On Tue, 28 Feb 2012 02:44:48 +1100, "Rod Speed"
wrote:

Mark wrote
Bill wrote
Bob Eager wrote
tony sayer wrote
Owain wrote
Bob Eager wrote

Which is a pain for real callers from behind switchboards like myself.

Reputable companies and organisations don't hide phone numbers.

I just wonder what mechanism you would employ to *not* hide numbers..

Some form of "presentation number"

which might be the DDI of the council switchboard extension or a
general number. There's unlikely to be a problem presenting a BCO
number, but in some cases the council would not want to reveal
that eg social work had phoned, if they couldn't speak to the
person they wanted.

It isn't really a problem they can preset a CLI of their
switchboard reception number like they do here in Cambridge.

01223 457000

And in a big organisation, the switchboard wouldn't have a clue who
to put them through to.

Sorry Tony,
I agree with Bob on this one. Not only do the switchboard get
inundated with calls that they don't know how to route, because the
caller doesn't know who called them, but also imagine that you have
just been to the STD clinic, ( to get it back on topic for phone
systems!!) and they call you at home, your wife comes in, does a
1471 and then how do you explain the hospital calling you? Fast
thinking is not always easy!!

If you want to keep such secrets from your wife then you could give
the STD clinic a mobile number ;-)

I spend a fair bit of time in a hospital, as you know Tony, and the
above are the 2 main reasons why they do not show CLI, we have
discussed it a few times when I've been in the switchboard.

Thankfully I haven't had to spend much time in hospital but, if they
have a reason to call me, I would want to see a valid number
otherwise it would be likely that I would not answer it.

You might regret that approach when someone you care about
has just been runover and you refusing to answer the call means
that they die without being able to say goodbye etc.

They wont necessarily send the cops around until
after they have died if you dont answer the call.

That's a bit of an extreme example. Since about 99.9% of anonymous
calls are cold callers I generally ignore it.

Legitimate businesses/organisations/people should *not* withhold or
otherwise hide their CLID.
--
(\__/) M.
(='.'=) If a man stands in a forest and no woman is around
(")_(") is he still wrong?