I don’t think I can work up the vitriol for this to qualify as a rant, maybe an expression of mild annoyance with a side of asking for advice.
Some phone number from Michigan has been calling me once or twice a day for a week or two. The calls usually go something like this:
<Ring! Ring!>
“This is metronome.”
“'ALLO?!”
“Hello?”
“'ALLO?!”
“Hello, this is metronome.”
“'ALLO?!”
“Yes, hello!”
<click>
When I don’t catch the phone in time, or don’t feel like going through the whole exchange, they never leave a voicemail. When I try to call back, I get an automated message that I’ve reached a nonworking number. I used several reverse lookup sites, but my only option there seems to be to pay five bucks to have it traced.
Today, they called 20 minutes after I missed a call from them. Being stuck in storm-related gridlock, I had nothing better to do than pick up the phone and yell at them to tell me who they are or stop calling. The “response” sounded like two people talking together, and the background was so noisy that I couldn’t even tell whether they were speaking English.
Verizon won’t help me, because blocking a number can’t be done for a cell phone. They can change my number, and that’s it. Well, I’ve had this number for five years. Then they told me to call the police. I did, but the police said that since these jerkoffs aren’t actually talking to me, the calls aren’t harassment, and I should talk to the phone company.
So, now what? Is there really nothing I can do? This is annoying the piss out of me. I mean, most people would figure out that they have the wrong number by now. It’s actually kinda creepy, y’know?
Google the number. Don’t look for a reverse phone search, just plug the number into google and see what comes back. Or try whocallsme.com and put the number in there. If they call a decent number of people it will be in that database.
If that doesn’t work buy a fog horn and when that number comes up answer accordingly.
Think of it as an opportunity. You can vent all your anger and frustrations on these people for disturbing your placid demeanor. Go nuts. After a few such smackdowns, they’ll either stop calling or start talking.
Hey hey HEY! Be kind to strangers! It could be a Nigerian prince in need of assistance with extricating himself and his family fortune to a safer land. Help him out and I’m sure he’ll cut you off a good chunk of cheese for your trouble.
Is it always the same number? I get daily calls from everywhere in North America - it’s just telemarketers. I just pick up and hang up on them now. They never leave messages if I let it go to my answering machine. Fine - you don’t want to talk to me, I don’t want to talk to you. You’d think at some point they’d stop calling, but there seems to be an infinite number of telemarketing companies with an infinite amount of numbers with infinite patience to keep calling me with no response.
Yesterday I was at home alone all day, with the gathering storm clouds and torrential rain outside. Just trying to get some work done on the computer, and the phone rings. I go to answer it, but the answering machine picks up before I do. This older sounding guy says, in a voice just above a gravelly whisper, “The blood of Christ covers everything here”, (or something along those lines) and hangs up.
I had a very strange call at work today. I answered the phone, and as always, identified myself by name. This obviously very old woman asks, “Is this Jill?”
“Yes, this is Jill.”
“This is Jill?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Oh, hold on a moment, I have to put my hearing aid in.”
“Hello, my name is Gladys Can’trecallhername, and I have your name on a piece of paper. Do you know why I would have your name written down?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“Is your last name [incorrectly spells my last name]?”
“Well, it’s spelled wrong, but yes, that’s me.”
“And you don’t know why I would have your name written down?”
“No ma’am, I’m afraid I don’t.”
She just kept asking me, “Why do I have your name written down?”
We went through the “what business are you in?”, “could you have been referred by so-and-so?” type questions, and eventually I just suggested that she throw it away and forget about it, as it obviously couldn’t have been that important. Very odd.
I sympathize with the constant wrong number call-backs, though. How about getting one of those throw-away phones for 30 days, tell all your friends and family that you have a temporary new number, then forward your old number to a fax machine? Eventually, they’ll stop calling and you can start using your old number again!
“Hello is Carrie [something] there?”
“I think you have the wrong number.”
“Is this xxx-xxx-xxxx?”
“Yes.”
“So I have the wrong name and right number?”
“Yes.”
“Well it’s actually the number I’m interested in. You have been entered in [blah blah] sweepstakes [blah blah blah]”
“Not interested, remove me from your list and don’t call back, thanks.”
“You don’t even know what…” click
How can someone expect me to talk to them if they have NO IDEA who they are actually calling? I’m not about to give you more information so you can sell it to other jerks who want to call me. Of all the “wrong name” calls I’ve gotten to this number (had it about 4 years now), no one’s asked for Carrie - makes me think this company just calls random numbers and asks for the same name every time and hopes for some sucker to give them more personal information. ARGH!!
I’ve changed my greeting since then, but for quite a while I had “This is Canadjun. If you want anyone else you have the wrong number. Otherwise please leave a message after the beep.” and I still had people leaving messages for other people, including calls from businesses. I never bothered calling back to correct them.
Just what I was thinking. Clearly there is a spate of Post-It pranksters sweeping the country leaving random people’s names and numbers on other people’s desks.
Canadjun, most people don’t pay attention to the name given when the phone is answered. Sometimes the person receiving the call doesn’t, either! We’ve recently had a spate of phone calls for the restaurant at Wembley Arena (it’s one digit different). Unfortunately, my colleague that usually sits at that desk is called Rena.
Stranger (muffled): “…mbley Arena?”
Me: “Yes, this is Rena’s phone, but she’s not here at the moment”
You can imagine the confusion until we figured it out. Now we just give them Wembley Arena’s number. (Or confirm their reservation, if they sound like jerks )
I’m a unemployed at the moment so every so often I’ll wind up in a phone call which goes like this:
Me: Hello?
Automated Voice: Please hold for an important message from ________ company
Me (to self): OK, I’ve got nothing better to do. May as well see what this is all about.
Several seconds of silence ensue followed by the disconnect sound at full volume.
If I ever get to talk to a human being, that company will be told never to call that number again!
Eventually, they’ll stop calling and you can start using your old number again!
)