I just received a phone call from the 617 and the conversation went like this:
Woman: Who is this?
Me: Matt
Woman: Matt who?
I hung up on her.
Turns out that when I called my brother this morning, in the same area code, I mis-dialed. I realized this when I heard voice mail, and hung up. This woman was returning my call three hours later based on the Caller ID.
This has to be the single biggest downside of Caller ID. Back in the 80s if you called someone by accident, or called someone you knew and didn't want your call returned, you hung up. The way you got someone to call you back was by leaving a message on their answering machine.
Things have gotten out of control as people think that just cause you show up on their Caller ID, they are entitled to call you back, even if they don't recognize the number. What is wrong with these people anyway? Are they so desperate to get a phone call that they will return anything? People: if I want you to call me back, I will leave a message. Do not return Caller ID. Why should I have this conversation on the phone, I don't have this conversation at the bar:
Woman: You were looking at me back there, what did you want to talk about?
Me: I was actually looking for the bathroom, and you happened to be in my line of sight.
Equally obnoxious are people you know who expect a returned call when they don't leave a message.
Them: Why didn't you call me back.
Me: You didn't leave a message.
Them: Yeah, but you saw I called.
Me: You didn't leave a message.
I do not return Caller ID. I return messages. This technology does not alter the rules of the game.
2 comments:
Couldn't agree more. I actually go aggro when someone calls and asks me who it is. How dare you call me and ask who it is, who is calling here. I amplify my voice and say, "who is THIS?!"
Me three. There's nothing worse when some shithead I don't know calls you and says: "Who is this? You called me." You've got to have no life if you get excited about wrong numbers.
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