Usually, when I see a number on my mobile phone which does not belong to any of my contacts, I tend to do 2 things: ignore it the first time, or do a search on it in the online yellow pages while the phone's still ringing to see who it is before I answer it.
The first action of ignoring it the first time is done when I do not have immediate online access to check that number before answering. I tell myself that if it's important, then that mystery person will call back. If that mystery person does not call back right away, then I might get the chance to get online later on to see who he/she was so that the next call I get from him/her could then be answered. If however, he/she calls back within a few minutes (indicating importance....or maybe just persistence), then I might oblige and answer it even before finding out first who he/she is.
The second action of doing a quick search in the online phone directory while the phone is still ringing requires 2 things. 1) that I have immediate access to a fast working Internet connection and 2) that the person calling me is patient enough to let the phone ring long enough for me to do my search and decide whether to give the green light or not. My voicemail is disabled anyway, so that my phone can ring and ring for a long time before it gets answered.
Speaking of voicemails, do people actually still use that feature??? I personally don't like leaving voice messages (I feel silly talking in a monologue) so I either hang up and try again later (or right away, if it's really urgent), or I simply just send an sms to the person (if possible).
I personally don't like receiving voice messages either. For 1 thing, it costs me to dial up my message center to hear the message. For another thing, the longer the message is, the more expensive for me, and since the caller is already feeding the phone company by the minute to leave me that message, why do I have to feed the phone company too for that very same message??? Better for both of us then if you just hang up and try again later, or send me an sms if what you want to say can be summarised. For yet another thing, have you ever listened to voice messages whereby what you hear is 1 of the following:
Caller 1: "mumble, mumble, mumble.....mumble, mumble, mumble."
This leaves me in a dilemma - do I ignore the message and risk the caller getting angry at me for not responding to the message, or do I waste more money to listen to that message over and over again in order to decipher it?
Caller 2: "grumble, grumble....it's her answering machine." (Click! Hangs up, no useful message).
Right, so I just paid by the minute to hear you tell me what I already know?
Caller 3: "Hi Sheila! This is...(WIND BLOWING IN BACKGROUND)....just wanted to tell you...(TRAFFIC NOISE AND CARS HORNING)....goodbye!"
Ok....this one leaves me in the same dilemma as Caller 1.
Caller 5: "Hi Sheila! This is John Smith. You can call be back at 52 40 71 63. Bye!"
For this type of message, I usually end up calling my message center a couple more times first before I call John, just to hear again that number he left for me to call him back with. I mean, I don't know about you guys, but I don't listen to my voicemails with pen and paper in my hand as if I were in the lecture hall taking down notes on how to maintain sustainable tourism.
Caller 5: "...................................." (Click! Hangs up, no message)
Yeah, the silent, heavy breather. I don't know, maybe he's waiting for the beep but somehow missed it, or maybe he's got voicemail phobia, or maybe he's deep in thoughts thinking about why he's calling me in the first place, and then decided it wasn't important after all, or maybe he's just a miserable stalker. Whatever the reason, WHY SHOULD I WASTE MY MONEY ON LISTENING TO HIM BREATHE?!?!? And I'll usually listen till the every end of that message just in case he decides to change his mind and leave me a message after all.
So yeah, I fired my voicemail secretary a long time ago, and my phone has since been allowed to ring and ring long enough for me to actually dig into my bag, find it, and answer it without that annoying secretary cutting in to answer my calls for me after just a few seconds.
I did have fun for a while with my previous personal voicemail greeting, though. It went something like this: "Hi! This is Sheila. (silence....waiting for caller to respond) Hey! How are you??? (short silence) By the way, I can't talk right now, so please leave a message after the beep!"
Now the messages I get to listen to afterwards, THOSE were the ones worth paying money for ;o)! To hear people laughing and realising that they had been talking to themselves all along, thinking that they had managed to get a hold of me ;o). Throws them off guard each time...and some people kept getting tricked over and over again. After a while though, people do learn - then it's not funny for me anymore ;o).
Anyway, back to the original topic, which is "why I like to know who's calling before I answer my phone", in case you didn't get it earlier. I got a call earlier today, and it was showing "Withheld" on my mobile, therefore no number I could do a search on. Sometimes if someone calls me using Skype, it will show "Withheld", so since I was expecting an overseas call, I decided to answer this 1.
Who do I get? A personal friend:
Telmarketer: "Hi, this is Søren calling from BT newspaper (Danish tabloid newspaper). Would you like to hear about a good offer we have for you?"
Sheila: "No, thanks - I'm not interested."
Telemarketer: "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. May I ask why you'd not be interested?"
Sheila: "Well, I read the free newspapers, and it's also free online."
Telemarketer: "Yes, that's true. But the offer we can give costs almost nothing, plus you can get special offers on travels, restaurants, blah, blah, blah."
Sheila: "Yeah....but no, thanks - I'm not interested."
Telemarketer: "Ok, I understand. I'm sorry to hear that, though. Well, have a good day!"
I should have just told him I was illiterate. Or better still, that I'm blind, so if BT newspaper comes with a Braille system, then maybe we can have a more fruitful conversation.
So yeah...I like screening my calls. Not only do I like to know who's calling me (if you're not a contact already in my phonebook), but I'd also like to be prepared. If it's my dentist calling, then I'll know ok...something with my appointment. If it's my optician, then I'll know it's time to pick something up from there. If it's my bank, then something with my money. If it's my friend using her home number or work number not listed in my contacts, then ok...at least it's someone I already know.
The caller already has the advantage of knowing who the "callee" is. As a "callee", I'd just like to be at the same advantage too, of knowing who the caller is.
