'Private Numbers'

Bens

I might not want to talk to the person even if I see their number.
So if I see no number I definitely couldnt be arsed talking to them.

And if the door bell rings I dont answer. If you know me well enough to to ring my door bell, then you know my phone number. So ring me when you are coming or if I dont answer the door to you.

redz11

robbie_998 wrote: »

Seriously .... Some of you people are insane. Living a sheltered life not answering doors or phones thinking your gonna get shot if you do.

Nothing to do with my personal security, really. Just that I'm not bothered wasting my time answering the phone or the door to randomers who are only trying to sell something etc. Anyone who knows me and who I want to talk to, will have the courtesy to let me know it's them.

booboo88 wrote: »

But it could be a loved one trying to get in touch with you, to let you know that there is an emergency.

They can leave a voicemail. I will check it immediately and respond immediately.

Although, if it's really an emergency, it's 112 they should be calling!

Dudess wrote: »

Serious preciousness here. So the two reasons are: it's rude to conceal their number (la-dee-dah tbh), they must have something to hide (reading into things a tad methinks - have people been getting calls from MI5 or something?)

What difference to the above will answering make? Plus, if it's from a company, it's hardly the employee's fault that the number is blocked. Would you not even be curious? That's the reason I'd answer them. If it's cold-calling (which, to be fair, it is most of the time) I just say I can't talk right now and hang up. Simples.

And I don't think I've ever answered a call from a number that was blocked due to the caller having something to hide - it's nearly always from an office. People's personal numbers are extremely rarely hidden.

It's a phone-call ffs, not a sinister operation...

It's not "preciousness". It's a matter of wanting to keep my personal time to myself, and talking to those I want to, when I want to. And no, I wouldn't be curious! After four rings, my calls go to voicemail, and anyone who knows me will leave a message, and I will always call back immediately if it's someone I know and not someone trying to sell something. If someone is blocking their number and isn't bothered leaving a message, then why would I be bothered talking to them?!

Dudess

Mike 1972 wrote: »

Its hardly my fault that YOUR shyteforbrains company wont buy a proper phone system.

Perhaps I dont want to deal with companies like that ?

What's not proper about it? Also, it's hardly indicative of the company's overall competence or lack thereof.

Unbelievable what offends some people...

robbie_998

redz11 wrote: »

Nothing to do with my personal security, really. Just that I'm not bothered wasting my time answering the phone or the door to randomers who are only trying to sell something etc. Anyone who knows me and who I want to talk to, will have the courtesy to let me know it's them.



They can leave a voicemail. I will check it immediately and respond immediately.

Although, if it's really an emergency, it's 112 they should be calling!



It's not "preciousness". It's a matter of wanting to keep my personal time to myself, and talking to those I want to, when I want to. And no, I wouldn't be curious! After four rings, my calls go to voicemail, and anyone who knows me will leave a message, and I will always call back immediately if it's someone I know and not someone trying to sell something. If someone is blocking their number and isn't bothered leaving a message, then why would I be bothered talking to them?!

you've actually just gone against yourself there

you say your personal time is your and you want to keep it but yet you'll still look at your phone as its ringing to see who it is ... and if they leave a message or not.

and if they do leave a message you'll get straight back to them.

so either way your interrupting your time ?

why not just save the hassle and take the call if your going through that much effort each time

Cicero

lot's of phones are "private number" these days- especially company phones - it really doesn't bother me

Dudess

In fairness, not being in the humour to answer a call - nothing wrong with that.

But that's separate to the "It's rude"/"They must have something to hide" stuff in relation to blocked numbers. I can't see how either applies tbh...

redz11

robbie_998 wrote: »

you've actually just gone against yourself there

you say your personal time is your and you want to keep it but yet you'll still look at your phone as its ringing to see who it is ... and if they leave a message or not.

and if they do leave a message you'll get straight back to them.

so either way your interrupting your time ?

why not just save the hassle and take the call if your going through that much effort each time

I'm absolutely not going against myself at all.

If someone rings me off a private number, yes I look at my phone. And it pisses me off having to wait and check my voicemail, which will take a minute or so.

But say if I answered it, and say if it were to be a particular aunt of mine calling off a private number for some reason, that would take a whole lot longer than a minute to deal with!

Whereas, if it's someone I actually want to talk to who is for some weird reason calling from a private number, then chances are that when I ring them back I'll be on the phone to them for ages. So an extra minute one way or another will make no difference!

robbie_998

redz11 wrote: »

I'm absolutely not going against myself at all.

If someone rings me off a private number, yes I look at my phone. And it pisses me off having to wait and check my voicemail, which will take a minute or so.

But say if I answered it, and say if it were to be a particular aunt of mine calling off a private number for some reason, that would take a whole lot longer than a minute to deal with!

Whereas, if it's someone I actually want to talk to who is for some weird reason calling from a private number, then chances are that when I ring them back I'll be on the phone to them for ages. So an extra minute one way or another will make no difference!

or you know...... just hang up.. tell them to feck off... i dont really care what way you do it but it just makes more sense :pac:

Mike 1972

Dudess wrote: »

What's not proper about it?

<Polite Response> It doesnt support caller ID
<Somewhat less polite response> Its a piece of crap

Dudess wrote: »

Also, it's hardly indicative of the company's overall competence or lack thereof.

Apart when it comes to customer service ?

Dudess wrote: »

Unbelievable what offends some people...

Try getting your number listed as being that of Mrs F******* and let me know how you get on.......

Cicero

It's not that long ago that most fixed line phones didn't have caller display- I'm sure there are still a lot out there now...just answer the phone or stop giving out your number to people if you don't want to be contacted...it just seems silly not answering a phone just coz you don't know who it is

Dudess

Also, some company's internal phones (with extension numbers) are blocked as they can't be phoned from outside, but the company's switchboard number will show up if a call is made from there. I don't think there's a deliberate policy to block these internal phone's numbers. It's just that they don't actually have numbers.

To be fair, I get that it's annoying when "Unknown" shows on your phone rather than the number, but I don't see how it's something to get kinda offended about, to the point of refusing to answer on principle.

As bluewolf pointed out very aptly: this is only a concern since caller I.D. was introduced, and before that, people just answered every call (and tended to get on fine) so it's kinda a non concern really...

Abi

gambiaman wrote: »

LOL, it ain't paranoia it's having the experience to know when my time is my time.
I don't need or want to be available to everyone known or unknown 24/7 at the end of my phone or the knocker on me door.

99.99% a knock on my door will be Airtricity (6 times in one day), religious nuts, doorsellers, gypsies, survey takers and sundry others I don't want to know or be near or look at.

Private/blocked numbers don't get answered either for the same reason - it's my phone and my time.

It's like asking someone to answer all the mails in their spam folder 'cos it's rude not to' !

You sound just like me =]

In the same way I don't answer my door to the unknown, I'm certainly not going to answer my phone to the unknown. I get so fucking angry at the determination of cold callers at my door, I'm not about to answer to the same.

I suppose the next one is; don't give out your number to people who may spam your number? yeah, because companies always ASK for permission..


I'm sick and tired of people thinking they own my fucking time.

Dudess

Mike 1972 wrote: »

<Polite Response> It doesnt support caller ID
<Somewhat less polite response> Its a piece of crap


Apart when it comes to customer service ?

I don't see how having a random number displaying (that you DON'T know is eircom, Vodafone, the bank, Sky, whatever) adds to the customer service experience.

Just seems like whingeing for the sake of it tbh...

redz11

robbie_998 wrote: »

or you know...... just hang up.. tell them to feck off... i dont really care what way you do it but it just makes more sense :pac:

... Or just save myself the hassle of lying to get rid of them, by just not answering!

It works for me.

I rarely get calls from private numbers. Usually, when I do, they leave messages. When I listen to the messages, I'm generally glad that I didn't answer. Actually there has never once been an occasion where I would've wanted to answer, because even if it's a call from the bank or whatever, you'd still rather be prepared and have whatever you need to hand. No one I know ever, ever rings off private numbers. It would be just stupid for me to waste my time answering them!

rubadub

Bens wrote: »

And if the door bell rings I dont answer. If you know me well enough to to ring my door bell, then you know my phone number. So ring me when you are coming or if I dont answer the door to you.

I have no doorbell, wasn't one when I moved in 6-7years ago, and never missed it. If I move house I will remove the doorbell if there is one. I have still not heard a reasonable reason to get one. (before people bang on about "emergencies", the neighbours would hammer the door down until I answered if the house was on fire or something).

Dudess wrote: »

What's not proper about it? Also, it's hardly indicative of the company's overall competence or lack thereof.

It seems common knowledge that many people will not answer a private number, so if a company still decides to hide it I would think they are a bit incompetent as they are obviously going to miss out on lots of calls, employees might spend a long time trying to get hold of people. If I had a company I would make certain it was not hidden.

Dudess wrote: »

If it's cold-calling (which, to be fair, it is most of the time) I just say I can't talk right now and hang up. Simples.

And I don't think I've ever answered a call from a number that was blocked due to the caller having something to hide - it's nearly always from an office. People's personal numbers are extremely rarely hidden.

But the cold callers do have something to hide, they know fine well they are an annoyance and a nuisance call to 99% of people they call. If a random number appearred people might not answer either. I think the cold callers deliverately hide behind a private number knowing that many will answer incase its one of these emergencies people keep mentioning.

Mike 1972

Dudess wrote: »

that you DON'T know is eircom, Vodafone, the bank, Sky, whatever

When I want to speak to any of the companies you mention (cold day in hell and all that) Ill call them.

As another poster previously asked do YOU respond to all the emails in your spam folder ?

And if you answer in the negative I might just jump to the conclusion that youre rude/paranoid/easily offended/"precious"/etc

Dudess

I don't agree with the spam analogy, as they're generally not of an "answerable" nature anyway. It's not a robot who's dialling your number.

But look, it's something that doesn't bother me - it does bother some people though. I don't understand it, but it's their prerogative, to be fair. In my opinion, there are more worthwhile things to get bothered by. But if you do get bothered by it, well perhaps you feel you've good reason. Cold calls last me seconds as I just hang up.

Guess it boils down to individual experience.

I worked in customer service, but I'm not biased, honest - I never had a problem with calls from blocked numbers prior to that. Wish people wouldn't tar all customer service agents with one brush though, because of a few incompetent ones...

Mike 1972

Dudess wrote: »

It's not a robot who's dialling your number..

Ah but (in a lot of cases) thats where youre wrong.

Ever heard of autodialers ?

redz11

Dudess wrote: »

I don't agree with the spam analogy, as they're generally not of an "answerable" nature anyway. It's not a robot who's dialling your number.

But look, it's something that doesn't bother me - it does bother some people though. I don't understand it, but it's their prerogative, to be fair. In my opinion, there are more worthwhile things to get bothered by. But if you do get bothered by it, well perhaps you feel you've good reason.

Guess it boils down to individual experience.

I worked in customer service, but I'm not biased, honest - I never had a problem with calls from blocked numbers prior to that. Wish people wouldn't tar all customer service agents with one brush though, becauseof a few incompetent ones...

I don't get "bothered" by it.

I ignore calls from numbers I don't know. A quick glance at my phone is all it takes, it doesn't "bother" me as such. If I'm getting a call and it's not from someone in my phonebook I just don't answer. If they leave a voicemail, my phone beeps, I press a button which will play the message on speakerphone while I keep doing whatever I'm doing. 95% of the time, it's something irrelevant to me. The other 5%, grand, it's someone I know and like and I'll call them back.

I just amn't bothered answering my phone every feckin time it rings, if I don't even know the person on the other end! I've better things to be doing with my time!

Dudess

redz, I did say I understand people not always being in the humour, or having the time, to answer their phone - that would apply to me too. I was questioning the other stuff.

@Mike: As in "Greetings friend. Do you wish to look as happy as me? Well, you've got the power inside you right now. So use it. And send one dollar to Happy Dude, 742 Evergreen Terrace, Springfield. Don't delay! Eternal happiness is just a dollar away"? :pac:

Yep, I just hang up!

amdublin

Not answering private numbers wrecks my head.

You know what years before mobiles and caller ID you never knew who was ringing your house phone. And guess what...you just answered it.

People who say it, tend to say it in this smug voice implying they are really popular and that they get about a hundred calls a day with a private number.

Stfu pretending you are somehow special and just answer the stupid call. It's probably your mam. Might be your bank though as well

charlemont

Never answer private numbers myself.

Mike 1972

amdublin wrote: »

You know what years before mobiles and caller ID you never knew who was ringing your house phone. And guess what...you just answered it.

Years before mobiles and caller ID one generally didnt encounter the same volume of telemarketing and scams.

And what are you doing posting on the internet sure years ago we all managed fine without it.......

Dudess wrote: »

Yep, I just hang up!

Thats nice.

Now ever had one wake you up ?

Sir Oxman

amdublin wrote: »

Not answering private numbers wrecks my head.

You know what years before mobiles and caller ID you never knew who was ringing your house phone. And guess what...you just answered it.

People who say it, tend to say it in this smug voice implying they are really popular and that they get about a hundred calls a day with a private number.

Stfu pretending you are somehow special and just answer the stupid call. It's probably your mam. Might be your bank though as well

Haha, it's my opinion that years ago the incidence of spam calls was practically zero, I believe I'm right.
Caller ID is a godsend, I don't know why I shouldn't use it?
Obviously if it had never been invented, I couldn't.

Oops, mike1972 got there before me

Smcgie

Don't answer them and my bank always use a private number and it's really really annoying!

cofy

amdublin wrote: »

Not answering private numbers wrecks my head.

You know what years before mobiles and caller ID you never knew who was ringing your house phone. And guess what...you just answered it.

I grew up in a sub-post office and yes we answered the phone. We started getting phone calls late at night, then the guards told us that the house was being watched to see who would be the first to get up. If we were to answer the phone we were not to switch on a light. Gone from the post office a good while now, but can understand a lot has changed since then phones in every room in the house, and now we have mobiles.

rannerap

I always ALWAYS answer my phone, even if its on private, the amount of times Ive won stuff or been offered jobs etc with a private number phone call is crazy!

cofy

Sarannewrap wrote: »

I always ALWAYS answer my phone, even if its on private, the amount of times Ive won stuff or been offered jobs etc with a private number phone call is crazy!

Your one in a million, literally.:D

amdublin

gambiaman wrote: »

Haha, it's my opinion that years ago the incidence of spam calls was practically zero, I believe I'm right.
Caller ID is a godsend, I don't know why I shouldn't use it?
Obviously if it had never been invented, I couldn't.

Oops, mike1972 got there before me

Okay folks.

Let's all calm down on exaggerating the spam calls.

I agree they were zero per cent in the past. But that is not to say they are 100% now.

Seriously, come on now!!!!

amdublin

How much time you wasting "checking voicemail".

If its spam/telemarketing just hang up