Caller ID is the Devil
I abhor caller ID. We had it when we lived in Chicago, but when we moved to the 'burbs we made a conscious decision not to have it. I've noticed a distinct decline in telephone etiquette over the last five or so years, and I'm tempted to blame it on caller ID for several reasons.
First, a good portion of the people who call our home don't identify themselves when we answer the phone (obviously friends and close family don't because we recognize their voices). I think that's because most folks assume that everyone has caller ID and that I know who's calling before I even answer the phone. Callers to our home most often just say "Hi!" and wait for a response of recognition. Most of the time Jay and I just end up saying, "Hi. I assume that this is so-and-so." So far no one has really gotten the hint. My parents taught me that when I call someone I should ask for the person to whom I wish to speak, and when that person comes on the line I should identify myself. Somehow this no longer seems to be protocol.
Second, I'm amazed by the number of people who scroll through the phone numbers from which they have received calls and call those numbers back, whether or not the caller has left a message. When Jay and I returned from conference the other day, there was a message on the answering machine from a woman who wanted information about our church's yard sale this weekend. I called her back this morning and left a message on her cell phone, providing her with the number of the person she needed to call for information. Later in the morning, she called me back, "Hi! This is X. Someone from this number called me today so I was returning the phone call." I confirmed that she had called previously about the yard sale and reminded her that I had already left her a message on her cell phone. "Oh, right," she said. "I just saw a number I didn't recognize and wanted to make sure that I returned the call." This is not the first time this has happened. If I want you to call me back, I'll leave you a message and ask you to call me back! If I don't leave a message, then I don't want you to return my phone call! I don't understand what's so hard about that. Maybe it was a wrong number. Maybe I changed my mind (of course in this case I did leave a message, but that didn't stop her from calling me back). We were in a restaurant a few weeks ago and a woman sitting near us was scrolling through her missed calls and calling each person back: "Hi! This is X. Someone from this number called me."
I don't get it.
First, a good portion of the people who call our home don't identify themselves when we answer the phone (obviously friends and close family don't because we recognize their voices). I think that's because most folks assume that everyone has caller ID and that I know who's calling before I even answer the phone. Callers to our home most often just say "Hi!" and wait for a response of recognition. Most of the time Jay and I just end up saying, "Hi. I assume that this is so-and-so." So far no one has really gotten the hint. My parents taught me that when I call someone I should ask for the person to whom I wish to speak, and when that person comes on the line I should identify myself. Somehow this no longer seems to be protocol.
Second, I'm amazed by the number of people who scroll through the phone numbers from which they have received calls and call those numbers back, whether or not the caller has left a message. When Jay and I returned from conference the other day, there was a message on the answering machine from a woman who wanted information about our church's yard sale this weekend. I called her back this morning and left a message on her cell phone, providing her with the number of the person she needed to call for information. Later in the morning, she called me back, "Hi! This is X. Someone from this number called me today so I was returning the phone call." I confirmed that she had called previously about the yard sale and reminded her that I had already left her a message on her cell phone. "Oh, right," she said. "I just saw a number I didn't recognize and wanted to make sure that I returned the call." This is not the first time this has happened. If I want you to call me back, I'll leave you a message and ask you to call me back! If I don't leave a message, then I don't want you to return my phone call! I don't understand what's so hard about that. Maybe it was a wrong number. Maybe I changed my mind (of course in this case I did leave a message, but that didn't stop her from calling me back). We were in a restaurant a few weeks ago and a woman sitting near us was scrolling through her missed calls and calling each person back: "Hi! This is X. Someone from this number called me."
I don't get it.
Comments
It drives me insane!
When we were looking for houses we had the call backs....after we had already talked the person. I don't get it. Then the person gets all defensive when you remind them that we had just talked an hour ago or ,like you mb, I left you a message with my number, do some cross referencing please!
Don't even get me started.
My #1 pet peeve though is people driving while talking on the cell phone. Anytime we see a crazy driver I always check and yep sure enough they're talking on the cell phone while manuevering crazily through traffic. I have an invention to stop that craziness, I just have to find someone willing to fund and design it for me.
If they missed a call from you-it MUST be because they are important..so, to second Anna's comment, they will call you back in the car, even if you don't want them to!
Can I add one, please? I don't like people ON THE PHONE IN THE GROCERY STORE. As a person who sees grocery shopping as part of my job description, and it needs to feed a family of six for a week, I really don't like the interruption..the talkers seem to just be oblivious to anyone else in the store. They stand there and talk and talk...again, they must be REALLY important!
Cellphones....should be behind a glass case that you break...in case of emergency
i figure eventually people who want to talk to me enough will leave a message.
Nah, it doesn't work any better in the blogosphere than it does on the phone.
My phone pet peeve is that people with cell phones seem to think that anyone who calls them is more important than whoever they are with. No matter the context, they will answer their phone (including a former senior pastor I worked for, who would answer his phone in staff meetings or when we were in prayer).
e.g.
"Hello"
"Hi, this is Tiffany."
"Uh, yeah. I already know. (snicker) Caller ID? You don't have to tell me who you are."
I, of course, have not yet learned the wisdom of screening calls and open up my cell for any beep without knowing who is on the other end. Sometimes I wish I was more techno aware!