Wrong number messages
 

What do you do when someone leaves a message on your phone, but it wasn't you they were trying to contact? Will you contact them if you can?

So far I've only deleted them. I suppose it doesn't help the caller that my voice mail doesn't identify who I am.

I came back from holiday once and a Spanish woman had left a message on my phone, that was quite funny. I just deleted it. I don't have a personalised answerphone message either, I was quite content with the pre-programmed message.

Do unto others....

I'm sure I'd appreciate someone letting me know if I made that mistake.

If you constantly get phone calls asking for the same person, create a voicemail greeting saying: "This is Spider Crusoe, please leave a brief message with your phone number and I'll get back to you. If this call is for so-and-so, there is no person by that name here and I suggest calling the operator for assistance. Thank you."

Some time ago, my phone number was 254-9912. At the same time, the number you called to report power outages to Alabama Power was 254-9112. Needless to say, I got a lot of wrong numbers.
Every time the wind blew, my phone would start ringing off the hook. At first I'd be polite, then after the sixth or seventh call I'd just take my phone off the hook.
As bad as the daylight calls were, the ones that came in the middle of the night were infinitely worse. What earthly difference it makes whether the power is on or off at 3:00 am I was never able to figure out.
The final straw came when an older gentleman called me four times between 2:00 am and 4:00 am one night. The first three times I patiently explained that he had dialed the wrong number, and I even went so far as to give him the correct number. The fourth time he called I was all out of patience, and I asked him rather brusquely "Why don't you call the number I gave you?" to which he replied "I did, but it was busy". :crazy:

The next day I called the phone company and had them change my number. After hearing the above story, they did so for free.

Mmm. That reminds me of this one wrong number issue I had a long time ago back when I still lived with my mom...

I answered the phone, and the lady on the other end asked for John (names are changed to protect the forgetful... namely, me). I told her there was no John here. She says, "Are you sure?", I say, "Quite sure" and she hangs up.

A few minutes later the phone rings again. I answer, and it's the same lady. We go through the whole routine again.

The phone rings yet again. It's still her. I go through the whole routine. She tells me the John fellow had offered her a job and told her to call such-and-such number. She reads off the number to me... and it is in fact my number. I tell her, "Yes, that is this number, but there's no John here and I don't know why he gave you this number, I'm sorry." We hang up.

A few minutes after that, it rings *again*. It's the same lady. She starts sobbing about how she really needs a job and everything. I tell her that I feel really bad, but it still doesn't change the fact that there's no John here, he obviously gave her a wrong/bogus number, and unfortunately if she keeps calling I'm going to have to contact the police. Thankfully she stopped calling, because it was starting to majorly creep me out. :P

We don't get wrong numbers very often. Although we have gotten a few, including messages. The weird thing about the messages is that unlike some of you folks, we *do* have a custom message that plainly states who resides at our number. Meh, some people are just dumb.

Though in my case, all the wrong messages we've received have either been one, in Spanish, or two, reminders of appointments from people who don't give their company name, so we couldn't call back anyway. :P

Peace & Luv, Liz

My voice mail does identify who I am, and this still happens to me constantly. I get a lot of calls for the guy who (apparently) had this number before me... it's been three years! I think they're all collection agents. Answering and telling them it's not his number tends not to work... sometimes they apologize and say they'll remove the number from their list, but more often they just hang up or demand that I give them his number or pass the message on to him. The fact that I don't actually KNOW the guy doesn't seem to matter. :shifty:

So no, I say don't waste your time trying to return the message, unless it's some girl in tears who keeps calling asking why you (he) abandoned her and your (his) two kids, or something. (Lest I'm coming across as totally heartless, I did call someone back and say they had the wrong number once, when it was a message for some parents to let them know that their kid got into preschool off the waiting list and they had to call back and confirm the spot. But that's the only time I can remember. They're usually collection agents. ;))

I got one once that was an urgent message - something like - "Dad? John was in an auto accident, he's in the hospital and they're not sure if he'll make it through the night. Please, Dad, call back this time."

I called them and left a message and a couple of hours later they called me to thank me - they had been one digit off from my number. Apparently John didn't make it, but she did reach "Dad" in time. I think that's the only time I called someone back like that.

Lynsie

This is a brilliant story. Thanks for making me laugh. :)

I did answer a misdirected SMS once, because it included information about a bus' departure (or arrival?), so I figured it may be important to let know it didn't reach the proper person. Never heard a word of "thank you" for that, though. :(

Many many people don't listen to voice mail messages or greetings. I don't know if they're obsessing about what they're going to say or they're just so sure that they've dialed the correct number that they ignore all signs to the contrary.

I used to have a voice mail message that said, "Hi, this is Stoofa. Leave a message." I have a girly voice, no one would mistake it for a man's. But of course I got a bazillion messages for a guy named Larry, especially from one especially stunned woman who didn't believe me when I explained to her several times that she had the wrong number and I didn't know any Larry. She tried to get me to tell her my full name, where I lived, and where I worked. Ha! The hell I'd give some creepy stranger that information. She still left all kinds of messages during the afternoon when I was at work. "Larry! I know you're there Larry! Pick up!"

I used to work at a grocery store and sometimes I had to answer the phone. Once this guy called and after I said, "Atlantic Superstore, where may I direct your call?" he yelled, "HA HA! Put Darryl on the phone." I figured he meant an employee named Darryl, but no. He thought he had called his buddy Darryl's house and I was some chick who happened to be at Darryl's house and picked up the phone to play a fun joke. I tried explaining to him but he refused to believe me so I hung up on him.

I have an answering machine at home and, if someone just rings off, you get a blank message on the tape followed by the time and day of call (which the machine adds itself) With the handy 1471 system we have in the UK you can tell the number of the last person to call.

I phoned up a number I didn't recognise once. It was a live lobster importer. To this day I have no idea why someone from a live lobster importer wanted to call me. Nor have I ever called any numbers thta I didn't recognise again.