by Ryan McKeen
One of the things I frequently do as a lawyer is dial wrong numbers from my office phone. This is due to two things. First, I’m on the phone a lot and second, voicemail.
I hate voicemail. One of the things I hate about it is when people don’t repeat the number they want me to call them back at. In an age where more and more people don’t own land lines parts of voicemails sometimes cut out.
Sometimes people speak clearly and then garble their number. That’s fine when I already know a caller’s number because it’s in Abacus but when it’s someone new, it’s sometimes a guessing game.
If you call me. Please repeat your number on my voicemail. For my sanity, please do this.
Back to wrong numbers.
When I call them, people are frequently indignant. It’s as if they’re looking for someone to be mad at and when I stumble onto their phone they think “aha! Here’s my chance to vent some anger!” It’s strange to me that people get outraged over such a small slight.
Really, I’m sorry I wasted 5 seconds of their meaningful and productive lives. Really.
We’re an angry country right now. We’re looking for someone to be mad at. We want something to be upset about. Then the phone rings and it’s anger meets opportunity.