, Visual C# MyXaml MyXaml Blog
I only answer when I feel like talking to the caller. BW The Biggest Loser
"And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun" -
Yesterday I got a rash of phone calls. Quite a few were "unavailable ID". I totally ignore those. All the people I want to talk to don't block caller ID. (And almost every day, I get two calls from some telemarketer's fax machine. Ridiculous). But then, there were a few from unrecognized phone numbers. I ignore those too. Anyone I know is programmed into my cell phone. The amusing thing though is how many times an "unavailable ID" or "unrecognized #" caller will call, without leaving a message? What, you think that by calling 4 times in a row, I'll for some reason decide to answer the fourth time? Obviously, these people haven't understood the other half of the technology, namely, the "leave a message" part. If whatever is soooo important that you have to call four times in a row, doesn't it occur to you to leave a message one of those four times?!?!? And then, of course, on the off chance that someone DOES leave a message, it's often, "Hi Marc, this is John Doe. Call me back at 555-1212". Ummmm... why should I call you back? You don't tell me why you called, so why should I even care? I don't. And they don't get called back. If you want to be called back, then you have to leave some informative message! What people seem to forget is that when you call someone, they have a choice as to whether to answer or not. And a lot of times, the person being called forgets that they have that choice too! Of course, my favorite is "I'm on the other line, call me back later!" I do SO hate call waiting. I see. So I'm 1) less important than the person you're talking to, or 2) less important than the unknown person calling because you're interrupting the conversation to talk to THEM. No matter how you slice and dice it, whether you're the caller or the callee, it's a power play, not a communication device anymore. So, what are your personal phone etiquette rules for people who call you? Do you always answer the phone when it rings? Marc Microsoft MVP, Visual C# MyXaml MyXaml Blog
Marc Clifton wrote: No matter how you slice and dice it, whether you're the caller or the callee, it's a power play, not a communication device anymore. Huh, for me its just a way to communicate ;) I always answar the phone, as I deal with several people who don't show caller-id. Lots of PBX'es at companies filter off the caller-id, so I never know if it's something important when i get an anonymous call. About tele marketing, i get a call once a month, max, and I can get them to hang up real quick ;) - Anders Money talks, but all mine ever says is "Goodbye!" ShotKeeper, my Photo Album / Organizer Application[^]
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Marc Clifton wrote: No matter how you slice and dice it, whether you're the caller or the callee, it's a power play, not a communication device anymore. Huh, for me its just a way to communicate ;) I always answar the phone, as I deal with several people who don't show caller-id. Lots of PBX'es at companies filter off the caller-id, so I never know if it's something important when i get an anonymous call. About tele marketing, i get a call once a month, max, and I can get them to hang up real quick ;) - Anders Money talks, but all mine ever says is "Goodbye!" ShotKeeper, my Photo Album / Organizer Application[^]
I don't have that "I'm very important, so don't call me" attitude it sounds like lots of people have. I mean, if people calls me I guess they want to talk to me, and if people want to talk to me, I'll at least give them the chance to tell me why... - Anders Money talks, but all mine ever says is "Goodbye!" ShotKeeper, my Photo Album / Organizer Application[^]
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Yesterday I got a rash of phone calls. Quite a few were "unavailable ID". I totally ignore those. All the people I want to talk to don't block caller ID. (And almost every day, I get two calls from some telemarketer's fax machine. Ridiculous). But then, there were a few from unrecognized phone numbers. I ignore those too. Anyone I know is programmed into my cell phone. The amusing thing though is how many times an "unavailable ID" or "unrecognized #" caller will call, without leaving a message? What, you think that by calling 4 times in a row, I'll for some reason decide to answer the fourth time? Obviously, these people haven't understood the other half of the technology, namely, the "leave a message" part. If whatever is soooo important that you have to call four times in a row, doesn't it occur to you to leave a message one of those four times?!?!? And then, of course, on the off chance that someone DOES leave a message, it's often, "Hi Marc, this is John Doe. Call me back at 555-1212". Ummmm... why should I call you back? You don't tell me why you called, so why should I even care? I don't. And they don't get called back. If you want to be called back, then you have to leave some informative message! What people seem to forget is that when you call someone, they have a choice as to whether to answer or not. And a lot of times, the person being called forgets that they have that choice too! Of course, my favorite is "I'm on the other line, call me back later!" I do SO hate call waiting. I see. So I'm 1) less important than the person you're talking to, or 2) less important than the unknown person calling because you're interrupting the conversation to talk to THEM. No matter how you slice and dice it, whether you're the caller or the callee, it's a power play, not a communication device anymore. So, what are your personal phone etiquette rules for people who call you? Do you always answer the phone when it rings? Marc Microsoft MVP, Visual C# MyXaml MyXaml Blog
Unlike the vast majority of people here it seems, I *don't* have a cell-phone, and I don't have caller ID at home. (However I do have caller ID on the phones in the office.) So my phone answering algorithm is as follows: 1. If the phone rings, and I'm not in the middle of anything urgent, I'll answer it. 2. If the phone rings, and I'm talking to somebody else, I will ignore it. (Sometimes the person I'm with though says, "hey, answer your phone!", in which case I answer it. :-O ) 3. If the phone rings and I'm in the bathroom, I will ignore it. Even if I had a cellphone, I would *still* not answer the phone in the bathroom. (Yes, there are people who will talk on the phone in the bathroom! :doh: ) When I call people, I sometimes mess up their caller ID unintentionally, simply because for anything long distance, or from somebody else's phone, I'll call through a calling card, so the number always comes up weird on the other end. Sometimes I feel like I'm a USB printer in a parallel universe.
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Yesterday I got a rash of phone calls. Quite a few were "unavailable ID". I totally ignore those. All the people I want to talk to don't block caller ID. (And almost every day, I get two calls from some telemarketer's fax machine. Ridiculous). But then, there were a few from unrecognized phone numbers. I ignore those too. Anyone I know is programmed into my cell phone. The amusing thing though is how many times an "unavailable ID" or "unrecognized #" caller will call, without leaving a message? What, you think that by calling 4 times in a row, I'll for some reason decide to answer the fourth time? Obviously, these people haven't understood the other half of the technology, namely, the "leave a message" part. If whatever is soooo important that you have to call four times in a row, doesn't it occur to you to leave a message one of those four times?!?!? And then, of course, on the off chance that someone DOES leave a message, it's often, "Hi Marc, this is John Doe. Call me back at 555-1212". Ummmm... why should I call you back? You don't tell me why you called, so why should I even care? I don't. And they don't get called back. If you want to be called back, then you have to leave some informative message! What people seem to forget is that when you call someone, they have a choice as to whether to answer or not. And a lot of times, the person being called forgets that they have that choice too! Of course, my favorite is "I'm on the other line, call me back later!" I do SO hate call waiting. I see. So I'm 1) less important than the person you're talking to, or 2) less important than the unknown person calling because you're interrupting the conversation to talk to THEM. No matter how you slice and dice it, whether you're the caller or the callee, it's a power play, not a communication device anymore. So, what are your personal phone etiquette rules for people who call you? Do you always answer the phone when it rings? Marc Microsoft MVP, Visual C# MyXaml MyXaml Blog
Marc Clifton wrote: Do you always answer the phone when it rings? Answer the phone? I have a teenage daughter; the only time I get to answer the phone is when she is out. Even then it is usually for her. I go tired of saying "She's not here, may I take a message?", so I started letting the answering machine answer if I recognized the number on the caller ID as being one of her friends. Marc Clifton wrote: what are your personal phone etiquette rules for people who call you? Don't really have any. I remember calling a married friend one time and his wife answered. I asked if Hermann was there and I heard her call out his name. I heard him ask "Who is it?". To which, she replied, "Some A##hole!". I asked Hermann what that was all about. Apparently I violated one of her pet etiquette peeves by not identifying myself. Gary Kirkham A working Program is one that has only unobserved bugs I thought I wanted a career, turns out I just wanted paychecks
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Yesterday I got a rash of phone calls. Quite a few were "unavailable ID". I totally ignore those. All the people I want to talk to don't block caller ID. (And almost every day, I get two calls from some telemarketer's fax machine. Ridiculous). But then, there were a few from unrecognized phone numbers. I ignore those too. Anyone I know is programmed into my cell phone. The amusing thing though is how many times an "unavailable ID" or "unrecognized #" caller will call, without leaving a message? What, you think that by calling 4 times in a row, I'll for some reason decide to answer the fourth time? Obviously, these people haven't understood the other half of the technology, namely, the "leave a message" part. If whatever is soooo important that you have to call four times in a row, doesn't it occur to you to leave a message one of those four times?!?!? And then, of course, on the off chance that someone DOES leave a message, it's often, "Hi Marc, this is John Doe. Call me back at 555-1212". Ummmm... why should I call you back? You don't tell me why you called, so why should I even care? I don't. And they don't get called back. If you want to be called back, then you have to leave some informative message! What people seem to forget is that when you call someone, they have a choice as to whether to answer or not. And a lot of times, the person being called forgets that they have that choice too! Of course, my favorite is "I'm on the other line, call me back later!" I do SO hate call waiting. I see. So I'm 1) less important than the person you're talking to, or 2) less important than the unknown person calling because you're interrupting the conversation to talk to THEM. No matter how you slice and dice it, whether you're the caller or the callee, it's a power play, not a communication device anymore. So, what are your personal phone etiquette rules for people who call you? Do you always answer the phone when it rings? Marc Microsoft MVP, Visual C# MyXaml MyXaml Blog
At the expense of being called a 'Luddite', I prefer to not own or use a cell phone. For the most part, I think they have become exercises in technology. I have a phone on my desk at work, which I will answer when it rings, and a phone at home wih voicemail, since my two teenage daughters use the phone from about 5:00PM till about 11:00PM every night. While this sounds excessive, it definitely keeps the telemarketers at bay. :) Chris Meech We're more like a hobbiest in a Home Depot drooling at all the shiny power tools, rather than a craftsman that makes the chair to an exacting level of comfort by measuring the customer's butt. Marc Clifton VB is like a toolbox, in the hands of a craftsman, you can end up with some amazing stuff, but without the skills to use it right you end up with Homer Simpson's attempt at building a barbeque or his attempt at a Spice rack. Michael P. Butler