A lot of people seem to have a very aggravating tendency to be very vague when sending emails and text messages. A lot of times, the message will simply be “call me”, and they will refuse to provide any more information even after I have replied asking what the matter is about. They have this fixation on synchronous verbal communication and don’t seem to trust email and texting for some reason.
What is it with these “please call me” assholes? If the matter isn’t important enough for you to write one or two sentences, then it isn’t important enough for me to spend the time to call you over it. I’m not illiterate, I can read a text message or email and don’t have to have it read out to me verbally. If I have a question about what you have written, there is a reply button and I can ask for clarification without us needing to schedule a synchronous verbal linkage.
My dad drives me nuts with that. I’ll get a text message that just says, “call me when you can”. I freak out because did someone die? In the hospital? A tree fell through the roof? No, he wants to know if there’s anything he should get at the store for when I’m visiting next weekend.
Some people just don’t get that some phrases just sound ominous and need to be surrounded by more context so that the receiver doesn’t have a heart attack.
I particularly like these emails when they’re a response to things like Craigslist ads. No content, no confirmation they’re interested, no counteroffer, just dude call me.
Because texting takes longer and there can be a lot of miscommunication whereas on the other hand, a simple call can explain things within seconds. It’s a lot faster and easier, you know?
You can reverse the nouns there with no exceptions.
Yes, there are times people try to email or IM at lengths that are ridiculous compared to the scant seconds ear-to-ear communication would take. OTOH, I loathe nothing more than a phone call that requires me to take several minutes of careful dictation of names, numbers, dates, directions and such that would fit into the semi-permanent and error-reducing form of text.
My sentiments exactly. My mother is notorious for doing this. “Call me”. “Mom what is it?” “Please call me”. It makes me worry - did my brother get sliced in half by an out-of-control tractor trailer and I need to identify his body in the morgue? Is Aunt Suzie in jail again? No, mom was apparently just browsing some website and saw <some job/training/grad school/travel/whatever opportunity> and wanted to know if I wanted a copy. Sheesh. Just send me a copy of the article, a link to the article, or whatever.
Ugh. Texting is great for relaying certain information (as long as you actually convey all the necessary information), but terrible when there has to be a discussion, and even worse when said discussion involves multiple people.
There are many times when I get frustrated with endless texting and have to call the people to get an actual, interactive conversation going to resolve an issue. And let’s face it, some people are terrible texters.
Perhaps, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t spend 15 seconds and explain why you need to speak on the phone. E.g. “Son, can you call me this week so we can decide if we’re going to visit my sister over the long weekend and how we’re going to get there. Kthxbai”. That would let me know it’s just vacation plans and not have to worry that it’s about my sister being in the hospital or something.
There’s nothing wrong with saying you need to talk to someone via phone instead of text, but give a little context. It’s like posting a thread entitled “Read this.”
I always give at least a simple sentence saying why I want to talk, whether it’s a voice message or a text message. At the very least, I’ll say, “It’s not an emergency or anything.”
Exactly. Not only that, but it will save you time if you give a brief description of why you’re calling. People do this to me at work all the time - not with texts as much as emails and voice mails. I have no idea why they’re calling, so when I call them back, they have to hang on the phone and listen to me type while I figure out the answer to their question. If they had left a brief explanation of their problem, I would have been able to at least have the correct screens pulled up when I call them back, if not the complete answer.
Question: Why would anybody use a phone to text someone “call me” when they could use the phone to, and I know this sounds crazy, call the person they wanted to talk to?
If my mother were indeed “notorious” for sending “Call me” texts, I think it would take me about three times to work out that a “Call me” text from my mother is unlikely to be an emergency, and is probably something I don’t need to worry about very much.
If your mother constantly texts you to call her, and you freak out about the possibility of a family tragedy every time you get the text, I think that the biggest problem might be your inability to learn from experience.
WAG: Maybe the person they’re texting is busy and unable to call right then.
However, a useless and potentially panic-inducing “call me” is likely to make them drop everything, even urgent stuff, to call right away anyway… so, yeah. Not so useful.
Really, texting “call me” is like a guy finding a “we need to talk” note from his girlfriend only to discover she meant “…about finalizing our vacation plans for next month” or something equally non-earth-shattering.
Unfortunately, i know a few incredibly annoying people who refuse to answer an actual call, but will always check and respond to a text message. I’ve watched it happen. They hear the ringing tone that indicates an incoming call, and they won’t even move. They hear the beep that indicates an incoming text, and they’re across the room in five seconds flat checking to see what the message is.
I sent “call me” texts to two of my sisters last week. I had been trying to call them both. A family member had died and I wanted to tell them with my own voice before they saw the RIP post that had already gone up on Facebook. I can’t think of any other reason I would send a text like that.
I also hate checking my voice mail to get a message saying, “Sorry I missed you. I guess I’ll call back later.” Don’t leave a message that’s not worth checking!