# "I never call myself, HA HA HA!!" Shut up Shut up SHUT UP! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 28, 2006, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-call-myself-ha-ha-ha-shut-up-shut-up-shut-up/370524 "2006-08-28T15:01:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2006, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-call-myself-ha-ha-ha-shut-up-shut-up-shut-up/370524/41 "2006-08-29T01:29:16Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] And if no one ever calls you, why in the name of Fuckity T Fuck do you have a cell phone? [/QUOTE] My cell phone is rarely turned on. I have one because it is a job requirement. And I couldn’t tell you offhand what the number is either. > [@eleanorrigby](#): > > A rant here about an irritant at work does not disqualify someone for customer service. > > You should hear us in the nurse’s break room, for heaven’s sake. If you and/or your colleagues are sounding off at the frequency and intensity level demonstrated by **Otto** in this forum, then I will do my best to remain an outpatient. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2006, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-call-myself-ha-ha-ha-shut-up-shut-up-shut-up/370524/42 "2006-08-29T01:33:08Z")
Oh, brother. :rolleyes: not enough of those. Can most of you truly not separate feelings from actions? I can’t speak for **Otto** , but you can bug the shit out of me as a pt and you would never know it. Truly–in 20 years of nursing, I have had one complaint against me–and that was unfounded(they mixed me up with someone else). I must admit I am somewhat flabbergasted. I vent and kvetch about work quite a bit, but when I am at the bedside, I am professional. That doesn’t work for everyone? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2006, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-call-myself-ha-ha-ha-shut-up-shut-up-shut-up/370524/43 "2006-08-29T02:45:39Z")
If you get frustrated and vent sometimes but basically are satisfied with and/or love your job, fine. If you loathe your job, would rather do something else but can’t, and frequently feel great hostility toward those you serve, that could well be a problem for your clients/customers. I think you can tell the difference between those two situations. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2006, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-call-myself-ha-ha-ha-shut-up-shut-up-shut-up/370524/44 "2006-08-29T02:52:09Z")
[QUOTE=Finagle] My cell phone is my emergency-only, never turned on, signalling device. I have its number written down in my wallet in case I ever have to give it to anyone because I have no clue what it is. And yes, I use the "I never call myself " line because, well, I never call myself. Yeah, I’d say get another job. [/QUOTE] Ditto. My cell phone’s just a security blanket, in case of emergencies. And so far, I’ve never used it, other than occasionally checking the battery. Otto, I’m a huge fan of yours, but _really._ ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2006, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-call-myself-ha-ha-ha-shut-up-shut-up-shut-up/370524/45 "2006-08-29T02:59:20Z")
Well, I am the latter of those two–and I still get accolades from pts and families. I am now in grad school for a complete change of career. I do have pride in my work and I want to be help people. My personal feelings for you as a pt do not enter into my interactions with you- I am your nurse: not your friend, therapist, confessor or mother (although sometimes pts want us to be all of those and then some–I’m also not your geisha girl or your sexual fantasy come to life-don’t think that doesn’t happen). Most everyone gets the same treatment-courteous, efficient, compassionate treatment. And yes, I DO go home and roll my eyes over(some) stuff that was asked of me each day. I don’t get where there’s a problem with that? Did you think I loved answering your call light every 15 minutes for 12 hours? (not that that happens, really–I anticipate needs, so that calls are at a minimum). I could go on, but there’s not much point. Again, I cannot speak for **Otto** , but since the Pit is the place to vent nasty shit, I give him the benefit of the doubt and think that perhaps he just wanted to blow off steam. I would most likely be homicidal if I worked the phone for customer relations–because I wouldn’t be able to stand all those people hanging up on me, but as always, everyone’s MMV. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2006, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-call-myself-ha-ha-ha-shut-up-shut-up-shut-up/370524/46 "2006-08-29T03:19:49Z")
[QUOTE=faithfool] I also work with the public and constantly hear the things mentioned, over and over again (plus the “Are you working hard or hardly working?” one), with many variations on really obvious things. Like asking where the bathrooms are while they’re standing right under, and next to, the BATHROOM sign. It doesn’t bother me at all and I like to think they’re trying to make me feel more comfortable about the awkward situation and therefore I hope to do the same. 🙂 [/QUOTE] Man, I wish I could have your attitude. It’d make my life so much easier. I get really irritated at hearing the same things over and over, or seeing people do the same dumb action over and over. Oh, I remain outwardly pleasant, of course, but inside I’m gnashing my teeth and struggling to keep my smile intact. Must be a personality thing. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2006, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-call-myself-ha-ha-ha-shut-up-shut-up-shut-up/370524/47 "2006-08-29T03:43:00Z")
[QUOTE=Lissa] Man, I wish I could have your attitude. It’d make my life so much easier. I get really irritated at hearing the same things over and over, or seeing people do the same dumb action over and over. Oh, I remain outwardly pleasant, of course, but inside I’m gnashing my teeth and struggling to keep my smile intact. Must be a personality thing. [/QUOTE] In my case, I try to remember all the shit that goes on for me to be able to do even the simplest of tasks. Which often transcends to me looking an ass. And I figure if I have that much of a difficult time (by not having been out much in the daily work world and my experiences to dwell from are all over a decade old), then others might have similar reasoning. Like a death in the family, where mundane stuff doesn’t really filter through. Or a general overload of stimuli that means much must _have_ to fall through the cracks. Or Aspergers. Or whatever. Instead of this making me more frustrated that I let EVERYONE off the hook, it actually achieves the opposite effect. I feel lighter by not being worried over my reactions or by expending hatred/ill will unnecessarily. It has indeed been integal in keeping my blood pressure down and my (occasional) optimism high. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2006, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-call-myself-ha-ha-ha-shut-up-shut-up-shut-up/370524/48 "2006-08-29T03:51:17Z")
How do they get my number? Easy, they tell me their number, I punch it into my cell phone, hit send, and then they have my number. I never even see my number during this process. Get another job. Tris ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2006, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-call-myself-ha-ha-ha-shut-up-shut-up-shut-up/370524/49 "2006-08-29T04:03:41Z")
Gee, not many respondents have keyed in on this bit of idiocy: > [@Otto](#): > > And if no one ever calls you, why in the name of Fuckity T Fuck do you have a cell phone? I am considering getting a cell phone to which I will not give out the number to anyone (with the possible exception of my wife). I intend to get one so that I can reach other people in the case of an emergency. I have no desire for other people to call me other than on my home land line (and I screen it pretty rigorously). The notion that I would get a phone so that some corporation can make lots of money while people interrupt my day is unappealing and the idea that I should only have such a phone for that purpose, when expressed by one of the corporations lower minions, falls into the realm of the absurd. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2006, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-call-myself-ha-ha-ha-shut-up-shut-up-shut-up/370524/50 "2006-08-29T04:55:55Z")
For years after I first got my cell phone, the number was known to my wife, my parents, and my kids. I got the phone, gave them all the number, and promptly forgot it. I had no need to memorize the number, because I didn’t want anyone else to have it. The cell phone is for _my_ convenience, so I can make outgoing calls and emergency calls, or be contacted by the family in an emergency. Recently, I’ve had to give it out to more people. Now I get calls on it. I’m thinking of changing the number. I want my family to be able to get hold of me, but I don’t want to be available to everyone else all the time. **Otto** , have you never thought about the reasons people have cell phones? Did you, perhaps, not consider that memorizing your own number just isn’t important to many of us? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2006, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-call-myself-ha-ha-ha-shut-up-shut-up-shut-up/370524/51 "2006-08-29T06:59:38Z")
I can remember my current cell number. It’s the first cell number I’ve had for over three months. Yay! Previous ones, I had to carry them written in a piece of paper. The joke is silly as hell, though. My mother has learned that she can use her voicemail to leave messages for herself 😃 ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2006, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-call-myself-ha-ha-ha-shut-up-shut-up-shut-up/370524/52 "2006-08-29T12:54:40Z")
[QUOTE=Lissa] Man, I wish I could have your attitude. It’d make my life so much easier. I get really irritated at hearing the same things over and over, or seeing people do the same dumb action over and over. Oh, I remain outwardly pleasant, of course, but inside I’m gnashing my teeth and struggling to keep my smile intact. Must be a personality thing. [/QUOTE] Probably. I think there are three ways of handling what could be classified as “really stupid customers.” 1. Act friendly and feel superior to their stupidity. 2. Ignore the stupidity. 3. Laugh with them. For me, 3 is easiest. I think 1 is hard, because not only are most people terrible actors, but it also is a strain keeping up a facade. I use a combination of 2 and 3. I haven’t managed to make that work for one of my coworkers. She does inspire eyerolling and the occasional pit thread. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2006, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-call-myself-ha-ha-ha-shut-up-shut-up-shut-up/370524/53 "2006-08-29T13:53:43Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] The notion that I would get a phone so that some corporation can make lots of money while people interrupt my day is unappealing and the idea that I should only have such a phone for that purpose, when expressed by one of the corporations lower minions, falls into the realm of the absurd. [/QUOTE] Actually, as I explained in the second sentence of the OP and which a lot of people still somehow managed to miss, I need the cell phone to give the customers money. They buy a phone and get a rebate, and so we can have some level of assurance that we’re giving that money to the person who’s actually entitled to it we require callers to verify address and cell number. We’re an inbound call center. We don’t interrupt anyone’s day. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2006, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-call-myself-ha-ha-ha-shut-up-shut-up-shut-up/370524/54 "2006-08-29T14:17:03Z")
**Otto** , dear, there’s GOT to be SOMETHING else you can do, somewhere in Dane county! I had jobs exactly like yours for YEARS and they made me sick, physically ill - truly, I have no molars left, ground those suckers down clenching my teeth. There must be something else you really want from life. It’s hard to make a change, let go of certainty (even though it’s a miserable certainty), but you’d be amazed at what a difference it would make. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2006, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-call-myself-ha-ha-ha-shut-up-shut-up-shut-up/370524/55 "2006-08-29T17:07:17Z")
[QUOTE=jsgoddess] Probably. I think there are three ways of handling what could be classified as “really stupid customers.” 1. Act friendly and feel superior to their stupidity. 2. Ignore the stupidity. 3. Laugh with them. For me, 3 is easiest. I think 1 is hard, because not only are most people terrible actors, but it also is a strain keeping up a facade. I use a combination of 2 and 3. [/QUOTE] I am pretty good at the “acting” part. It was something I got from my early childhood training. I was taught to always remain polite and pleasant even if I’m close to comitting murder. I consider it practice-- if I can remain polite with this dipshit, I know I can remain polite with _anyone._ It is a strain, but I consider it a battle against my own bad traits for which I will emerge a stronger person. What I do to cope is write scathing, hilarious Pit threads in my head about them. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2006, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-call-myself-ha-ha-ha-shut-up-shut-up-shut-up/370524/56 "2006-08-29T17:16:19Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] Actually, as I explained in the second sentence of the OP and which a lot of people still somehow managed to miss, I need the cell phone to give the customers money. They buy a phone and get a rebate, and so we can have some level of assurance that we’re giving that money to the person who’s actually entitled to it we require callers to verify address and cell number. We’re an inbound call center. We don’t interrupt anyone’s day. [/QUOTE] That was not, however, your explicit comment. I understand that you are irritated by people who do not know their number at a particular point in a business transaction. However, what you said that I quoted was > [@](#): > > And if no one ever calls you, why in the name of Fuckity T Fuck do you have a cell phone? My specific response is that I would wish to have a cell phone explicitly (and exclusively) for outgoing calls. Therefore, your criticism, that a person has no reason to have a cell phone unless they wish to accept incoming calls (thus increasing the business of a corporation while interrupting my day) is absurd. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2006, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-call-myself-ha-ha-ha-shut-up-shut-up-shut-up/370524/57 "2006-08-29T18:17:06Z")
Personally, I think that Otto isn’t nearly as unreasonable as he’s being made out here. He’s got a customer service job. The customers sometimes get on his nerves. Who the hell hasn’t been annoyed by customers sometimes? If everyone who hated customers sometimes quit their jobs, there wouldn’t be anyone doing them. I think bitching about it on a message board is a pretty reasonable response. And I can see exactly why that joke would be annoying. The implication of it is that it’s perfectly reasonable not to know your cell phone. “Oh, I never call myself, silly! How would I know my own phone number?” Sure, people might not remember it immediately, and maybe they didn’t realize that they would be expected to know it when they called their provider, but that doesn’t mean it should be expected that someone won’t know their own cell phone number. I mean, I forget things I should know all the time. I don’t try to make jokes about how there’s no reason for me to know them in the first place. I’m way more inclined to just say, “Oops, ha ha, lemme get that. Sorry!” Cut him some slack. Being annoyed at customers is what customer service jobs are all about. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2006, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-call-myself-ha-ha-ha-shut-up-shut-up-shut-up/370524/58 "2006-08-29T18:55:49Z")
[QUOTE=Lissa] I am pretty good at the “acting” part. It was something I got from my early childhood training. I was taught to always remain polite and pleasant even if I’m close to comitting murder. I consider it practice-- if I can remain polite with this dipshit, I know I can remain polite with _anyone._ It is a strain, but I consider it a battle against my own bad traits for which I will emerge a stronger person. What I do to cope is write scathing, hilarious Pit threads in my head about them. [/QUOTE] Exactly. Precisely. Yes. And all the rest. I’m with Linus: I love mankind, it’s people I can’t stand. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2006, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-call-myself-ha-ha-ha-shut-up-shut-up-shut-up/370524/59 "2006-08-29T19:04:34Z")
[QUOTE=Excalibre] Cut him some slack. . [/QUOTE] Ok, but not for this thread- for his other fine and noteworthy contributions to this board. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2006, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-call-myself-ha-ha-ha-shut-up-shut-up-shut-up/370524/60 "2006-08-29T21:06:41Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] Ok, but not for this thread- for his other fine and noteworthy contributions to this board. [/QUOTE] Yes, exactly. We’re all entitled to be a bitch sometimes; and at least with Otto, it’s the rare exception, not the rule. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-call-myself-ha-ha-ha-shut-up-shut-up-shut-up/370524.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-call-myself-ha-ha-ha-shut-up-shut-up-shut-up/370524.md?page=4)