Land (Phone) Lines Obsolete?

[Zathras]

And the other side of that is, I am totally irked by people who call, then just hang up rather than leave a message.

That irks me too. I wonder if you get more of those because people have figured out you screen their calls

Why pre-judge my motive, why does that make me un-call-worthy?

YOU aren't un-call worthy, what I am saying is that others that are calling you could get the impression that YOU think THEY are un-call-worthy.
Again, as I mentioned, I am not really sure why I get irked by call screeners although it may be that last suggestion. And as I said, it is more irksome after it has happened a few times, so I am not pre-judging, it is because of past behavior.

Occasionally someone has commented - "Oh, screening your calls, eh?" - I'm honest, I say "yes, 90% of the calls are for my wife and I let those go to the machine". I can't understand why that would bother anyone either - I am in fact saying "your call is important, I'm picking it up". How is that bad in any way? The other calls are not "less important", they are just best handled by the machine.

-ERD50

Again, not really sure why it irks me. I am guessing and am hoping others might chime in with their ideas.
I suspect it is because when I call and the machine answers and you DON'T pick up, it is then that I have to wonder 'oh, is ERD really there and just doesn't deem me worthy of talking to?'.
The fact that you DO pick up (if this happens repeatedly) is just a reminder of the times you don't?
I really am not sure of the psychology behind this, and I am curious how many people are irked by this? However, since so few people have old fashioned answering machines, I doubt many people run into this any more.
Do the people you know that comment 'Oh, screening your calls' sound put off?

 

[Zathras]

Oh and ERD, please don't get me wrong. I think it is more an issue of the callers than of you IF they get irked by that behavior.
I don't know why that is irksome to me, and Want2Retire and I may be the only 2 people in the world that this irks.
I am more curious about WHY I find in irksome than in why you screen calls.

 

[aaronc879]

Back in 2000, I was the first person I knew to get rid of a land-line in favor of a cell phone. Haven't missed the land line for a second in the last 9 years.

 

[Buckeye]

Moemg - I had to get to a level of minutes that would support three users who only have cell phones available which meant I needed the Friends and Family option. This forced me to the 1400 minute level from the 500 minute level (old plan no longer available because it was too inexpensive). Basically, we started with a very inexpensive plan and had to move to a plan that was meant for people who use their cell phones as a primary method of communication. Sis and I also have 250 texts per month ($5 each).

 

[RunningBum]

Oh and ERD, please don't get me wrong. I think it is more an issue of the callers than of you IF they get irked by that behavior.
I don't know why that is irksome to me, and Want2Retire and I may be the only 2 people in the world that this irks.
I am more curious about WHY I find in irksome than in why you screen calls.

OK, I'm remembering now that I have a friend I used to call once in awhile who screened calls, and I would get irked. My guess it was because I didn't call them enough to expect the screening, so I wasn't prepared for it, and the sequence was:

1. I called, preparing to converse;
2. got the machine, so I had to start thinking of what message I would leave without babbling;
3. then they answered, so I had to switch back into converse mode

It's somewhat disconcerting, maybe because I'm not a relaxed phone caller.

The other part might be that I feel slightly inconvenienced at having to wait through the rings and the greeting mesage, like they feel their time is more important than mine, or something like that. Or maybe it's because I've yielded control to them, though I don't feel like I'm a control nut.

I understand screening, I realize I should feel good that my voice was pick-up worthy, and my reasons for getting irked aren't that good, but somehow I still do get a bit irked.

I don't think I know any screeners now, because of caller ID.

Make any sense?

 

[Midpack]

Since I don't have a landline I never get those annoying phone solicitations anymore (another benefit), but when I did I had my script mentally prepared. I wish I could take credit but I learned this from someone else, and used it many times:

Caller: Hello, can I speak with Mr. Doe (actually me)?
Me: Are you a friend of Mr. Doe's? [Just to make sure you're not talking to someone you don't want to do this to]
Caller: No, I'm from AARP-TruGreen-FOP-Acme Insurance and I have a great offer for Mr. Doe.
Me: I'm sorry, you've called at a really bad time, Mr. Doe died last night. The widow just stopped crying a few minutes ago, would you like to talk to her?
Caller: No thanks, sorry I bothered you (or something like that). Good bye.

Worked every time and might even get you off their list. Even if they don't believe you, it's not like they're going to risk trying to call you on it. Try it, you'll enjoy it. The hard part is not to break out laughing during the call. Some of you jokers here would be good at this (I mean that in a good way).

And did I feel bad lying to a phone solicitor? Silly question...

 

[W2R]

Since I don't have a landline I never get those annoying phone solicitations anymore (another benefit), but when I did I had my script mentally prepared (I learned this from someone else, and used it many times):

Caller: Hello, can I speak with Mr. Doe (actually me)?
Me: Are you a friend of Mr. Doe's? [Just to make sure you're not talking to someone you don't want to do this to]
Caller: No, I'm from AARP and I have a great offer for Mr. Doe.
Me: I'm sorry, you've called at a really bad time, Mr. Doe died last night. The widow just stopped crying a few minutes ago, would you like to talk to her?
Caller: No thanks, sorry I bothered you (or something like that). Good bye.

Worked every time. Even if they don't believe you, not like they're going to try to call you on it. Try it, you'll enjoy it. The hard part is not to break out laughing during the call.

And did I feel bad lying to a phone solicitor? Silly question...

Good one!

Here's mine (much less funny):

Caller: Hello, can I speak with Ms. Want2retire?
Me: May I ask who is calling, please?
Caller: This is the Bank of W2R and we have a great mortgage refinance offer for Ms. Want2retire.
Me: Not interested, thank you, goodbye (click!)

Kind of rude, but I think it is a very appropriate response to unsolicited phone spam directed at someone on the Do Not Call list.

I frequently get phone offers for re-fi's and HELOC's as well as credit cards. Phone spammers seem to think I need to be rescued from my present mortgage-free, completely debt-free situation.

 

[Rustward]

Once had a device called Easy Hang Up.
Amazon.com: Phonex Broadband PX 1020 Easy Hang-Up: Electronics

It is wired in series between the phone and the wall jack. When you press the little button it announces this message to your caller: ""I'm sorry, this number does not accept this type of call. Please regard this message as your notification to remove this number from your list." You can hang up the phone immediately after pressing the button -- it keeps the line off hook until the entire message has been delivered then promptly goes on hook (hangs up).

As I recall I only really used it once. Some guy selling investments simply refused to cooperatively end a call. He had called several times before.
I am the kind of person who avoids hanging up on anybody, even if they are annoying me. I told him politely and in a businesslike manner that I had decided not to do business with him and we don't have anything else to talk about. He launched back into sales mode. When I was able to get a word in, I asked him to wait on the line while I "looked up some information" then I . . . went out and checked the mail, got a drink of water, surfed a couple of web sites. I came back on the line:
Me: Still there?
Caller: Yes.
Me: Thanks so much for waiting. I have some really important information to give you.

Then I hit the button and hung up the phone. He never called back. To my recollection that is the only time I ever used the device other than to see how it worked.

 

[youbet]

We're keeping our landline.

It's very cheap at about $16/mo.

As ERD50 states, it's great for screening calls.

I get my internet connection (DSL) for $10/mo via the landline and the cheapest cable internet connection here is considerably more.

I like having a number that is easy to screen calls on to give out to folks who I really don't want calling me at inopportune times on my cell phone. Example..... I'm out kayaking and have my cell phone on because I'm expecting an important call from my son. The cell phone rings and I answer since it may be DS announcing that they're on the way to the hospital. But no...... it's my dentist office reminding me I have an appointment tomorrow. Blaaaah! So, now my dentist gets the landline number and I get that message off the answering machine when I get home.

Landline = cheap telephone number to give to folks you don't want calling your cell and would rather just have leave a message on the machine you'll listen to when it's convenient. DW and I each have a cell phone on Verizon which is our main phone. We share the landline number to give out to anyone we'd prefer not call our cell phone.

 

[ERD50]

Oh and ERD, please don't get me wrong. I think it is more an issue of the callers than of you IF they get irked by that behavior.
I don't know why that is irksome to me, and Want2Retire and I may be the only 2 people in the world that this irks.
I am more curious about WHY I find in irksome than in why you screen calls.

I understand, my curiosity is kind of increasing as we discuss it though.

[*]then they answered, so I had to switch back into converse mode


It's somewhat disconcerting, maybe because I'm not a relaxed phone caller.

Make any sense?

yes, the switching modes is a bit disorienting - but of course if I got to the phone and didn't pick up - that would seem worse. What do I do, let the person talk to the machine, then try to call them back right away? And they may have gone on to make the next call, and I get a busy (or interrupt them with a call waiting tone, another interruption ).

So picking up mid-ans-machine seems like the most polite thing to me, and yes with caller ID, if I know it is someone likely to want to talk to me and not ask to leave a message for someone else, and I get to the phone fast enough to see it, I just pick it up.

Do the people you know that comment 'Oh, screening your calls' sound put off?

It's been along time since anyone actually said it - I think it was more just kidding.

And about the other subject of unwanted phone calls - if it is a true violation of the DNC, and I have the time, I run them through the ringer. I recite the law to them, inform them they are violating Federal law, inform them that they have to mail me their DNC policy, etc, etc, etc. They never do, but it slows 'em down....

-ERD50

 

[Meadbh]

A true story from one of my friends, Ms. Doe

Caller: Can I speak with Ms. Doe?
Ms. Doe: Who's speaking?
Caller: This is the Prairie Gazette and we have a great subscription offer for you!
Ms. Doe: Does it come in Braille?
Caller: Oh. Bye!

 

[Zathras]

Since I don't have a landline I never get those annoying phone solicitations anymore (another benefit), but when I did I had my script mentally prepared. I wish I could take credit but I learned this from someone else, and used it many times:

Caller: Hello, can I speak with Mr. Doe (actually me)?
Me: Are you a friend of Mr. Doe's? [Just to make sure you're not talking to someone you don't want to do this to]
Caller: No, I'm from AARP-TruGreen-FOP-Acme Insurance and I have a great offer for Mr. Doe.
Me: I'm sorry, you've called at a really bad time, Mr. Doe died last night. The widow just stopped crying a few minutes ago, would you like to talk to her?
Caller: No thanks, sorry I bothered you (or something like that). Good bye.

That is a riot.
I had one friend who would do his best to keep the telemarketer on the phone as long as possible. 'Really, and how does that work?', 'Tell me more', 'I'm sorry, I don't think I understood that part about...'.
Worked great, he RARELY got further calls from the same company and he had fun.
Another friend of mine used the tactic of handing the phone to is 3 year old

 

[Zathras]

OK, I'm remembering now that I have a friend I used to call once in awhile who screened calls, and I would get irked. My guess it was because I didn't call them enough to expect the screening, so I wasn't prepared for it, and the sequence was:

1. I called, preparing to converse;
2. got the machine, so I had to start thinking of what message I would leave without babbling;
3. then they answered, so I had to switch back into converse mode

It's somewhat disconcerting, maybe because I'm not a relaxed phone caller.

The other part might be that I feel slightly inconvenienced at having to wait through the rings and the greeting mesage, like they feel their time is more important than mine, or something like that. Or maybe it's because I've yielded control to them, though I don't feel like I'm a control nut.

I understand screening, I realize I should feel good that my voice was pick-up worthy, and my reasons for getting irked aren't that good, but somehow I still do get a bit irked.

I don't think I know any screeners now, because of caller ID.

Make any sense?

Makes lots of sense. I think there may be a combination of annoyances that add up to being 'irked' for me. The ones you mentioned definately make sense for me and are probably reasons for me as well.
And I concur, my reasons aren't that good either. They just still affect me that way

 

[CuppaJoe]

....

Actually, I mostly end up picking up in the middle because I was busy with a home project, and it took a full 4 rings for me to get up, put the paint brush down, wash my hands....
....

Me too, a lot of times the caller is well into a message when I pick up. My friends know I have a bad back and telemarketers, who cares, I just turn the volume off and let it run its course.

 

[FUEGO]

That is a riot.
Another friend of mine used the tactic of handing the phone to is 3 year old

If you have one of those nearby, it makes obnoxious telemarketers HILARIOUS. Only use this if they have called more than once before and you have instructed them not to call.

Caller: Hello, can I speak with Mr. Doe (actually me)?
Me: Are you a friend of Mr. Doe's? [Just to make sure you're not talking to someone you don't want to do this to]
Caller: No, I'm from AARP-TruGreen-FOP-Acme Insurance and I have a great offer for Mr. Doe.
Me: I'm sorry, you've called at a really bad time, Mr. Doe died last night. The widow just stopped crying a few minutes ago, would you like to talk to her?
Caller: No thanks, sorry I bothered you (or something like that). Good bye.

My usual script is:

Caller: Hello, can I speak with Mr. FUERGOL? (they tend to butcher the easily pronounceable name)
Me: Speaking.
Caller: I'm calling from the Credit Protector Plus from Bank of Ameri... {click}

Time is a valuable commodity. Don't waste it receiving advertising from annoying telemarketers.

 

[hankster]

The home we live in now is down in a river canyon. Cell phones - no coverage, rural area with no cable service. The land line is our only option for both phone and internet. At least we have DSL internet over the phone line and don't have to suffer with dial-up

 

[Nords]

Hawaiian Tel charges more for naked DSL than for land line/DSL, so we really wouldn't be saving more than $20/month. And if I did drop the land line, I'd have three issues:
- 911 address/location feature. Do cell phones do that yet?
- Sending a fax 2-3 times/year. Not so easy for ERs who don't go to an office. I'd send PDFs in an e-mail if some businesses & banks would drag their sorry assets into the 21st century.
- Calls during power outages. Oahu's cell towers don't always maintain their backup power.

No one in our house sprints to answer a ringing phone. We leave our answering machine on 24/7 and turn off the ringers. If we expect a callback or if a call's scheduled then we'll turn on the ringers and turn them off again when we're done. We don't bother "screening"-- we just don't call back until we're finished with whatever the phone would have interrupted.

The advantage of not answering is that the call center's computer will detect our answering machine and just hang up. The phone light may flash once or twice (or there may be a few seconds of dead air before the disconnect) but they don't wait around to hear our message, let alone leave one of their own.

First, if it lasts that long I'm probably going to check into a hotel for a few days....

After Katrina, W2R would've had to drive quite a few miles through highway evacuation routes (or what was left of them). And on Oahu after a hurricane, I'd have to get on a plane.

My mental attitude is that a hurricane could turn us into charcoal-barbequing tarp campers for about two weeks. I don't want to add cell phone batteries to the list of things to worry about, and I'd be real reluctant to waste precious car gas on a cell-phone charge.

 

[Khan]

- 911 address/location feature. Do cell phones do that yet?

It depends on where you live. The city/county/state has to set it up.

 

[Dudester]

I always tell people (i almost put this on my machine) that if it was important enough to call, it was important enough to leave a message.
-ERD50

Amen. I totally believe this. I absolutely detest phones. If you're going to call me, it better damn well be important, important enough to leave a message. If this irks you, tough. Your failure to leave a message in my opinion is an explicit admission that you didn't have anything important to say. In which case, why should I care if you're irked? If this causes you to stop calling me, then THANK YOU!

I'm on the national "do not call" list. But almost every day I get three or four calls that don't leave a message. If I answer these calls, it's almost always a telemarketer. I simply do not answer calls any more because of this. Has this hurt me. Not that I can tell.

Sorry if this offends anybody, but it's really a pet peeve of mine.

 

[tryan]

hmmm ... except that I usually have 2 or 3 number to try (office, home and multiple cell) before I leave a message.

Vonage has done a pretty decent job keeping the home phone alive. The call forwarding and dashboard features are putting Ma Bell out of business. We'll keep our number for a while longer.

 

[tuixiu]

I'm in the "too cheap too worry about" camp. With the price + contributes to bundled savings with cell and dsl it's not significant at all.

 

[FUEGO]

Vonage has done a pretty decent job keeping the home phone alive. The call forwarding and dashboard features are putting Ma Bell out of business. We'll keep our number for a while longer.

Yes, Vonage keeps us happy with a land line and away from going cell phone only. I especially like getting voicemails in my email inbox. It also came in handy when I took our vonage adapter with us on the week long family beach trip last year. The old folks who were down there with us were amazed that we could box up our home phone and plug it up anywhere with internet. And free long distance and much better call quality than cell phones, especially where we were on a somewhat isolated barrier island with poor cell reception. People trying to call us could still reach us. It also came in handy for all the youngsters who had to make business calls and attend conference calls while away on vacation. You don't want to have to say "can you hear me now" a dozen times during an important call.

 

[Sarah in SC]

- Calls during power outages. Oahu's cell towers don't always maintain their backup power.

After Katrina, W2R would've had to drive quite a few miles through highway evacuation routes (or what was left of them). And on Oahu after a hurricane, I'd have to get on a plane.

My mental attitude is that a hurricane could turn us into charcoal-barbequing tarp campers for about two weeks. I don't want to add cell phone batteries to the list of things to worry about, and I'd be real reluctant to waste precious car gas on a cell-phone charge.

Nords brings up the point I was waiting to hear. During the debacle that was our last hurricane scare, there were people stuck in traffic trying to get out of town for 10-12 hours without moving. Every road out of Charleston was backed up. The cell towers just got overloaded and all of the cell phones quit working. This can happen in any disaster situation and makes the cell phone not such a great primary resource.

Additionally, if we are camped out post hurricane, the landline doesn't need power to work and even in the dismal days post Hugo (our last direct Cat 5 hit in 1989) we could use the phones, though power didn't come back to our island for weeks.

We keep the landline and the DSL because of these concerns and the fact that our cell phones don't get great reception out here in the country all the time.

 

[W2R]

After Katrina, phone coverage was disrupted for both cell and landline. At the time Frank was working south of Montgomery, Alabama and had a rental trailer there where we stayed for four days.

From Alabama I could not get through to anyone in New Orleans on my cell phone (Verizon), his cell phone (Sprint), or by land line. Those who stayed in New Orleans said that in general they could text locally but could not get out of the local area for the most part and everything was very sporadic. As for me, after trying for hours and hours to get through to New Orleans by cell phone and landline, I finally reported to my work that I was safe by sending an e-mail from my location in Alabama to a co-worker in the D.C. area and eventually was able to phone in to D.C. E-mail was fine with absolutely no problems.

When we returned about five days after Katrina, we were driving through a desolate swamp in the back roads as we approached New Orleans, since the freeways were still closed. We had not seen another car or any light for miles and miles, and it was the dark of the moon, the road was covered with tree limbs and debris to weave around, it was totally silent with not a bird or other animal to be heard, and I have never been anywhere darker or spookier. Suddenly, my cell phone beeped! It was a voicemail message from my supervisor (who lived in Covington, on the north shore, and stayed). She had left the voicemail message two or three days earlier using her husband's cell phone, but it didn't get to me until I was within fifteen miles or so of New Orleans.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Interesting, W2R. I wondered if that was the case. The systems are built for normal, not extraordinary usage and I guess just get overwhelmed. I wonder if the landline problems were because of the extensive flooding that stayed? In Hugo, we had areas with more than 10 feet (the first floor of our home flooded to 5'6") of water, but it receded with the storm, leaving most houses intact.