Caller ID Etiquette

[PrettySquareGal]

If you are not using a rotary, perhaps you have caller ID. For those that do, when you know who is calling before you answer, do you say "Hi, (insert name)" or do you say "Hello?" and pretend you don't know who it is? Just curious. (Of course, you may also not answer at all. I do like caller ID for call screening!)

 

[Paisley]

I say, "Hi Joe!"

What I don't like is when someone calls and says, "Who's this?" At work, I say, slowly and clearly, "This is XYZ Company." At home, I say, "Who is calling, please?"

 

[RedPop4]

It depends upon who is calling me. If I know they have a good sense of humor, or are not bothered, I'll answer with a "hey, what's up?" or address them by name.

If it's not a close friend, or my Mother-In-Law:rage: lol I'll just say hello.
If it's a bill collecter or telemarketer, or somesuch, I'll be armed with a hang up line or whatever else I need to deal with the call.

 

["Doc" Devereux]

If I know for sure who's calling, I greet them by name. If it's a personal call with more than one option (a couple, for example) then they get a cheery "Hello!". For business, I give my name and let the caller identify themselves. It strikes me as the most polite way of doing things, since for several years now my main line has been a cellphone and caller ID is thus assumed to be there. Very few people know my home number, and that's just the way I like it since it allows me to turn the main number off when I'm not feeling communicative.

 

[Mr. Jason]

At home I always say "Hello!", it comes out more like "Yellow!". At work we all have the same type of phone so everybody knows I know who it is. Sometimes I say "Hey Bill" other times just "Hey". If it's someone from outside the company I say "This is Jason."

 

[J. M. Stovall]

I don't ever let on that I may know who is calling. But I often (very often) use it to screen calls. Any 800 or 888 calls never get answered, and if I don't recognize the area code I don't answer those either. I think that's it's best function. If it's important they will leave a message. Just because it says "Joe Smith" on the screen, it could still be anyone that lives at that house or might be borrowing their phone.

 

[scotrace]

And I get into trouble

If I know the person, I either say "Hi Billy!" Or "Fourth floor, lingerie."

 

[Lauren]

If I know them I generally say "Hi!" and then if they don't answer I'll say "uh.. hello?"

If I don't know them I generally don't even answer the phone. If they know me they'll leave a message and I'll call them back

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Thanks!

When I take a business call, I pretend to not know who it is. But personal calls, I do say "Hi (insert name.)"

 

[Caledonia]

For personal or business I say Hi (insert name) if I'm sure who it is. For business I say Good (insert period of day), Company Name, My Name, then wait. For heavy breather type calls, I either do a simple hang up, or put the phone down and walk off for half an hour so their bill gets run up. I got one breather a while back who stupidly didn't withhold his number. He was from our village so I just called back and spoke to his mother. lol Actually, the walking off bit works just as well with my mother. I come back 5 minutes later and she hasn't even noticed I've gone!

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Actually, the walking off bit works just as well with my mother. I come back 5 minutes later and she hasn't even noticed I've gone!

That is terrific. I will try it. lol

 

[Zach R.]

I like to answer the phone with the ever-popular "What do you want?"

 

[Rosie]

If it's someone I speak to every day, like my cousin or friends I say "Hi _______!", if it's my mom I say "What NOW mommy" (she calls A LOT), if it's a guy I like to pretend I don't know who it is.

 

[Twitch]

I don't have caller ID. It ain't worth $3 a month to me. I have absolutely no problem with ditching bothersome jerks or people trolling for business. I fail to understand why people that have just been interupted by some inane sales pitch or whatnot encourage the callers by giving them any info or answer at all. As soon as they identify who/whatever they are are I respond with "Not interested. Bye!" and the phone is off before they can answer.

I got on the national "do not call list" and it made a huge difference too. The few personal calls I get are never a problem whether I know or don't know who is calling. The rest I deal with quickly. Knowing who is calling beforehand just isn't worth paying for!

 

[Mike in Seattle]

I have caller ID only because we have no choice and I almost always answer as if I don't know who's calling. Even being on the national "do not call" list, I still get loads of sales calls. Depending on my mood, I'm like Twitch with a "Not interested" and hang-up before they get another word in, or if I'm bored (I work at home and there are projects where I'm stalled waiting for a call-back from a client on some item), I'll play with them. A friend in telemarketing said I'm the kind of person they hate - keep them on the phone a long, long time with no sale, spinning wild tales trying to give them enough rop to hang themselves. "But my house is two years old and sheathed with slate - wouldn't vinyl siding look a little...uh...tacky?" "Oh, no sir!"

 

[NewMexExpat]

Agreed.

I don't have caller ID. It ain't worth $3 a month to me. ......"Not interested. Bye!" ... ... Knowing who is calling beforehand just isn't worth paying for!

Amen, Brother!

- Mark

 

[Slate Shannon]

If it's someone I know really well, then I answer with something like "Joe's Bar" or "Thank you for calling Wal-Mart, how can I help you?". Otherwise, I answer with a "Hello", if I answer at all. Caller ID is worth it to me, or I would be telling salespeople that I'm not interested all day long. A quick glance at the ID and I can answer or go about my business.

 

[Matt Deckard]

They have caller ID?

 

[Cobden]

I must admit to being a fan of the Montgomery-Burns-esque "Ahoy hoy!" when it is someone I don't know, or "What ho *name/nickname*" for someone I do

 

[ITG]

I used to have an answering message that would throw people off that went something like this:

Hello?
(pause)
Hello?
(pause)
HELLOOOOOOO? Is anybody there?
Well, I'm not, but if you'll leave a message I'll get back to as soon as possible.

It was funny how many friends would leave messages that they really thought it was me and then a week later, the same message would stump them again.