Guess what my first job was--a service rep for Bell of PA. On the phone all day, but that didn't bother me as much as talking to people I know.
I used to think it was a cord thing. I could only go so far, but then they went and made longer cords and then they went and made cordless phones and then they went and said, "You have to carry it with you."
Carry it with you? This means your doctor's office can call you while you're walking down the street. You are never out of touch. Does anyone think this is a good thing? Not me. I love being out of touch.
Want me, email. But I won't answer it on my phone. I will answer it when I get home and sit down at this computer. That is my safe haven. Or this is because I am here now.
Cause I hate to talk on the phone even electronically.
How about you? Have you phone habits changed over the years? Are you an inveterate phone chatter?
21 comments:
You're not the only one, Patti. My husband doesn't like the telephone, either. He much prefers email. I think some people are natural 'chatters,' and some aren't. And texting is so easy, and I think, less intrusive, than a 'phone call. You can return a text or email when it's convenient.
I like chatting (with you) just not on the phone.
I'm not a phone person either. I don't like talking on the things. It is mostly a big disruption
No, I don't like the phone much, never have. At times I had to talk a lot - when I sent out sales lists and people would call to order books - but that was mostly short and simple. When my mother was alive she'd call (or I'd call her) weekly, and man, did she love to talk! Also, she was "question man" and needed to know everything going on in your life. But we got rid of the land line and I get almost NO calls on the cellphone, other than from Jackie or (rarely) one of my siblings. Also, I rarely text, only when answering someone else. It is email for me, whether on the computer or the phone.
Jeff M.
Patti, Jackie hates talking on the phone too. So much so, that she would always make me answer the phone even when we knew it was her mother's weekly Saturday morning call.
Jeff M.
Sounds like my modus operandi!
Patti, I hate answering the telephone or cellphone. In fact, I don't pick up the phone if it's an unknown number. Fortunately, my work doesn't involve making or receiving calls, so I can afford to be picky.
I rarely talk on the phone unless I have something specific to discuss. It's been months since I called anyone except for my parents or The Beloved Spouse to ask a question about what to get at the store.
I would rather have dental work than talk on the phone.
Boy, is there ever a lot of Hate going on in these comments! I'm floored. Seems like a bunch of very anti-social people. Before email and texting when it was just the telephone, I guess you all just didn't call, didn't answer. Did you, then, write letters, or simply stay incommunicado?
You want to talk to me, call me. Speak to me voice to voice. I want to hear your inflection, be able to think of additional comments as the conversation goes along. I don't talk on the phone a lot, but if I want to talk to friends or relations, it's what I do. An email is just - my opinion, of course - an info tool, and a text is just a short, quick version, often requiring several back-and-firths which could be solved easily in one brief call.
Sure, there is a role for email, and we all do it a lot, but for conversation, use the phone.
I hate to talk on phones, too. Yet my students seem addicted to them. They are never without their phones.
But George, I hardly ever see young people TALKING on their phones--texting, snap-chatting, instagramming, even (older ones) emailing, yes, but talking? No. Two of my three children have never even activated their voicemail, so I don't bother leaving a voice message if I can't reach them; a text is way more effective.
As for me, with old friends or family, I can talk till the cows come home (thank God for the unlimited talk plan), but with others, I prefer to just state my business or ask my question and hang up as soon as I can.
I don't like to talk on the phone but that's because I'm a little hard of hearing and prefer to watch people's faces/mouths when they talk to me.
You're ahead of your generation, Patti. My kids and their peers text. Only. To talk on the fone is unthinkable--unless it's a call from a parent and they're not among friends. Or if they are among friends and can't immediately think of a plausible excuse to break off, they undoubtedly get in some quality eye-rolling practice while dreaming up a plausible excuse.
The first real job I had out of high school was answering service calls for GE. Most people were nice but a few made me want to strangle them with the cord. In the '80s I had seven years of wrong numbers waking me or annoying me when I slept days. I'm not fond of talking on the phone these days and never answer the house phone. My cell is mainly for FB updates. In this state it's illegal to text or talk on the phone while driving (unless you talk while holding the phone in front of your face, which makes no sense), but people do it all the time. This whole idea of walking around with a phone glued to your ear makes no sense to me at all. I've lived too long, I guess.
Sometimes a phone call makes sense rather than a string of emails or texts to try and arrange something. But only then for me.
Being out of touch was nice, but with our health stuff as well as trying to take care of my elderly mother, being out of touch is not an option. I also must be around the wrong young people because they often are using the phone for talking as well as other things.
What gets funny is when one is in one part of a doctor's office and the front desk person decides to call about scheduling something.
Cell phones are even worse than their precursors because of that delay while the signal bounces between towers. The other party and I are always interrupting each other, and it's maddening.
I have my answering machine on at all times in my home office and caller ID on my portable phones around the house. That way I know who is calling and can choose to answer if it's important. I don't like to have lengthy conversations so keep them as short as possible. I have a cell phone for emergencies, but only a few people know the number. I don't text but use email primarily from my computer, not my iPhone or iPad Mini, for much of my communication. No doubt people make fewer phone calls because they seldom reach a "live" person. Can you remember the last time you made a call to a business and didn't get press 1 for??
Only my hairdresser.
I am surprised so many people share my dislike of talking on the phone. The only person I was comfortable talking on the phone with was my mother. The first time I talked to my husband on the phone I nearly scared him away.
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