Strange phone calls...

[David Bailey]

Yesterday, I answer the phone, say "Hello?" and wait.
No response.
Me: "Hello?"
Them "Hello."
Pause.
Me, again: "Hello?"
Them "Hello"
Pause.
Me, last time "Hello?"
Them: mutter in some language, hang up.

Now I think this is a cultural thing - I discussed this with a friend, she told me that, for example, people in South Africa think it's rude to raise the topic of the phone call when calling someone :confused:

But surely it's reasonable not to expect me to know much about who's calling or why they're calling?

Anyone else have weird-phone-call stories?

[LMC]

Wrong number phone calls, the conversation goes:

Me: hello
Them: who's that?
Me: no, you called me, so you get to say who you are first...
Them: (dialtone)

of course it's my fault that I'm not the person they wanted to talk to. Why do people do that, rather than saying who they are first?

Just because I'm paranoid blah blah blah

[WittyBird]

Thought I recognised the voice ooops sorry :blush:

Happens all the time to me I'm afraid. I have now started saying hello only once if they dont reply and the number is with held then i put it down by the tv and then walkaway and forget about it. Makes me feel great. If I get sales calls when Ive just got home I ask them for their home number so I can discuss if further when they have just got home.... that one works a treat. :rofl:

[LMC]

If I get sales calls when Ive just got home I ask them for their home number so I can discuss if further when they have just got home.... that one works a treat. :rofl:

Wow, we got to POST 3 before someone mentioned sales calls :rofl:

www.tpsonline.org.uk to register (free) to get your name off all the direct marketing lists. Companies that make more than a certain volume of calls legally HAVE to register with a list cleanser. Because I get so few sales calls now I rather enjoy getting the full details of the company and then demanding to speak to a supervisor because they are acting ILLEGALLY by calling me...

One of the things I'm tempted to try is to get them talking - get them off script and waste as much of their time as possible. Start by asking them if they actually like their jobs... and see just how weird you can make the conversation go before they hang up :devil: . But I can never be bothered...

[WittyBird]

Wow, we got to POST 3 before someone mentioned sales calls :rofl:

www.tpsonline.org.uk to register (free) to get your name off all the direct marketing lists. Companies that make more than a certain volume of calls legally HAVE to register with a list cleanser. Because I get so few sales calls now I rather enjoy getting the full details of the company and then demanding to speak to a supervisor because they are acting ILLEGALLY by calling me...

One of the things I'm tempted to try is to get them talking - get them off script and waste as much of their time as possible. Start by asking them if they actually like their jobs... and see just how weird you can make the conversation go before they hang up :devil: . But I can never be bothered...


ooops thats me lowering the tone again (no pun intended)
There are so many good tips out there but when you have done a long hard days work all i ever want to do is get them off the phone.

It annoys me with call waiting cos you can be on an important call and then the beeps go.... if your nosey like i am i just have to know who it is. :what:

[Rebecca]

Wrong number phone calls, the conversation goes:

Me: hello
Them: who's that?
Me: no, you called me, so you get to say who you are first...
Them: (dialtone)

of course it's my fault that I'm not the person they wanted to talk to. Why do people do that, rather than saying who they are first?

Just because I'm paranoid blah blah blah

The only time I have done this is when my ex-husband was having a fling and I rang the last number dialled on his phone to try and find out her identity (I know, I know :blush: ). New Kid - what have you been up to?

Just kidding x :hug:

[LMC]

The only time I have done this is when my ex-husband was having a fling and I rang the last number dialled on his phone to try and find out her identity (I know, I know :blush: ). New Kid - what have you been up to?

Just kidding x :hug:
:rofl:

I get quite a lot of odd calls on my mobile from foreign sounding gentlemen, who usually use that 'script'. I don't know who's misquoted their number to these people, but it's bloody annoying :mad:. If it's a withheld number, an unrecognised mobile or an unknown dialling code I often don't answer these days - if it's important, they'll leave a message < shrug >

[JoC]

Phoning my Mum sometimes...
ring ring
mum: *silence*
me: :confused:
mum: *silence*
me: hello?
mum: hello
me: you're supposed to say hel..oh! *finally cottoned on* expecting a call from your mother then?


Wrong mobile number recently...
me: hello
man: what's going on rant rant rant, grrrr, blah, rant
me: but, but, but
man: just get the bl**dy skip down here and get this pile of s***e moved!!!

I'm not sure he ever realised he had a wrong number because he just ranted and hung up. Was kind of amusing.


About a year ago regularly late at night...
ring ring
me: hello
caller: silence
me: hello
caller: silence
repeat sequence several times then hang up

Am told it may have been a computer? I prefer that to the creepy option.

[Jive Brummie]

I had a bit of a...well, quite a rude phone call the other night.

Yet again it was some sales type bloke asking me if I wanted a new kitchen or something...so I thought I'd humour him.

Anyway, one of the first questions he asked was, do you own your home?

We do but I thought I'd answer "No", followed by "we rent" (just to see what'd happen)...

To which he replied "Oh for F***s Sake" and hung up :what:

Shocked?

Yes.

JB x x

p.s. don't phone us up at tea time (that's anything between 5:30 and 7...because we probably won't answer :whistle: )

[Stuart]

I've had calls from companies trying to flog me some sort of timeshare.

I usually find asking them if they were the company featured in that article about scams in the Sunday paper gets rid of them.

[ElaineB]

Me - dial number - engaged.

Later - Me - dial number - engaged.

Even later - Me - dial number engaged.

Etc., etc.................

Later still - phone faults and complain. There is a fault on the line of the person who I am trying to get through to - they are constantly engaged. Engineer enquires the number that I am trying to get through to .........I reply 12345 or whatever. Then he asks number that I am ringing from..........I reply 12345 or whatever - ooooops - my own telephone number!!!! :blush: :blush: :blush:

Bet it made the engineer's day!! :rofl:


Elaine

[Robin]

I suggest the action here (http://www.cerocscotland.com/forum/showpost.php?p=119365&postcount=1) for dealing with sales calls.

But I've been "playing" recently with a deluge of calls from some mobile telephone company trying to get me to upgrade.
I ask them straight away "what are you selling"
they say "I'm not selling anything"
I say " so why are you calling me?"
they say " we just ringing to let you know that you are entitled to a free mobile phone upgrade"
I say " yes I know .thank you. what do you want?"
They say " errrm"
I say "yes?"

etc - very funny - it sort of stops them cold.

[Minnie M]

{slightly off topic}
I have BT option 3 - free UK landline calls anytime

However I was surprised to find I was charged for the '1471-3' calls - they are what I call 'lazy calls'

You check to see who has run by dialing 1471, listen to the message and press '3' to call back (saves time by dialing noting down the number and re-dialing)

[Scotch Bonnet]

. If I get sales calls when Ive just got home I ask them for their home number so I can discuss if further when they have just got home.... that one works a treat. :rofl:[/QUOTE]


I like that one,I'll always ask for their home number now !!!
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Liz
x

[Piglet]

My bank phoned me the other evening last week and I told them that I was away to go out and they'd have to make it quick.

The guy said he would phone back later but I asked him if he could tell me what it was about (as I'd save him the trouble of phoning back if he was trying to sell me something)... his reply....

In order to do that we would have to go through some security questions with you to ascertain you are who you say you are....

D'oh! HE phoned ME!! :confused: :confused: :confused:

They've phoned since and I'm still too busy and on my way out :whistle: :whistle: :whistle:


We also got a really weird message left on our answer machine last week - someone saying "Taxi" a lot in an Asian accent and mumbling on about Bin Laden and the Taliban and how he'd sort us out if we came down to his taxi rank. I'm taking it it was a wrong number.... :confused: Very weird!

[Gojive]

Talking of wrong numbers (well it's good to talk isn't it?), why is it, whenever you ring a wrong number, it's never engaged! :confused:

:wink:

[Donna]

I have been told that if there is a silence, just hang up. If you don't, then your number just gets passed on to more and more companies and they will never stop. We don't get many now.

Bloody hell....I work in an office yeah...the phone never stops...and then I go back home to the same bloody thing!! Not on is it??!!!! :angry:

[Stuart]

A double glazing firm down this way did a survey to find out how people got rid of unwanted phone calls.

I can't remember all of them, but two of my favourites were:

1) The person who said "One moment, I'll put you onto the master of the house" and then gave the phone to their toddler;

2) Ask the cold caller "Do you accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your saviour?".

[Donna]

[QUOTE=Stuart]The person who said "One moment, I'll put you onto the master of the house" and then gave the phone to their toddler;

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Robin]

Talking of wrong numbers (well it's good to talk isn't it?), why is it, whenever you ring a wrong number, it's never engaged! :confused:

:wink:

ahh but if you in china, everytime you wing, you get the wong number! :D

[Gojive]

ahh but if you in china, everytime you wing, you get the wong number! :D

arrr so! :D

As an aside......I took my partner out for a meal the other night, and suprised her by ordering everything in Chinese :really: ....it was an Italian restaurant :sick: