Leaping into the 21st Century, I used to keep getting texts from a bloke that was convinced I was his dad. When I texted him back saying he had a wrong number, he wouldn't beleive me! He just though I was his dad messing around with him!
Leaping into the 21st Century, I used to keep getting texts from a bloke that was convinced I was his dad. When I texted him back saying he had a wrong number, he wouldn't beleive me! He just though I was his dad messing around with him!
Aren't folks weird when this happens? They've dialled the wrong number but they seem to think it's your fault. Even more odd, they doubt your word!
My mum gets that where she works- she keeps getting pensioners phoning for this catalogue, and they're always insistent that they haven't dialled the wrong number, even when she tells them they have.
Slightly off-topic, but my dad phoned the doctor once and got through to an answering machine. He thought it was a bit odd, because it was during the day, but he just left a message anyway, outlining his symptoms and that. Anyway, there was no reply for hours, and so he rang again. This time he got through and asked if they'd got his message - but they didn't know what he was talking about.
It turned out that he had rung a construction firm by mistake. I bet the person who got the message with my dad's symptoms and everything had a good laugh!
Once my grandmother had said to me that she thought I sounded really professional on our answer machine message- and I had to tell her that it wasn't me on our answerphone! Turned out she'd rung the wrong person and left a really detailed message on their phone!
This is a myth. Most police forces will advise that "Don’t try to blow a whistle down the phone - it doesn’t work and you’ll only give
the caller the satisfaction of knowing that they’ve got a reaction." Rather than say your nicked.
To sell phone equipment capable of damaging an ear drum would be negligence on the part of the phone manufacturers
Not true. I didn't say that blowing a whistle could get you charged, but causing damage by doing so could do.
I do know a fair bit about the subject, I spent over 6 years dealing day in day out with victims of nuisance calls, giving advice, helping the police take callers to court etc.
Last year I manged someone who had permanent ear damage caused by what is generally known as 'noise interference', which happened when she was on the phone working in a call centre. Rare, but it does happen.
At which point I explained that yes I was Lesley but no she wasn't my Mum, as my Mum had died 2 months before. She was very apologetic, her daughter's number was one digit different from mine.
Very upsetting and a bit spooky until I realised what had happened.
Many years ago our phone number was the same as a company who filled up cigarette machines, callers used to get the STD code wrong, mine was 0192x, theirs was 0129x.
Some idiot rang at 1am one morning, after his bar had closed, apparently his machines had run out, and left a most abusive message on my answerphone, I called his boss the next morning, and relayed the content of his message word for word. The chap who made the original call rang me to apologise.
I recently answered the phone at home to a woman who asked to speak to “William.”
When I told her she had the wrong number, she responded, in an incredibly patronising and overly patient voice, as though speaking to a child who had been caught telling lies: “Nooo, I don’t think I have actually!”
I was so irked at being essentially accused of lying. I replied: “Please don’t speak to me like that. I think I ought to know who lives in my own home, and I am telling you there is no William here!”
I heard a snort of disgust from her before I put the phone down. What did she expect me to say after she’d corrected me – “Oops sorry, my mistake, I totally forgot I actually DO have a William sharing my house!”?
Not true. I didn't say that blowing a whistle could get you charged, but causing damage by doing so could do.
I do know a fair bit about the subject, I spent over 6 years dealing day in day out with victims of nuisance calls, giving advice, helping the police take callers to court etc.
Last year I manged someone who had permanent ear damage caused by what is generally known as 'noise interference', which happened when she was on the phone working in a call centre. Rare, but it does happen.
Still disagree, under those circumstances the call centre would be responsible - not anyone at the other end of the line. If I blow a whistle in your ear in the street - yes fair enough, butI have no responsibility for the equipment you have connected to your phone socket or any damage it does.
If you damage your ears at a motorhead concert it's fair to blame the band. If you damage your ears listening to their CDs however...
A sales man kept calling my OH and I, he explained it wasnt a sales call but continued to ask us how much money we owed.
My OH being the wind up merchant that he is, decided to tell the sales man all the minor things we jokingly owed (blockbuster fines of about £1.70, owed the boy down the road a fiver for mowing my nans lawn etc.) at the end of the conversation the bill came to about £13, salesman not understanding a word he was saying, decided to offer us a loan of £13,000!!
We got bored and hung up, then he called back again. My OH carried on. Think he got the message he was taking the p*** and the sales man eventually hung up!
At which point I explained that yes I was Lesley but no she wasn't my Mum, as my Mum had died 2 months before. She was very apologetic, her daughter's number was one digit different from mine.
Very upsetting and a bit spooky until I realised what had happened.
A neighbour used to get calls intended for the local takeaway. After months of arguing with people - mainly drunks on Friday and Saturday evenings - he instead appeared to take their order, and said it would be there in 20 minutes. If anyone ever phoned to complain, he would tell them they had a wrong number. Takeaway went out of business some months later.
My advice to the OP would be to do what I did in a similar situation.
The 7th time the woman rang me, I asked her for her name and she said "Susan".
I said - and I was quite calm and not in any way peed off or angry or anything - "Susan. You've rung me 6 times now and 6 times i've told you that you have the wrong number. This is now the 7th time you've rung me. Can you please tell me how I can help you to understand that you are dialling the wrong number because obviously the phrase "Sorry but you've got the wrong number" hasn't worked the six other times i've said it to you".
One time I told someone they has the wrong number he started ranting and swearing at me
Is it true blowing a whistle is illegal or a waste of time. I had a spell of silent calls that drove me crazy and I did think of buying a whistle. I got onto cable and we set up an anonymous call block and they gave me the number for the privacy service too
Last week a woman rang our house one morning and asked to speak to Liz, now no one of that name lives here so I told her she had the wrong number and hung up. A few moments later she rang back again, 'Oh hello can I speak to Liz please'. So I pointed out once again she had the wrong number and had just phoned up a few moments before.
She wouldn't have it though and asked me if she was through to the social security offices or something like that. I said she'd rung my house, not the social security offices.
She sounded bemused and read out the number she'd intended to ring and its similar to ours but with one didgit different. I pointed this out to her, she apoligised and hung up. Then a few moments later she rang back again, this time I didn't answer because I regoginsed the number on the screen. I think I'd have shouted at her if I'd answered it.
This morning im sat in the living room and guess what she rings again. 'Hello can I speak to Liz at Social Security'. Me throuhg gritted teeth, 'sorry you've got the wrong number, and you rang here last asking the same thing week having miss dialied.'. She was flustered and hung up on me, before ringing back yet again:mad: This time I ignored it.
She's really pissing me off now. Why the hell can't she dial more carefully?! Has this ever happened to anyone else?
As soon as she mentions 'Liz' you should just put the phone down without saying anything. See if that works. If you feed them your irritation they'll just carry on - assuming they're just trying to wind you up, that is.
A couple of interesting things spring to mind on this subject...
At a company I worked for some years ago, the public phone rang in the lobby...I answered it...the voice said -
Caller - 'Hello, is that the dentist surgery?'
Me - 'Yes - what can I help you with?'
Caller 'Oh yes, I have an appointment for tomorrow at 10am, and I wondered if I could rearrange it for 2pm in the afternoon?'
Me - 'Let me see...yes, that's no problem...see you at 2pm tomorrow'
Caller - 'Wonderful 0 thank you so much'.
Yes...I know it was cruel...but boy would I like to have been a fly on the wall in that dentists reception the next day...!
Some years back, sitting at home late one saturday night, having consumed a few beers and being almost asleep, I was rudely awaken by a man calling me from Victoria station wanting a cab. Politely explained to him he had the wrong number, off he went.
But he called again...still asking for a cab. Explained again that he had the wrong number, but got the impression this guy just did not believe me for some reason...
He calls again...and this time I just decided to rant at him and be grossly offensive...you would not believe the language I used. But bizzarely he did not react, just kept asking for a taxi.
I swear, I ranted and swore at this guy for about 10 mins, and only after a while did he say to me something like 'Sir...I think you need to moderate your language, because you are being a little offensive'.
Which got a huge 'NO F*****G SHIT SHERLOCK!' from me, and a slamming down of the phone.
But the ones I really, really hate are the ones that call and say 'Is that Tony?' and you say no, wrong number...and they call back a second time and you tell them again 'No, you have the wrong number', and yet they insist the number is right, because that was the number they were given by a friend, work colleague, directory enquiries etc...therefore they are right and you are wrong.
Once that concept is embedded in them, they f*****g plague you...'Look, I was give this number by X, and they assure me it it the correct number'. The notion that the person who gave it to them may have made a mistake is completely alien to them...they are going to ring you continuously until you finally say 'Nah...I was having a laugh...it is me really!'
But the absolute nadir of the latter types of call for me are the ones that ring continously and after having explained you are not 'Tom', 'Billy', Fred', or whoever the f**k they are trying to reach, you get this classic...
Me - 'Look, I have told you 5 times now...I am not Tom!'
Comments
Sh!tty dad!
My mum gets that where she works- she keeps getting pensioners phoning for this catalogue, and they're always insistent that they haven't dialled the wrong number, even when she tells them they have.
Once my grandmother had said to me that she thought I sounded really professional on our answer machine message- and I had to tell her that it wasn't me on our answerphone! Turned out she'd rung the wrong person and left a really detailed message on their phone!
Not true. I didn't say that blowing a whistle could get you charged, but causing damage by doing so could do.
I do know a fair bit about the subject, I spent over 6 years dealing day in day out with victims of nuisance calls, giving advice, helping the police take callers to court etc.
Last year I manged someone who had permanent ear damage caused by what is generally known as 'noise interference', which happened when she was on the phone working in a call centre. Rare, but it does happen.
Me: 'hello'
Caller: 'hello'
Me: 'hello?' (not recognising the voice)
Caller: 'Lesley?' (my name)
Me: 'yes'
Caller: 'it's me, Mum'
At which point I explained that yes I was Lesley but no she wasn't my Mum, as my Mum had died 2 months before. She was very apologetic, her daughter's number was one digit different from mine.
Very upsetting and a bit spooky until I realised what had happened.
Some idiot rang at 1am one morning, after his bar had closed, apparently his machines had run out, and left a most abusive message on my answerphone, I called his boss the next morning, and relayed the content of his message word for word. The chap who made the original call rang me to apologise.
I hate that too! I normally reply "well if you don't know who I am, why the heck are you calling my number?!!'.
When I told her she had the wrong number, she responded, in an incredibly patronising and overly patient voice, as though speaking to a child who had been caught telling lies: “Nooo, I don’t think I have actually!”
I was so irked at being essentially accused of lying. I replied: “Please don’t speak to me like that. I think I ought to know who lives in my own home, and I am telling you there is no William here!”
I heard a snort of disgust from her before I put the phone down. What did she expect me to say after she’d corrected me – “Oops sorry, my mistake, I totally forgot I actually DO have a William sharing my house!”?
Still disagree, under those circumstances the call centre would be responsible - not anyone at the other end of the line. If I blow a whistle in your ear in the street - yes fair enough, butI have no responsibility for the equipment you have connected to your phone socket or any damage it does.
If you damage your ears at a motorhead concert it's fair to blame the band. If you damage your ears listening to their CDs however...
My OH being the wind up merchant that he is, decided to tell the sales man all the minor things we jokingly owed (blockbuster fines of about £1.70, owed the boy down the road a fiver for mowing my nans lawn etc.) at the end of the conversation the bill came to about £13, salesman not understanding a word he was saying, decided to offer us a loan of £13,000!!
We got bored and hung up, then he called back again. My OH carried on. Think he got the message he was taking the p*** and the sales man eventually hung up!
well worth wasting his time and money for
OMG, that must have really spooked you:eek:
This guy really hates telemarketers ringing him up...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un_PjRXV5l8
Classic!
Leeds is (0113) these days. Local number does begin with a 2 or a 3 though.
The 7th time the woman rang me, I asked her for her name and she said "Susan".
I said - and I was quite calm and not in any way peed off or angry or anything - "Susan. You've rung me 6 times now and 6 times i've told you that you have the wrong number. This is now the 7th time you've rung me. Can you please tell me how I can help you to understand that you are dialling the wrong number because obviously the phrase "Sorry but you've got the wrong number" hasn't worked the six other times i've said it to you".
The reply ?. "Err .. um ... well .. Sorry..."
She never rang back
Is it true blowing a whistle is illegal or a waste of time. I had a spell of silent calls that drove me crazy and I did think of buying a whistle. I got onto cable and we set up an anonymous call block and they gave me the number for the privacy service too
As soon as she mentions 'Liz' you should just put the phone down without saying anything. See if that works. If you feed them your irritation they'll just carry on - assuming they're just trying to wind you up, that is.
At a company I worked for some years ago, the public phone rang in the lobby...I answered it...the voice said -
Caller - 'Hello, is that the dentist surgery?'
Me - 'Yes - what can I help you with?'
Caller 'Oh yes, I have an appointment for tomorrow at 10am, and I wondered if I could rearrange it for 2pm in the afternoon?'
Me - 'Let me see...yes, that's no problem...see you at 2pm tomorrow'
Caller - 'Wonderful 0 thank you so much'.
Yes...I know it was cruel...but boy would I like to have been a fly on the wall in that dentists reception the next day...!
Some years back, sitting at home late one saturday night, having consumed a few beers and being almost asleep, I was rudely awaken by a man calling me from Victoria station wanting a cab. Politely explained to him he had the wrong number, off he went.
But he called again...still asking for a cab. Explained again that he had the wrong number, but got the impression this guy just did not believe me for some reason...
He calls again...and this time I just decided to rant at him and be grossly offensive...you would not believe the language I used. But bizzarely he did not react, just kept asking for a taxi.
I swear, I ranted and swore at this guy for about 10 mins, and only after a while did he say to me something like 'Sir...I think you need to moderate your language, because you are being a little offensive'.
Which got a huge 'NO F*****G SHIT SHERLOCK!' from me, and a slamming down of the phone.
But the ones I really, really hate are the ones that call and say 'Is that Tony?' and you say no, wrong number...and they call back a second time and you tell them again 'No, you have the wrong number', and yet they insist the number is right, because that was the number they were given by a friend, work colleague, directory enquiries etc...therefore they are right and you are wrong.
Once that concept is embedded in them, they f*****g plague you...'Look, I was give this number by X, and they assure me it it the correct number'. The notion that the person who gave it to them may have made a mistake is completely alien to them...they are going to ring you continuously until you finally say 'Nah...I was having a laugh...it is me really!'
But the absolute nadir of the latter types of call for me are the ones that ring continously and after having explained you are not 'Tom', 'Billy', Fred', or whoever the f**k they are trying to reach, you get this classic...
Me - 'Look, I have told you 5 times now...I am not Tom!'
Caller - '...Are you SURE you are not Tom...?'
:mad::eek::mad::eek::mad::eek: