Area code first. I used to live in a place that switched to ten-digit dialing years ago, and I moved to a place that just made the switch last summer. They always gave me funny looks when I said the area code (the entire island is the same, it’s not like there was any question of it in most situations) but now I have the last laugh as I know how to properly dial a phone.
I give the area code first unless I know the person asking is in the same area code as I am. And usually anyway if it’s the first contact with a business or something like that.
Fill out any form online, either an order from a retailer or even shipping Fed Ex and they ask for the number in the (XXX) XXX-XXXX format. Anything else is just out of sorts.
I think it’s safe to say that when the area code is given last, it’s an afterthought. This happens when people have spent years - maybe decades - not normally needing to use the area code, but recently are in a situation where sometimes the area code needs to be specified and sometimes it doesn’t. The main number is given by itself out of habit and without thinking, and in the few seconds it takes to do that the need to give the area code comes to mind.
Yes, what I was trying to say is that when it’s said that way, it’s because the area code is an afterthought. Not because that’s the “normal” way to give the number.
That being confirmed, those who refuse to accept the format of phone THEN fax deserve to listen to fax lines beeping in their ears all day long. Who does fax then phone besides the most backwards of my clients?
Area code, then number. That’s the way it’s dialed, that’s the way it’s read.
I actually did that this week; I was trying to get someone a number quickly, so I just rattled off the important numbers and threw in the common area code at the end. That’s the only situation, in my opinion, where that could be considered normal in my area.
I see that you’re from San Antonio, TX. I was stationed at Fort Sam Houston for eight months a couple years ago, and the entire time I was there I thought it was strange that people didn’t use the area codes all the time. Like if I were using a hotel’s phone to order for pizza, I’d give them the phone number and the guy on the other end–a San Antonio native, presumably–almost seemed annoyed that I’d start with the “210” or whatever it was. The whole time I was there, I couldn’t get used to giving only a 7 digit phone number.
Yeah, I’m from the other side of the state, and that’s pretty much how it goes. I haven’t had to, but if I were to give my next-door-neighbor my landline phone number, I’m sure I’d instinctively start by giving my area code. 
Chalk me up with “never heard of it being done that way” and also as someone who always gives a full 10-digit number (there’s too many area codes around here to assume and, besides, my area code [312] does not reflect the area code the land lines in my area have [773]).
Here in Australia we tend to give the area code first, if we know it’s necessary. Or someone will say (over the phone) what’s your phone no.? I give the no. then they may say ‘what’s the area code?’
It’s only necessary for national calls.
If I am giving out my full number it is area code then number.
If I am giving it to someone in town I may just give the 7 diget number. Which always get the “that’s 408 area code, right”
I don’t think I’ve ever heard it that way, and I’m in the same area. Then again, maybe I’ve never noticed.
I know what you mean. I started thinking of my phone number as 908-###-#### a long long time ago. I’m not going to bother to consider what area code I’m in and then subtract the first three numbers. That’s way more effort all around, and more likely to cause errors. Especially around here. I live in that skinny strip of 908 that stretches across the state. I generally have no clue that I’ve wandered into 732 or 973 territory.
Wait a minute–aren’t you in 732? I thought there was now a second area code in that region? Is that so?
And you know what drives me nuts? My job is in the 908 area. On my work phone, you’re not allowed to dial all 10 digits if you’re dialing within 908! You have to subtract the area code and dial the 7 digits. If you don’t, it rings some guy’s extension. I feel sorry for that guy. He must get accidental phone calls all day long.
Since we’ve just recently switched to 10 digit dialling I’m slowly switching to reciting my phone number to local people as 780 555 1212 but still sometimes say just 555 1212 (needless to say that is not really my number). The changeover was recent enough that 780 is still a reasonable assumption if it isn’t mentioned.
For people that are long distance from me I normally say “area code 780” 555 1212, but I suspect I’ll quit saying that as I get used to always reciting 10 digits.
In Orlando(ish) we HAVE to give the area code first. You must dial the area code and then the number, even when making local calls.
So in the OP’s example, giving the phone number first and the area code last would mean you gave the wrong phone number, since the call wouldn’t go through.
LA, right? Around here, you can’t assume you know someone’s area code based on where they live or work, because the lines are weird. I used to live on the edge of the 323, which is more of a westside area code, even though I was an eastsider, and the 626 began right across the street. And when I first got a cell phone, even though I lived in the 323 (across the street from the 626) and worked in the 213, they gave me an 818 number. And now I work in the 213 with people who live in the 310, the 805 and the 562 (and some even in the 949 and 909), as well as the 323, 626, and 818. And then there are the LA transplants who just can’t give up their old number…
So if you don’t give your area code first, it’s kind of useless.
I still have an out of state area code, even though I’ve lived in Phoenix for 6 years, I just never changed it. Whenever people ask me for my phone number I say 704 - - and they often groan, roll their eyes, and say AREA CODE FIRST! So I say 704 - -
I have a similar problem with my cellphone number. A typical cellphone in my area begins with 495 or 493, so when I say, “My cellphone is 347…”, I can count on a response like, “That’s your cell number? It can’t be! You mean 495, don’t you?”
It’s an interesting exercise in “natural logic” (I just made that up), since if for years, if all the cellphone numbers you ever heard began with 495 or 493, you will assume that they all do.
Actually, I sort of look at it the other way.
I’m a born-n-bred local and for 25 years everyone in a 3-city area had the same first 3 digits that were used only for these 3 towns. So 123- ALWAYS meant a 330 area code.
Then we apparently ran out of 123- numbers and I got a 987- number when I moved. Same town as I was brought up in, it was just no longer the comfortable 123-.
So, I make sure I give everyone the area code, whether or not they’re born-n-bred here, because I am from here and I still don’t consider 987- to be a real extension for this town. It’s just plain odd.
(123- and 987- are fakies btw. Just used them to describe how very different the new and old sequences are)
The only time people have given it last that I’ve heard is when it’s preceeded by a variation on the words “oh, um…it’s area code___” because they forgot to give it at the beginning.
I always say, “Area Code 123, 456-7890”.