We have a land line primarily because when we bought our house that was the cheapest way to acquire internet access. So the land line phone number was a bonus. It has come in very handy however, to be able to give people, who I wouldn’t necessarily want calling me when I’m shopping for groceries, our home number . Every once in a while we will get a legitimate call on our land line, but nine out of ten times the calls we receive are sales related. Thus the reason for what transpired the other day:
“Hello?”
“May I speak to Jason please?”
“May I ask who is calling please?” I responded in monotone ready to hang up.
“Matt.”
Just a first name–that’s always a dead giveaway that it’s a telemarketer. “Uh, I don’t think I know a Matt, ” I responded impatiently. Instantly I thought how crazy that sounded. Doesn’t everyone know a Matt? I just couldn’t think of a Matt that would be calling for my husband in the middle of the day.
Silence. “Oh uh, well, I’m sorry. Let me start over. I am the pastor of a church here in Dallas. Jason came by last week to look at our building for us.”
Oh no! Instantly I knew who this person was and was SO embarrassed by my mechanical answers. Of all the people it had to be a pastor when it turned out to be a legitimate call! I coughed out an apology between bursts of laughter. He in turn thought he was calling Jason’s work number and talking to his secretary!
This was reason number one hundred and fifty six why I think my husband should carry a cell phone. Still he insists he doesn’t need one. Until he changes his mind, I suppose I need to be thankful we can save the money. But I sure hope reason number one hundred and fifty seven isn’t that I’m in labor and can’t get a hold of him… 🙂
I’m linked with Soli Deo Gloria Party.
My parents still don’t have a cell phone either…frustrating sometimes!!! 🙂
It’s very difficult to stay away from any kind of communicating device these days.
Esther, you never cease to crack me up!
We finally got A cell phone 3 years ago after I quit my job at the phone company. We did this because when I quit my job, our home phone bill skyrocketed (to, I guess, what non-employees of the phone company pay). So, I had a brilliant idea. Add a line to my parents cell phone account. So, for $13/mo, I get the luxury of a cell phone.
However, not having a land line is a pain because you can’t have a phone in every room. But, I refuse to pay for both. And, I refuse to pay the ridiculous amount for a land line. (Plus, I’ve gotten used to being able to make a call from anywhere. It would be hard, though not impossible, to get used to not having that luxury.)
How awkward! Though I sympathize, I think everyone’s had an experience like that with answering the phone!
It would be hard to get used to living without a cell phone now. I remember when we didn’t even have a telephone when we lived in Mexico. Since my husband has had two heart attacks, now as he leaves out the door, I routinely say, “Bye, Honey. Be careful. Have you got your phone?”
LOL! My mother in law finally bought my hubby a cell phone when I was 8 months pregnant with our first baby 🙂
I despise telemarketing calls so badly. One time it took me 3 hours to put my baby to sleep, and a telemarketer called and woke him up. Plus, when I jumped up, I threw out my back. I said, “Thank you for ruining my life,” and hung up.
Blame it on the pregnancy…
I didn’t know there was anyone left over the age of 12 in the first world who was still cellphone-less
Haha…my husband finally broke down and got a cell phone last year. All in the name of gearing up to let the land line go. I said we couldn’t get rid of the land line until he could retrieve messages from his cell. It’s taken the whole year for him to learn!! ….and now he’s the one that says to me as he’s walking out the door to go hunting, “don’t worry, I have my phone with me”. Tell Jason….it’s time! 🙂
Too funny. A few weeks ago, someone called the office, I answered, and the person began speaking but came across sounding like one of those recordings telemarketers do now. I was getting ready to hang up when something caught my attention and made me realize the caller wasn’t a recording!
My Hubs finally started carrying a cell phone…he does carry a prepaid one now since he rarely uses it. Don’t give up:)
So glad I stumbled over a plethora of home school mothers’ websites. My wife and I home school…well, she does most of the teaching while I hold down a ministry position. I think she’s going to love visiting these sites I’ve discovered. By the way, we only use cell phones…no landlines here!
We got rid of our land line a few years ago. Haven’t missed it – especially those calls around election time!!
How funny! That’s okay because a cell phone with caller id isn’t always helpful. A few years ago, I applied for a job where my husband works. One day, the caller id told me it was my husband, but I didn’t notice that it also said “work.” I answered saying, “Hi sweetie.” The person on the other side was my future boss saying, “Well, I’m not sweetie. This is ___, and I’m calling to schedule an interview.” Oops! (I still got the job)
LOL! Here I thought it *was* a telemarketer, and you were going to tell a being-rude-to-telemarketers story! I have to admit that I always, always hang up on telemarketers. I don’t even try to be polite. I don’t *say* anyting rude, just hang up right away or after they don’t listen the first time I say, “No thank you!” to whatever they’re selling. I know it’s they’re job, and they have to eat to, but I have NO TIME for them, and they don’t listen to “NO!”
I really wish I did not have a similar embarrassing story but I do! I hung up on a person who was calling to offer me a job! They asked for me by name and then said where they were calling from and I hung up not realizing that it was the parent company of a place that I had applied! The gentleman called back and I almost yelled at him when he said “Ma’am I am calling because you filled out an application” oops. Did not get that job…
I hate cellphones. We had one for a long time, but I hated the fact that everyone felt they had a “right” to my time. If I wasn’t available, people were actually angry.
Excuse me?? Maybe I’d like to spend some time with my family, eat, or go to the restroom in peace and QUIET.
As for a land line, we use what’s called a “tellular.” It’s really a cellphone, with the SIM card in a box that turns it into a land line. We pay the equivalent of $21(American) and get 3500 minutes free to any phone line, land or cellular.
Makes me think twice about assuming someone is trying to bother me/sell me/whatever me. Oh, to try and extend grace more often — this is something I must do!
I’m sure everyone has done this, I jut suppose this is the world we live in where we are expecting sales people every 5 mins to come and bother us. What I want to know is how they get your number so easily (the sales people, not the pastor!) Can they simply use a white pages service to acquire your number?
varunner7, interesting to see that you’re not missing your landline phone. Did you get many calls on it? And if you did, are you receiving extra calls on your mobile because of the one less landline?