Comments on: Teach your kids phone etiquette (especially if they’re going to be calling my house)

By: MichaelDhaseleer

MichaelDhaseleer — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:47:19 +0000

One of my issues with etiquette is picking up the phone and having the caller speak so quickly that I can’t make out what they’re saying. Most of the time this happens with business calls. The caller says hello this is “abc with xyz” and they say it so fast or sloppy that I have to ask again. If I still can’t make it out I tell them I can’t understand them and they’ll have to speak slower. This same issue applies to leaving messages as well. How many of you are frustrated when you have to play the message back over and over because the person leaving the message flies through the number you’re trying to write down, or just as bad, you can’t make out their name?

By: Miss Genevieve

Miss Genevieve — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 17:48:42 +0000

The first three digits of my home phone number {not area code} is the same three digits of an area code for a different state so if people forget to dial 1 they call accidentally call my house. This happens several times a day and is very annoying.

Also, a wrong number call came the other day and they asked for Ashley. I told them that they had a wrong number and they asked if I knew Ashley. Argh.

Also, my kids aren’t quite big enough yet for the phone but, my husband and I got a landline so, when the time comes they can get calls at the house. Up until about a year ago we only had cellphones.

By: Two Way Radio

Two Way Radio — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:06:14 +0000

I just find it annoying when people make the most random of calls even though you seen them on the same day and you have nothing to talk about. Pointless and annoying.

By: meghan

meghan — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:11:17 +0000

At least in work settings, I work at a university, with a lot of phone numbers for different departments obviously and it always bothers me when people call one line looking for another and get mad when I don’t have that number handy. I’m sorry, it’s not my fault you are completely inept at looking up phone numbers.

By: Patty F.

Patty F. — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 20:10:57 +0000

Brenda, I had a boss once who suggested that when a caller asked “Guess who?” you should say “I don’t know, but I’ll call you back when I figure it out”, and then just hang up!

By: Barbara H.

Barbara H. — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 18:10:46 +0000

I hate when people call and don’t identify themselves first, or worse yet, say “Who’s this?”

By: Summer

Summer — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:39:59 +0000

One of my phone pet peeves is when the folks answering a business phone don’t ID themselves. If they ID themselves — “Good afternoon, ABC Plumbing, this is John Doe” — it immediately makes the call more personal and relaxed. Otherwise, I feel it’s like pulling teeth to get to the right person or get information out of them.

By: JRae

JRae — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 02:44:50 +0000

Omg, Brenda I hate guessing voices too! I never know who it is because I’m bad with voices and it’s awkward all around.

I don’t understand this call waiting is rude thing. Call waiting is way more polite than having to call someone’s house over and over again, trying to reach them and not being able to get through.

The proper call waiting etiquette is to let the first caller know you’re checking the the other caller and will be back soon. Find out who the second caller is, tell them you’ll call them back when you’re done with first caller, and voila! Piece of cake, done in under 30 seconds, and all very polite. Just keep the check quick and don’t linger and chat with them, it’s rude to the first caller. But it’s also rude to the second caller not to have call waiting…

If the second call is more important, tell the first caller so and that you’ll call them back later.

I just go on about it because my boyfriend’s parents also have some hangup about call waiting being rude, and therefore sometimes it can be difficult to reach them at their house. It’s quite frustrating, esp. when we’re trying to make plans or something…

By: Rachel

Rachel — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:35:14 +0000

Relatedly, I’d prefer if parents didn’t put their little ones on the phone for me to talk to, when the kids are too little to really talk. Awkward.

My parents think call waiting is rude, too. I had a different take on that when I lived 500 miles away from them in college and wondered how I’d get through to them in an emergency.

By: Brenda

Brenda — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:00:34 +0000

I really dislike it when someone that I know, but who may not have been in touch (voice-to-voice) for a while, will respond to my “Hello?” by wanting me to guess who they are. Not amusing!

Brenda