Strange and/or Obsolete Conventions in Communication

Post by **Nanohedron** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 11:32 am

avanutria wrote:When I was young, my best friend's father answered the phone with a version of "Hello" that sounded like "Yellow".

There's another one like that: "mmmYiello". For some reason I only heard women doing that one.

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 11:38 am

Nanohedron wrote:
avanutria wrote:When I was young, my best friend's father answered the phone with a version of "Hello" that sounded like "Yellow".
There's another one like that: "mmmYiello". For some reason I only heard women doing that one.

Hey! http://www.mmmhellooo.com Betty Butterfield does that!

Innocent Bystander · Post by **Innocent Bystander** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 12:46 pm

Somebody says "Yellow" to you on the phone, you can say
"Orange you cute!"

Post by **Nanohedron** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 1:07 pm

gonzo914 wrote:And the response to "Is Mr. Gonzo there?" should be "That depends on who you are."

I have to say I like that very, very much.

Caller ID on cell phones is nice; my friends and I are able to answer a call with, "Hey, Gnyrhq! Wassup?" instead of just "Hello?". Very conversational from the get-go.

One thing I always do when calling someone is identify myself first off. Just seems only right, you know? Of course, if it's the whelps I have to leave a message with, I've learned to abandon hope of either name or message making it past the mouthpiece. "So, did you get my message?" "Oh, was that you? Junior mumbled at me just an hour ago about yesterday someone leaving a message for somebody about something. You know how it goes." One keeps trying, though.

DaveM · Post by **DaveM** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 6:09 am

Since my son Fraser developed the power of speech, I've started using him as the recipient of all telemarketers. His obsession with the speeds of all moving objects makes for a good conversation stopper.

Conversation goes something like this:

Brrinng Brring...
- Hello?
- (Pause is the line is connected through to some offshore call centre). Hello. Can I speak to mr MASSON?
- (Hackles up already). Yes, that's me (signalling to Fraser to come and take the phone).
- Blah blah < insert telephone / windows / banking phone spam here for five minutes>
- I can run at 7 miles an hour!

Click.

Dave

Jerry Freeman · Post by **Jerry Freeman** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 7:32 am

I may have mentioned this in another thread.

I had some friends back in Iowa who didn't want their phone number listed, but they didn't want to waste the free listing option, so they listed their phone number in their cat's name. I was there one day to hear the wife answer the phone. I heard her part of the conversation and was able to mentally recreate the other half:

Ring, ring!

"Hello?"

"Is Mr. Towser there?"

"I'm sorry, he isn't available right now." (Looks out the kitchen window.) "He's in the back yard, rolling in the grass."

(Some kind of sales pitch.)

"I don't think Mr. Towser would be interested in that. He's a cat."

(Some kind of response.)

"Well, yes. Doesn't your cat have a phone?"

Best wishes,
Jerry

Mitch · Post by **Mitch** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 8:12 am

Many years ago I worked briefly in a call centre for a market research outfit.

After a while I found that the result of the questions could easily be steered by the caller by using vocal inflection alone.

This is why I never believe a thing produced by polls - all you get is the net bias of the operators.

We were payed per completed interview.

We were not permitted to deviate from the call script.

This resulted in some very interesting techniques for getting completions.

The second most successful approach was to burn the script. Which most of us did - technology wasn't so hot those days and it was hard for them to catch us out.

The best approach I saw was used by a girl who could key folks personalities from their first word and then create a custom personality in voice and inflection that just hooked them in - it was like being in the presence of the demon "Legion" - I often had to look up to see if it was really her speaking or some stranger had just taken the chair.

She would have been stumped by the cat thing I'm sure, either that Or she'd have the cat's full range of opinions on any subject in just hisses, growls and purrs.

fyffer · Post by **fyffer** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 8:33 am

I find the telephone to be pure annoyance and rudeness, regardless of the caller.
Let me explain:
I can think of no other communication medium where the recipient of the contact is literally expected to drop everything, and engage in some sort of interchange, and even perhaps be expected to commit to something (money, time, energy), without so much as a warning shot.
As an oh-so-typical one-thing-at-a-time male, I find such intrusions rude and selfish on the part of the caller. It's getting worse as I age.

I was recently a weekend guest at a friend's home where they literally *never* answered the phone. I found it disconcerting to hear the phone ring while sitting around visiting, and they didn't even blink. They let the answering machine pick it up, and then checked the machine later *at their convenience*. I found this most refreshing. What I couldn't reconcile however, was the fact that they actually had the ringer *on* on their phone. I think I'd just turn the ringer off altogether, and just check my messages when I felt like it.

And no, I'm not a sociopath - but I do play one on TV.

Denny · Post by **Denny** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 8:50 am

Ya leave the ringer on 'cause sometimes you are expecting a call, or given the time of day, you are pretty sure who it is. Now if you have guests or dinner or...

fiddleronvermouth · Post by **fiddleronvermouth** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 9:02 am

I leave the ringer on but don't answer, and don't have voice mail. I use my amazing psychic abilities to guess who it is and why they're calling, then decide whether I feel like talking to them.

Tyler · Post by **Tyler** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 9:04 am

fiddleronvermouth wrote:I leave the ringer on but don't answer, and don't have voice mail. I use my amazing psychic abilities to guess who it is and why they're calling, then decide whether I feel like talking to them.

What was your number again?(Just kiddin'!

)

Denny · Post by **Denny** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 9:10 am

fiddleronvermouth wrote:I leave the ringer on but don't answer, and don't have voice mail. I use my amazing psychic abilities to guess who it is and why they're calling, then decide whether I feel like talking to them.

It's all about practice, eh?

DaveM · Post by **DaveM** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 9:10 am

I feel the same about mobiles. I hate the invasion of privacy. I went camping last summer and my mobile decided to stay for an extended holiday when we went home. Managed a year without it now, and I can't quite remember why I thought I needed one in the first place.

Dave

djm · Post by **djm** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 9:35 am

I had to turn the ringer off on my phone, whether I intended to pick up or not. Everytime it rang I kept finding myself drooling .....

djm

fiddleronvermouth · Post by **fiddleronvermouth** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 9:55 am

Denny wrote:
fiddleronvermouth wrote:I leave the ringer on but don't answer, and don't have voice mail. I use my amazing psychic abilities to guess who it is and why they're calling, then decide whether I feel like talking to them.
It's all about practice, eh?

Yes, and for the times practitioners of the black art of telemarketing are blocking my amazing psychic abilities, I have call display.

Also, there are only about three people who phone me, ever. Everybody else pings or emails.

The phone is so, like, 20th century.