Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Ring, Ring....

Ok so Mulled Vine, a new found blogger friend which I found through Toivoa's lovely post about her favorite blogs (shew - long explanation there) made a comment about having phone phobia and I thought I would share my own certain dislikes of it as well. Thanks for the idea by the way - I couldn't think of anything to talk about today.

This fear is almost comical to me because my job actually requires me to be on the phone all day. Maybe I was secretly trying to help myself get more comfortable with the phone situation or possibly I'm just a gluten for punishment. Anyways, I have never been a fan of the phone. There are a select few people that I can talk to for a length of time and actually like when they call. As for others, the thought of a phone conversation actually makes me somewhat nervous. I am a fairly direct person. I will call you if I have information to relay but I never call anyone just to chit chat. Reason being is that I'm not so great on my feet...I actually feel the need to think of topics to talk about before I call. And you're lucky if I do ever call - it's not that I don't enjoy talking to people, it's just I'd rather see you face to face where the conversation can actually have the natural pauses.

As I've just mentioned, I spend the my day on the phone calling customers and I run into a lot of strange phone etiquette. Here is my list of pet peeves...
  1. Answering the phone by saying "What?" - this is very unfriendly and starts the convesation so akwardly, at least try to pretend like you have some class.

  2. Nosey secretaries...Secretary: "May I tell them what it's regarding." Me: "It's a personal call." Secretary: "Well I need to know what this is about." - I mean, really it's personal...I guess they aren't called gatekeepers for nothing.

  3. People that answer their phones when they can't talk....Don't get mad at me because you answered your phone during a meeting. Ever heard of letting it go to voicemail?

  4. When this happens.....Me: "Hello, may I speak with John." Other: "This is Sally." Me: "Hi Sally, may I speak with John." Other: "This is Sally what do you need?" Me: "Well, I need to speak with John." Other: " Well this is Sally, you can talk to me." - Really? Because I swear I needed to speak with John.

  5. People who get completely ticked off because I accidentally dialed the wrong number. Mistakes happen people.

  6. When people tell you they are too busy to talk, but before they let you go they want to know what you are calling about anyways...can't I just call you back?

  7. People that call in with a problem that are all ready to raise hell. Can't you at least try to handle the problem nicely at first? Give me a chance to piss you off at least - then by all means - let me have it.

  8. People who hang up on you - HOW OLD ARE YOU!

  9. People who totally blow up on you and end the call with "Have a blessed day." - Does that really excuse you for your complete ungodly like behaviour? Where is your W.W.J.D. bracelet - did you forget to wear it today?

  10. When people answer the question "How are you doing today?" by saying not well and going on to list and describe in full detail all of their physical ailments. Seriously, I don't really care - it's just something you are suppose to ask. You don't know me - I don't need to know all that.

I have more - but I think its best to stop with 10. Any other phone pet peeves out there?

3 comments :

  1. Hahah good post! I love all your pet peeves. Well, not 'love' but you know...
    I used to hate phones too but then I moved to another continent. No getting around it now.

    ReplyDelete
  2. hey thanks for the mention with link (:
    i didn't get to go through all the blogs i follow and decide which to recommend so yours may end up on there later, when i can be bothered ;P
    And as to the phone thing, when I answer the phone, if my mum is around, and the person calling asks to speak to mr or mrs *my last name* or the home owner, and my mum makes this out due to my response, she makes me ask what the call is regarding. if it's a telemarketer, which it usually is, they try to avoid the question, which is fair enough so they can try to get their job done. getting their foot in the door and all that, well there definitely won't be a foot in the door if you get the call ended before even reaching the home owner... Anyway I'd usually let it go but with my mum there, I insist and they usually then outright avoid the question again, which leads to me responding with a, sorry, they're not available at the moment.
    Then, they ask what is a good time to call back. I make something up
    They say thanks and goodbye.
    It's altogether a stressful experience...
    The only thing I hate more is when a telemarketer calls and starts spruiking their product and doesn't let you get a word in to explain that you are really not the right person to be addressing it to since you don't have control over which phone company you use, etc. Other people would interrupt them, but I find it horribly rude, and they are merely doing their job. However it does get frustrating.
    sigh.
    i guess this is the flip side of the coin ;P

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for the mention.

    I guess we are quite similar. My pet hate is people who ring out of the blue and start by asking "How are you?" when you both know that they never ring and obviously want something. So why not just cut the bull and come out and say it and save us both some time?

    Phew, got that off my chest, didn't I? ;-)

    ReplyDelete

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