Have you every experienced this? I have a friend who refuses to buy a cell phone because he doesn’t think people should be reachable 24/7. This weekend he chastised me for, of all things, not answering the phone.
Having a cell phone only means I can be accessible, not that I will be! Furthermore, he calls incessantly and leaves the same damn voice mail, “Hello, if you’re there pick up the phone.” How many friggin’ times do I have to explain to him that it’s voice mail, I don’t actually hear you when you’re leaving a message. Would you kindly attempt to drag yourself into *at least * the 20th century so you can be clear on these concepts!
You needn’t even leave me a message, I see that you’ve called on my call history, hell I don’t even need to look at that. I can predict with at least 99% accuracy that you’ve called me at least 3 times, as you do every friggin day! Unless you have some pertinent information that I simply must know stop clogging up my voice mail box with your pointless ramblings. I couldn’t accept voicemails for a week because you filled my box up and I couldn’t be arsed to clear it out. I don’t even listen to his messages anymore, the minute it announces the message is from his number I delete it!
I got nothin’ to add here. You’ve summed up my phone relationship with my mother. I’ll be getting three to five calls from her per day until she either goes deaf or becomes too arthritic to push the buttons on her phone.
When, very much against my will, I become the owner of a phone I never wanted (because my family decided it was essential for me to have an ‘emergency’ phone - which I’m still paying off, I might add) I decided that I’d make it very clear it was not a ‘contact me anytime’ device.
The message on my phone?
“I am not going to answer this phone, ever. It is switched off. It will always be switched off. Any messages left on this phone if/when I eventually use it will be deleted, and I won’t be checking them first. If you want me to get back to you today, email me. If you want me to get back to you in a few days, leave a message on the home phone. Byeeeeeee.”
My sister calls back right away if I don’t answer. Just to make sure if maybe I couldn’t get to the phone in time before it went to voicemail. Three times, every time. Plus she calls back after a couple hours to see if I got her voicemail.
Uh, he doesn’t own a cell phone, how do you know he knows there even is such a thing as a “call history”? When I had a cell phone (admittedly a cheap pre-paid cell phone, but a cell phone nevertheless) it didn’t have a call history.
As much your fault as his. It doesn’t take that long to delete a VM so if you left his sitting there for a week and you missed voice mails, blame yourself.
Can’t you set up your phone not to accept calls from this guy’s phone number? I can do that even on my practically-Luddite landline. Obviously you don’t want to talk to the guy, so it shouldn’t be that big a sacrifice to block his number.
I have the same issue with my mother. Well, i used to have it. Eventually i just stopped returning any calls which were ‘bombardment calls’ i.e. if she sent the same VM/text about the same thing then she got no callback. If she left ONE message then i called back. She got the message.
Well, I agree you don’t have to answer the phone if you don’t feel like it. But my sister NEVER answers her phone. NEVER. And either she doesn’t have a caller ID history thingy or she’s being an ass. You can’t reach her at the office (she’s an Admin…she’s probably sitting right there) or at her house. EVER. It really pisses me off. I’m not one to call and chat. I may place a half dozen calls to her in a year. If I’m calling her it’s because I need to talk to her. It pisses me off to no end. Just fucking answer the phone or if you don’t have an answering machine, fucking get one.
I love it! It’s similar to what my future phone answering machine message will be: “Hi, you’ve reached Pepper. I have call display and can see who is calling, chances are I don’t want to talk to you. Don’t leave a message either, because I likely won’t get back to you. If you are someone that I wish to talk with, then you won’t be hearing this message. Take care”
Only more witty. I’ve only had one coffee this morning.
Sounds like he doesn’t think that people shouldn’t be reachable, he only happens to choose that for himself, and knowing that you are reachable, he sees no reason not to try reaching you. I can see that this annoys you, but what are you going to do; you have a device that allows you to be reached, even by irritating people. Sucks, don’t it? Sounds like you’re starting to see his side of the argument.
OTOH, maybe his persistence is a result of your avoidance; maybe he leaves three messages on your voicemail because leaving one message never seems to work, in fact, it’s almost like you’re deleting them without even listening or something.
I do not have a cell phone and never have. Unfortunately, we will need to get one, as we’ve decided if we’re stranded while boating it would be less stressful to actually reach someone.
Like many others here have posted, this phone will not be in use for any time other than when we’re on the boat, or if I have to travel. Period. I don’t want to be that accessible. I don’t even talk on my land line that much. I’m not a phone chatter.
My phone exists for MY convenience. Sounds miserly and mean, but I can’t stand talking on the phone.
I have a work-issued cell phone that only work people can reach me on. We have an old-fashioned answering machine. I often screen calls. I don’t feel the need to bullshit with people after a long day at work. But I need to know if our ageing parents are in trauma. If I can’t find my dad and I want to know if my sister knows where he is, I need to talk to her. I’m not going to tie up her evening with idle chit chat. If Mr. Kal’s mom falls and is in the hospital, we need to know that too. I am not a slave to the phone, but I certainly have one for a reason. Listening to it ring endlessly isn’t one of the reasons.
Yes, voice-mail. I let the phone ring, and I check it a few minutes later when it’s convenient. If the call was important, I return it. It usually isn’t.
I hear that. I let the family know that I crash early and if they want to talk, they need to do it before 7:00 because I don’t know if I’ll be up.
I prefer the answering machine to voicemail, because I can tell right then whether or not I’ll take the call. I don’t want to have to dial into VM during a movie or whatever. Just my preference.
Also, that Do Not Call registry worked wonders for me. Whoever got that passed should get a raise.
one of my ‘acquaintances’ complains when he finally gets hold of me by saying “I’ve rung you loads of times and all I get is your answering machine.”
He never leaves a message! :smack:
You know, you don’t have to have a phone for that - just get a marine VHF radio. Channel 16 is the emergency channel. Plus your location can be determined from your transmissions on the radio, which is good if you don’t know where you are. And once you buy it, as long as the batteries are charged, you’re good. No monthly fee. Just don’t use it like a CB radio. Real boaters don’t say “What’s your 20??”
If I miss a call on my cell and it’s not one of the few selective people I always talk to, I won’t call back unless they leave a voicemail. Because I know if I miss certain calls, the person wanted to know something at the exact time they called, not hours later when I get the missed call, and it ends up being a pointless call.
A voicemail or text is the one way to get me to respond for sure. Missed call, not so much. If you didn’t leave a message of some sort, your call was obviously not that important.
