In article m,
"brass monkey" writes:
Had a terrific phone call today -
Him - I have information that you had an RTA in the last 3 years

On several occasions, I've instantly responded to that by saying
"lier!". That comes as quite a surprise, and the call goes
completely off their script (and comfort zone) from that point on.

Me - You're dreaming it up, mate
Him - Do you think I waste my ****ing time phoning people up on a dream, you
****ing knob
Me - Well, you're wasting MY time
followed by much hilarity and telling the wife that some **** is calling me
a ****ing knob. If anyone was near him they'd have heard me laughing my
goolies off.
Anyway, I said thanks very much and put the phone down.
Number withheld, there's a surprise.

I had a WITHHELD in the morning a few days ago...
"Is that Mr Gabriel?" in a broad Indian accent.
"Who's asking?" is always my initial response to this.
"It's Robert Smith"
I forget the name he actually gave now, but it was very English,
given in a very Indian accent.
"I'm calling you from [I forget the company] in London.
How are you this afternoon, Mr Gabriel?"
Why on earth do they ask this? I must think up some response which is
going to take half an hour to explain with no opportunity for interruption,
but I haven't done that yet. However, this time the reponse was dead easy.
I said
"Well, actually it's the morning in this country."
That buggered up his call script. There were a few "Oh", "um", and
the like, and then he tried to continue with his script, but it
went to pieces because I laughed, and then he got the giggles and
couldn't get the words out, and eventually he cleared down the call
mid-sentence.

At least that one left me laughing afterwards, rather than annoyed.


Then there was another one this morning, showing INTERNATIONAL
"Hello", I said.
"Is that Mrs Gabriel?" was the response.
"Not unless she's suddenly got a very deep voice".
Click - the call is cut off.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

Andrew Gabriel wrote:

Then there was another one this morning, showing INTERNATIONAL
"Hello", I said.
"Is that Mrs Gabriel?" was the response.
"Not unless she's suddenly got a very deep voice".
Click - the call is cut off.

"Withheld" earlier this week:

An Asian accent:
"This is Brian from Microsoft. You have a problem with your
computer. Can you go to your computer now?"
"Which of my computers has the problem?"
Click.

Yesterday I played along for a while as someone described the
advantages of solar panels. Only when they wanted to send a
surveyor did I mention that I already have them. At least they
managed a giggle.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK


Have dancing shoes, will ceilidh.

On 24/02/2012 01:07, Andrew Gabriel wrote:
...? I must think up some response which is
going to take half an hour to explain with no opportunity for interruption,
but I haven't done that yet....

Mine is 'I don''t take cold calls. Goodbye', followed by putting the
phone down. I don't see the point in wasting any more time than that.

Colin Bignell

In message , Andrew Gabriel
writes
In article m,
"brass monkey" writes:
Had a terrific phone call today -
Him - I have information that you had an RTA in the last 3 years

On several occasions, I've instantly responded to that by saying
"lier!". That comes as quite a surprise, and the call goes
completely off their script (and comfort zone) from that point on.

Me - You're dreaming it up, mate
Him - Do you think I waste my ****ing time phoning people up on a dream, you
****ing knob
Me - Well, you're wasting MY time
followed by much hilarity and telling the wife that some **** is calling me
a ****ing knob. If anyone was near him they'd have heard me laughing my
goolies off.
Anyway, I said thanks very much and put the phone down.
Number withheld, there's a surprise.

I had a WITHHELD in the morning a few days ago...
"Is that Mr Gabriel?" in a broad Indian accent.
"Who's asking?" is always my initial response to this.

snip...

Poking around the BT website this morning, I came across the
following....

Anonymous call reject. Set up, star 227hash. Cancel, hash227hash.
Check, star hash227 hash.

Apparently the caller gets a *call not accepted message*.

This may have cropped up recently in discussion about automated *useful*
messages from hospitals etc.

regards

--
Tim Lamb

On Fri, 24 Feb 2012 09:56:19 +0000, Tim Lamb
wrote:


Poking around the BT website this morning, I came across the
following....

Anonymous call reject. Set up, star 227hash. Cancel, hash227hash.
Check, star hash227 hash.

Apparently the caller gets a *call not accepted message*.


....and it costs about four quid a month.

For another BT bargain "ring back when free" used to be 10p or so,
now its around 40p or so per use with no indication on the phone
message BT provide as to what the charge will be

--

On 24/02/2012 09:56, Tim Lamb wrote:

Poking around the BT website this morning, I came across the following....
Anonymous call reject. Set up, star 227hash. Cancel, hash227hash. Check,
star hash227 hash.
Apparently the caller gets a *call not accepted message*.

This may have cropped up recently in discussion about automated *useful*
messages from hospitals etc.


We have had this service for years, has to be set up though and isn't
free. Some calls where the number isn't available like some
international calls still get through.

We always give the Vet/doctor/hospital up to date mobile numbers. Anyone
else can either present a number or send a letter

Lee

On Fri, 24 Feb 2012 09:42:58 +0000, Nightjar
wrote:

On 24/02/2012 01:07, Andrew Gabriel wrote:
...? I must think up some response which is
going to take half an hour to explain with no opportunity for interruption,
but I haven't done that yet....

Mine is 'I don''t take cold calls. Goodbye', followed by putting the
phone down. I don't see the point in wasting any more time than that.

And I omit the "Goodbye" and hang up straight away.
But I don't usually answer calls with no displayed CLID.
--
(\__/) M.
(='.'=) If a man stands in a forest and no woman is around
(")_(") is he still wrong?

On Fri, 24 Feb 2012 11:40:28 +0000, Mark wrote:

On Fri, 24 Feb 2012 09:42:58 +0000, Nightjar
wrote:

On 24/02/2012 01:07, Andrew Gabriel wrote:
...? I must think up some response which is going to take half an hour
to explain with no opportunity for interruption, but I haven't done
that yet....

Mine is 'I don''t take cold calls. Goodbye', followed by putting the
phone down. I don't see the point in wasting any more time than that.

And I omit the "Goodbye" and hang up straight away. But I don't usually
answer calls with no displayed CLID.

No-CLID calls here put the caller into a menu.

If you are a telemarketer, press 1
If you are conducting a survey, press 2
If we have won a holiday, press 3
For anything else, press 4

Real callers persist, the rest don't seem to. The ongoing response to
telemarketers (1) asks them (eventually, they have to listen to 'all
members of the household are currently assisting other telemarketers, you
are in a queue', etc...) to leave full contact details so I can report
them. And then I get emailed a .wav file of the whole conversation.

The phone never actually rings. And answers 2 and 3 get similar, but
customised, treatment.

--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

*lightning protection* - a w_tom conductor

On 2/24/2012 1:39 PM, Bob Eager wrote:

No-CLID calls here put the caller into a menu.

If you are a telemarketer, press 1
If you are conducting a survey, press 2
If we have won a holiday, press 3
For anything else, press 4

Real callers persist, the rest don't seem to. The ongoing response to
telemarketers (1) asks them (eventually, they have to listen to 'all
members of the household are currently assisting other telemarketers, you
are in a queue', etc...) to leave full contact details so I can report
them. And then I get emailed a .wav file of the whole conversation.

The phone never actually rings. And answers 2 and 3 get similar, but
customised, treatment.

I like the way your mind works.

On Fri, 24 Feb 2012 10:18:13 +0000, The Other Mike
wrote:

On Fri, 24 Feb 2012 09:56:19 +0000, Tim Lamb
wrote:


Poking around the BT website this morning, I came across the
following....

Anonymous call reject. Set up, star 227hash. Cancel, hash227hash.
Check, star hash227 hash.

Apparently the caller gets a *call not accepted message*.


...and it costs about four quid a month.

For another BT bargain "ring back when free" used to be 10p or so,
now its around 40p or so per use with no indication on the phone
message BT provide as to what the charge will be

1471 - 3
True, but the announcement says, (in a distorted and over-modulated
way)
"There is normally a charge for this service", which is enough for me
to hang up and dial it back manually.

--
Graham.
%Profound_observation%

[Default] On Fri, 24 Feb 2012 09:56:19 +0000, a certain chimpanzee,
Tim Lamb , randomly hit the keyboard and
wrote:

Poking around the BT website this morning, I came across the
following....

Anonymous call reject. Set up, star 227hash. Cancel, hash227hash.
Check, star hash227 hash.

Apparently the caller gets a *call not accepted message*.

Which is a pain for real callers from behind switchboards like myself.
I can phone using my Council mobile*, but if I was one of our admin
team and needed to contact someone to sort out a small but non-trivial
detail on, say, a Building Regulations application, I would have to
write a letter to said person and wait for a few more days for a
reply. Meanwhile they would be cursing the Council for not processing
their application sooner.

*I wouldn't give out my personal mobile number to the public, and
seeing as we are getting paid less for doing more for the third year
running, I certainly ain't gonna do it without getting paid.
--
Hugo Nebula
"If no-one on the internet wants a piece of this,
just how far from the pack have I strayed"?

In message , Hugo Nebula
wrote

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

Reputable companies and organisations don't hide phone numbers.


--
Alan
news2009 {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On Fri, 24 Feb 2012 21:33:18 +0000, Alan wrote:

In message , Hugo Nebula
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..

--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

*lightning protection* - a w_tom conductor

In message , Hugo Nebula
writes
[Default] On Fri, 24 Feb 2012 09:56:19 +0000, a certain chimpanzee,
Tim Lamb , randomly hit the keyboard and
wrote:

Poking around the BT website this morning, I came across the
following....

Anonymous call reject. Set up, star 227hash. Cancel, hash227hash.
Check, star hash227 hash.

Apparently the caller gets a *call not accepted message*.

Which is a pain for real callers from behind switchboards like myself.
I can phone using my Council mobile*, but if I was one of our admin
team and needed to contact someone to sort out a small but non-trivial
detail on, say, a Building Regulations application, I would have to
write a letter to said person and wait for a few more days for a
reply. Meanwhile they would be cursing the Council for not processing
their application sooner.

Oh! Seems a bit odd that a respectable District Council Office would
wish to withhold their phone number. Is this choice or simply the system
in use?

The mention of *not free* upthread has already concentrated my mind:-)

*I wouldn't give out my personal mobile number to the public, and
seeing as we are getting paid less for doing more for the third year
running, I certainly ain't gonna do it without getting paid.

I have a mobile no for my local BCO but would not expect to contact him
outside the normal notification hours.

regards

--
Tim Lamb

In message , Alan
writes
In message , Hugo Nebula
wrote

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

Reputable companies and organisations don't hide phone numbers.

Yes they do. A lot of NHS establishments have their number withheld.
The reason being that one member of a family may not wish another member
to know that they are in contact with the hospital, or which ever part
of the NHS. It is easier for the caller to ask for who they want and if
they are not there then give a cover story if their number is not
displayed.

Also some large companies do not display their number, otherwise the
switch board gets inundated with "someone called me 3 hours ago, no I
don't know who!" OK if they could forward a DDI No, but not sure that
many can.

At one time the local police control room was number withheld, probably
still is, for similar reasons to the reason given above. They kept a
mobile for calling people, like myself, that bar withheld numbers.



--
Bill

In article
,
Owain wrote:
On Feb 24, 9:54 pm, 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.

there is also the possibility that the person who called is working from
home. They cetainly wouldn't want to give out their home number.

--
From KT24

Using a RISC OS computer running v5.16

On 24/02/2012 21:54, Bob Eager wrote:
On Fri, 24 Feb 2012 21:33:18 +0000, Alan wrote:

In , Hugo Nebula
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..

Lots of cold callers spoof calling ID these days. There was even reports
of one spoofing the number they were calling as their caller ID... so it
looked like a local incoming call, and if you tried to phone back it was
engaged ;-)


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On 24/02/2012 21:33, Alan wrote:
In message , Hugo Nebula
wrote

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

Reputable companies and organisations don't hide phone numbers.

Ah, that famous[1] "if you have done nothing wrong, then there is
nothing to hide" argument


[1] famous, but founded on a set of false assumptions and hence always
wrong...

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

Bill wrote:


Also some large companies do not display their number, otherwise the
switch board gets inundated with "someone called me 3 hours ago, no I
don't know who!" OK if they could forward a DDI No, but not sure that
many can.

Well, that's just lazy.

They could assign a presentation number which is answered by an automated
system (like most big companies have anyway) which announces the company
name[1] and offeres a simple menu system for sales etc.

That would offer just enough resistance to persisting which offering a clean
record of the comapny - and a number you could stick in your phone's
directory so it displays the company name next time anyone from the company
rings.


I don't autoblock withheld numbers, but if I'm busy and the phone rings
without displaying the name of someone in my directory - or at least a
number from one of the few area codes that may be of interest, I'll not
bother to pick up.

The truth of how important a call is is whether they leave an answerphone
message...

--
Tim Watts

charles wrote:

In article
,
Owain wrote:
On Feb 24, 9:54 pm, 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.

there is also the possibility that the person who called is working from
home. They cetainly wouldn't want to give out their home number.


As I work from home 2 days a week, I got myself a SipGate VOIP acount which
I advertise as my work contact number (in preference to my desk phone as the
college answerphone system is rubbish and SipGate can email answerphone
messages to me).

Works very well. And I do not withold that number - as I can easily disable
ringing for calls targetting that when I am not working.


--
Tim Watts

In article ,
Tim Watts wrote:
Bill wrote:


Also some large companies do not display their number, otherwise the
switch board gets inundated with "someone called me 3 hours ago, no I
don't know who!" OK if they could forward a DDI No, but not sure that
many can.

Well, that's just lazy.

They could assign a presentation number which is answered by an automated
system (like most big companies have anyway) which announces the company
name[1] and offeres a simple menu system for sales etc.

The most ghastly invention.

--
From KT24

Using a RISC OS computer running v5.16

charles wrote:

In article ,
Tim Watts wrote:
Bill wrote:


Also some large companies do not display their number, otherwise the
switch board gets inundated with "someone called me 3 hours ago, no I
don't know who!" OK if they could forward a DDI No, but not sure that
many can.

Well, that's just lazy.

They could assign a presentation number which is answered by an automated
system (like most big companies have anyway) which announces the company
name[1] and offeres a simple menu system for sales etc.

The most ghastly invention.


Better than having a "number unavailable".

In an ideal world the presentation number would lead to the switchboard, but
that's not going to happen...
--
Tim Watts

Hugo Nebula wrote:

Tim Lamb wrote:

Anonymous call reject.

Which is a pain for real callers from behind switchboards like myself.
I can phone using my Council mobile*, but if I was one of our admin
team and needed to contact someone to sort out a small but non-trivial
detail on, say, a Building Regulations application, I would have to
write a letter to said person and wait for a few more days for a
reply. Meanwhile they would be cursing the Council for not processing
their application sooner.

There's this new-fangled thing called email, maybe the council should
investigate it?

On Sat, 25 Feb 2012 09:42:20 +0000, Andy Burns wrote:

Hugo Nebula wrote:

Tim Lamb wrote:

Anonymous call reject.

Which is a pain for real callers from behind switchboards like myself.
I can phone using my Council mobile*, but if I was one of our admin
team and needed to contact someone to sort out a small but non-trivial
detail on, say, a Building Regulations application, I would have to
write a letter to said person and wait for a few more days for a reply.
Meanwhile they would be cursing the Council for not processing their
application sooner.

There's this new-fangled thing called email, maybe the council should
investigate it?

My council has, on more than one occasion, failed to respond to email
after three weeks...Canterbury City Council..



--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

*lightning protection* - a w_tom conductor

In article .
com, Owain scribeth thus
On Feb 24, 9:54*pm, 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.

Owain


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

01223 457000


--
Tony Sayer

On Sat, 25 Feb 2012 10:41:39 +0000, tony sayer wrote:

In article .
com, Owain scribeth thus
On Feb 24, 9:54Â*pm, 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.

Owain


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.


--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

*lightning protection* - a w_tom conductor

In message , Bob Eager
writes
On Sat, 25 Feb 2012 10:41:39 +0000, tony sayer wrote:

In article .
com, Owain scribeth thus
On Feb 24, 9:54*pm, 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.

Owain


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!!

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.



--
Bill

On Sat, 25 Feb 2012 08:19:06 +0000, Tim Watts wrote:

The truth of how important a call is is whether they leave an
answerphone message...

That's my opinion of the phone as well, the rest of the family drop
what ever they are doing to answer it. Me, I look at the CLI and
decide if I want to talk to that person (if known or a number I
recognise) or not.

If it's important from "unknown" they can leave a message or call
back.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Sat, 25 Feb 2012 09:11:17 +0000 (GMT), charles wrote:

They could assign a presentation number which is answered by an
automated system (like most big companies have anyway) which
announces
the company name[1] and offeres a simple menu system for sales
etc.

The most ghastly invention.

The key word is "simple". Many menu systems are not simple and are
geared to answering the questions asked by thick ****s who can't read
the instructions or use common sense.

If I've got to the stage that I need to call a company it's almost
invariably because I need to actually speak to some one who has the
clout to actually doe something or give me the required information.
Not some script jocky called "Peter" in Delhi who I can't understand.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Fri, 24 Feb 2012 22:11:57 +0000, Tim Lamb wrote:

I have a mobile no for my local BCO but would not expect to contact him
outside the normal notification hours.

Yeah but you are sensible and intelligent person who has respect for
others and their privacy. Many of the great unwashed don't and want
their trivial problem sorted out *NOW* and if the information they
are *demanding* isn't forth coming that instant become personally
abusive. You know the sort of people I mean, the ones that call 999
for instructions on how to roast a turkey.

--
Cheers
Dave.

Dave Liquorice wrote:

On Sat, 25 Feb 2012 09:11:17 +0000 (GMT), charles wrote:

They could assign a presentation number which is answered by an
automated system (like most big companies have anyway) which
announces
the company name[1] and offeres a simple menu system for sales
etc.

The most ghastly invention.

The key word is "simple". Many menu systems are not simple and are
geared to answering the questions asked by thick ****s who can't read
the instructions or use common sense.

If I've got to the stage that I need to call a company it's almost
invariably because I need to actually speak to some one who has the
clout to actually doe something or give me the required information.
Not some script jocky called "Peter" in Delhi who I can't understand.


I reckon VMWare have got the most evil system I have ever experienced.

The odd thing is, that after the first go (as a paying customer) I got
****ed off after many levels of deepness and there was no "press 0 for a
person" option. So I hit all the buttons at random and it gave up and dumped
me through to someone. Someone, who, oddly enough dealt with the call -
which in their case is basic ticket logging and customer number anyway (an
engineering type calls back pretty quickly once they have decided which
specialism is most likely involved). So in their case, apart from sales, I
reckon all the other options lead to the same front end team anyway...

Pretty rubbish system considering how much their products cost.

OTOH, if you have Dell Gold/Premium support, after the first call for a
particular incident (which is quick enough because the sales bloke gives you
the magic number), the Dell engineers give you direct line numbers (in Eire
mostly) which is handy when you have walked to the datacenter, are just
about to do what they told you and something unexpected happens!


--
Tim Watts

In article , Bob Eager
scribeth thus
On Sat, 25 Feb 2012 10:41:39 +0000, tony sayer wrote:

In article .
com, Owain scribeth thus
On Feb 24, 9:54*pm, 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.

Owain


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.


Well the city council are quite good at routing you to the right
department as far as councils go. No course they couldn't know where in
the council that call came from but is it really a problem for most of
the departments to leave a c CLI reference?..

Perhaps they'll be dammed if they do and dammed if they don't..
--
Tony Sayer

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!!

Err dunno guv, never been there;!....


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.

As per the other post perhaps then some departments ought .. and perhaps
some others oughtn't?...




--
Tony Sayer

In article o.uk, Dave
Liquorice scribeth thus
On Sat, 25 Feb 2012 08:19:06 +0000, Tim Watts wrote:

The truth of how important a call is is whether they leave an
answerphone message...


Well one day I wished that hadn't happened..

Was at an Ofcom conference on Friday and mobbie switched to silent..

Check messages at end of afternoon session and received a message which
went thus..

Hello Mr Sayer!, this is doctor Greys clinic. Dr Grey wishes to see you
urgently first thing Monday morning about the MRI Brain scan you had
last week.

Your booked in at 8:30, please be there it is important....

So whole weekend worrying that as I had the scan after some odd
persistent headaches was ****e scared that I'd be told that I've got an
incurable tumour that they'd have to operate on that day and the outcome
by the sound of the urgency wasn't too good...


Monday morn came and I was there ..

So what's the problem Doc why the urgency?..

Ah!, good of you to come in I wanted to see you as I'm off to a golf
tournament in Australia later on today my flights been re booked and
I'll be over there on an extended holiday for Six weeks or so;!.

So hence the urgency!..

Mood went from down there to over there somewhere...

OK thank god that was all it was about, in a VERY relived voice..

Well you do have a problem we found a Tumour a large one.

Mood now crashed down there somewhere..

But its not a malign one at all a lot of people have them and don't even
know they have them anyway!..

Mood wen up there and beyond..

I was very glad to get home and have a stiff drink after that lot of
mental stress!!...


FWIW Tumour was a Pituitary gland cyst, now shrunk away on its own
accord..

Headaches?. Possibly slight Carbon monoxide leak at work!...
--
Tony Sayer

Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article m,
"brass monkey" writes:
Had a terrific phone call today -
Him - I have information that you had an RTA in the last 3 years

On several occasions, I've instantly responded to that by saying
"lier!". That comes as quite a surprise, and the call goes
completely off their script (and comfort zone) from that point on.

Me - You're dreaming it up, mate
Him - Do you think I waste my ****ing time phoning people up on a
dream, you ****ing knob
Me - Well, you're wasting MY time
followed by much hilarity and telling the wife that some **** is
calling me a ****ing knob. If anyone was near him they'd have heard
me laughing my goolies off.
Anyway, I said thanks very much and put the phone down.
Number withheld, there's a surprise.

I had a WITHHELD in the morning a few days ago...
"Is that Mr Gabriel?" in a broad Indian accent.
"Who's asking?" is always my initial response to this.
"It's Robert Smith"
I forget the name he actually gave now, but it was very English,
given in a very Indian accent.
"I'm calling you from [I forget the company] in London.
How are you this afternoon, Mr Gabriel?"
Why on earth do they ask this? I must think up some response which is
going to take half an hour to explain with no opportunity for
interruption, but I haven't done that yet. However, this time the
reponse was dead easy. I said
"Well, actually it's the morning in this country."
That buggered up his call script. There were a few "Oh", "um", and
the like, and then he tried to continue with his script, but it
went to pieces because I laughed, and then he got the giggles and
couldn't get the words out, and eventually he cleared down the call
mid-sentence.

At least that one left me laughing afterwards, rather than annoyed.


Then there was another one this morning, showing INTERNATIONAL
"Hello", I said.
"Is that Mrs Gabriel?" was the response.
"Not unless she's suddenly got a very deep voice".
Click - the call is cut off.

I wish I could come up with such replies.

I usually just tell them to **** off.

--
Adam

"tony sayer" wrote in message
...
In article o.uk, Dave
Liquorice scribeth thus
On Sat, 25 Feb 2012 08:19:06 +0000, Tim Watts wrote:

The truth of how important a call is is whether they leave an
answerphone message...


Well one day I wished that hadn't happened..

Was at an Ofcom conference on Friday and mobbie switched to silent..

Check messages at end of afternoon session and received a message which
went thus..

Hello Mr Sayer!, this is doctor Greys clinic. Dr Grey wishes to see you
urgently first thing Monday morning about the MRI Brain scan you had
last week.

Your booked in at 8:30, please be there it is important....

So whole weekend worrying that as I had the scan after some odd
persistent headaches was ****e scared that I'd be told that I've got an
incurable tumour that they'd have to operate on that day and the outcome
by the sound of the urgency wasn't too good...


Monday morn came and I was there ..

So what's the problem Doc why the urgency?..

Ah!, good of you to come in I wanted to see you as I'm off to a golf
tournament in Australia later on today my flights been re booked and
I'll be over there on an extended holiday for Six weeks or so;!.

So hence the urgency!..

Mood went from down there to over there somewhere...

OK thank god that was all it was about, in a VERY relived voice..

Well you do have a problem we found a Tumour a large one.

Mood now crashed down there somewhere..

But its not a malign one at all a lot of people have them and don't even
know they have them anyway!..

Mood wen up there and beyond..

I was very glad to get home and have a stiff drink after that lot of
mental stress!!...


FWIW Tumour was a Pituitary gland cyst, now shrunk away on its own
accord..

Headaches?. Possibly slight Carbon monoxide leak at work!...

Good news then, terrific. But yea, I'd be crapping myself too.

On 25/02/2012 8:05 a.m., S Viemeister wrote:

I like the way your mind works.

:-)

In article , Bob Eager
writes
On Sat, 25 Feb 2012 09:42:20 +0000, Andy Burns wrote:

Hugo Nebula wrote:

Tim Lamb wrote:

Anonymous call reject.

Which is a pain for real callers from behind switchboards like myself.
I can phone using my Council mobile*, but if I was one of our admin
team and needed to contact someone to sort out a small but non-trivial
detail on, say, a Building Regulations application, I would have to
write a letter to said person and wait for a few more days for a reply.
Meanwhile they would be cursing the Council for not processing their
application sooner.

There's this new-fangled thing called email, maybe the council should
investigate it?

My council has, on more than one occasion, failed to respond to email
after three weeks...Canterbury City Council..

Our council has an email address for planning related issues and had
similar response times. When dealing with them I suggested that they
acknowledge new case emails as they come in, letting the sender know
that the issue was in the queue and they'd receive a full reply later.
They thought it was such a good idea that they adopted it! It was a
classic duh, "we never thought of that" moment.
--
fred
it's a ba-na-na . . . .

On Sun, 26 Feb 2012 02:06:52 +0000, fred wrote:

In article , Bob Eager
writes
On Sat, 25 Feb 2012 09:42:20 +0000, Andy Burns wrote:

Hugo Nebula wrote:

Tim Lamb wrote:

Anonymous call reject.

Which is a pain for real callers from behind switchboards like
myself. I can phone using my Council mobile*, but if I was one of our
admin team and needed to contact someone to sort out a small but
non-trivial detail on, say, a Building Regulations application, I
would have to write a letter to said person and wait for a few more
days for a reply. Meanwhile they would be cursing the Council for not
processing their application sooner.

There's this new-fangled thing called email, maybe the council should
investigate it?

My council has, on more than one occasion, failed to respond to email
after three weeks...Canterbury City Council..

Our council has an email address for planning related issues and had
similar response times. When dealing with them I suggested that they
acknowledge new case emails as they come in, letting the sender know
that the issue was in the queue and they'd receive a full reply later.
They thought it was such a good idea that they adopted it! It was a
classic duh, "we never thought of that" moment.

In my case, they admitted they hadn't actually read it...



--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

*lightning protection* - a w_tom conductor

On 24/02/2012 21:33, Alan wrote:
In message , Hugo Nebula
wrote

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

Reputable companies and organisations don't hide phone numbers.


Medway Council do.

--
Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk