Has this ever happened to you?
[telephone rings]
Me: Bueno? (That's how we answer the telephone in Mexico.)
Unfamiliar voice on other end: Si . . . con quien estoy hablando? (Who am I talking to?)
Me: [confused silence. After all, isn't that MY line?]
Wait a minute. You're calling MY house. Yet you're asking ME who I am?
I can't tell you how many times this has happened. Why would anyone pick up the phone without knowing who they're calling? Drives me crazy.
Or, my other favorite, when people call and then ask to know what phone number they're calling. Really? You just dialed it. What is your problem?
Patty told me that the other day someone like this called her at the store where she works. She answered very professionally, "Good afternoon, _________ store in Saltillo. How can I help you?" The caller then responded, "where am I calling?" She didn't tell me what she told the man, but I know she was thinking to herself, "Dude--I just told you. How thick can you be?"
These callers don't seem to be your average creep-o. Well, they are a bit creepy, but men, women, and children of all ages do this. WHY?
As mentioned above, this used to just baffle me into silence. Initially I was so taken aback that I would actually tell them who I was. Having been since warned that this could be a scam or a way of stalking my house to find out when to rob it, I've wised up and now refuse to give any personal information over the phone. (Good job, Jill . . . took you 30 years to figure that one out! Yikes.)
Now, the confused and innocent-sounding callers get a nice, "I'm sorry, but I can't give personal information over the phone." However, most, those who don't sound like confused versions of my grandma, get lashed back with, "If you don't know who I am, you shouldn't be calling my phone" in various stages of rudeness. And then I hang up.
Because really, who does that?
7 comentarios :
I usually ask "Who are you calling for?" in response to the "Who am I speaking to?". Sometimes it's a confused caller, sometimes its a scam. When it sounds creepy I just hang up.
It is pretty irritating when people call and ask you that question. I would agree with Leah my response would be who do you want to speak with.
I worked at my dads concrete company answering phones all day for years and it drove me crazy. We were not allowed to give out my dads phone # and had to say that he was not in the office even when he was. Well lets just say most people did not like the response I would give them and would always tell me I would be fired and threaten me. Little did they know I was the bosses daugher. LOL
I couldn't agree with you more. This drives me CRAZY!!! My mother-in-law would do this to me too! And I answer the phone by saying "Hello." Come on...she doesn't know any other Gringas in Mexico except me. I started just hanging up on her.
Yes I found this a very strange thing also... well and still do. I tend to go with the "mande" and then start speaking really bad Spanish on purpose. Because like Jackie I answer Hello and anyone who knows us knows its me when they call. If they dont then they dont need to be calling my house.
Jackie your comment made me laugh so hard. Thats funny that you just hang up on her.
Jackie--haha, you hang up on your mother-in-law! I love it! Has she learned?
Leah, Lisa & Amanda--yep. Let's just shake our heads and sigh. Oh, people are funny (funny strange, that is).
Whenever I teach in this country again, telephone manners WILL be part of the curriculum!
This has alsways baffled me as well. Whenever I am asked "With whom am I speaking?" I always answer back "With whom would you like to speak with?" (in Spanish,of course)
lol. this always happens to me! i just ask them in a irritated voice "well, who do you want to talk to!?" my husband also warned me in the beginning never to give out any information on the phone. scary.
on a different note, thanks for stopping by my blog a while back. i never got a chance to say thanks for the comment! adjusting to life as a new mom has been crazy busy :) i hope all is well with you!
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