Why I Hate Caller ID! Caller ID causes users to become dependent on it. They do not realize how many false assumptions they are making.
| Assumption: The call actually came from a phone number I own.
A: I may have called you from a pay phone, another person's phone, or even a phone that I do not want you to call me at. I use my business line for incoming business calls. I use my home line for outgoing business calls. Caller ID addicts won't call my business line once they have my home line or my cell number, clogging up the outgoing line with incoming calls. I use my cell phone when I am in the field, which amounts to about 2% of the time. I leave it in the truck the rest of the time, since the cell phone does not work in my shop or my home due to heavy metal roofing on both buildings. | Q: Why shouldn't I just call you on your cell phone anyway? A: Since I cannot use my cell phone about 98% of the time (see above), I may not get your message for several days. If you have something urgent, you may not hear from me at all, or, too late to help you. | Q: Why don't you just block Caller ID?
A: There is another set of Caller ID addicts who will not answer a call from an unrecognized or anonymous call, even if they are expecting a call from someone. |
A: I seldom even look at it on my cell phone. When I do use it, it is to call someone back because of a dropped call, or if I missed them because I was temporarily out of the service area. I do not have the technology on my landlines. I use "FREE" caller id. I pick up the phone and ask "Who is this?" If it is someone I have no interest in talking to, I take particular joy in hanging up on them. Try it! It is enjoyable, cathartic, and best of all, it's FREE! | Q: What if I am not at the shop??
A: You don't need to concern yourself with that. Just because I loathe Caller ID does not mean I do not use phone company features. When I am in the field, my wife answers the phone. Since we get a lot of sales and solicitation calls, we must screen them so I have time to do your work. She will contact me, and I can and will call you back. Please understand that if I am in the field, it is because I am doing someone else's work. People get annoyed if all I do is talk on the phone, especially if they are paying me. If both my wife and I are out, we forward the phones to the cell phone. Occasionally, we will purposefully not forward the phones. When we do that, we want to be alone. Since we live on the property that the shop is on, we seldom get a break from work. The only way for me to get away from work is to get away from home as well. | Q: What if you have an emergency?
A: Call the business line. (512)321-7842. It is simply the best way to get me, period. |
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