People who keep calling until you answer

[Amanita]

As a night shift worker, I can't tell you how much I HATE the sound of a ringing phone. But here's the sucky thing- through no choice of mine, our home phone number is unlisted, so it comes up as an unknown. This is because years ago, my dad was a teacher and didn't want students prank calling us. But even after my dad retired, the damn number is still unlisted. Which means if I try to call somebody, I get hosed. I fucking hate talking to answering machines, sorry.

[Greenday]

If I know you are home and I have something important to say, I'm going to keep calling until I piss you off enough to answer.

[Stormraven]

All calling me incessantly will do is get me to turn down the ringer so I don't hear it. Even without caller ID, I will answer the phone only if I feel like it. Anyone who really needs to talk to me can leave a message.

Yes, we screen our calls, and our family and friends are aware of that fact.

[DrFaroohk]

Back when I lived in an apartment building I had this problem with people knocking. They'd knock and knock and knock and knock. Finally I put up a note that said whether I'm home or not, if I don't answer the door after a couple of knocks you're not coming in, so just drop it. The next day they smashed the windshield out of my car.

[Lace Neil Singer]

If I know you are home and I have something important to say, I'm going to keep calling until I piss you off enough to answer.

All that will get you is a switched off phone.

If I need to tell someone something important, and they're not answering their phone, I'll send them an email or a text rather than repeatedly calling them.

[blas87]

I think calling someone repeatedly, even if you know they are around, is just going to piss them off more than anything else.

[evillebee]

OMG...this is my mother. I was on the home landline and call waiting kept beeping (I hate call waiting, but that is another rant), I saw the call was from my mother and didn't click over. Soon after, my cell starts to ring, then hubby's cell starts to ring. No messages left on any phones, just persistent calling. Landline phone started beeping again, then cells...ARGUHHHH!!!! When I finally got off the phone, I called her and asked who died. She got the point. Of course, the call was nothing important, but she did try to make me feel guilty by saying that she was worried when no one was answering the phones. Didn't work, I felt no guilt at all because her crazy stopped working with me years ago.

If I don't answer the phone, there is a reason and I will call back at my convience. If the call is important, leave a message and stop fucking calling over and over.

[blas87]

Going back to the first page, I feel for you, Ree. I'm sure it's related to his illnesses. My Nanna did the same thing to my family when she first started showing signs of Alzheimers, and it only got worse until we got caller ID and my parents would sometimes unplug the phone.

Nanna started constantly calling both my mom and my great aunt and great uncle, any time of any day or night. This was in the later 90s, before people switched to all cell phones and not everyone had caller ID yet. This (well, and telemarketers) was the reason we did get caller ID.

Especially when Nanna started calling in the wee hours of the morning. Her mind was telling her it was morning, and why hadn't Uncle P came to see her yet?

It's not like my parents could disconnect her phone. And what if it truly was an emergency? The whole family was reluctant to get her one of those "Life Alert" thingies because we were afraid she'd misuse it and the emergency services would be constantly at her house for no reason, but at the same time, what if what if, what if, what if she fell or wandered off? What if, what if, what if...?

We came up with a plan that if she continued to call over and over and over, we'd unplug the phone. Uncle P and Aunt C did the same, even though we knew there was always a possibility it was something bad, but how many nights could we be woken up at ridiculous oclock because Nanna got off her rocker again?

*Please note that a lot of it is Uncle P's fault for never putting her in a home or getting her any help....he was the closest one to her and always neglected to take any responsibility, after a few years of guilt, my parents started making anonymous calls to social services*

Back on track...anyway, one time in particular, I didn't know this was possible (and we didn't have call waiting, just a busy signal if someone were on the phone) but I was in the middle of talking to a friend on the phone when some "ding ding ding" chimed in and some voice popped in to say "This is the operator.....we have a call coming from a Nanna Blasenheimer, she says it's an emergency and needs to get through" (like I said, I didn't even know it was possibe to call the operator and get a call interrupted....but even my friend could hear it on the other end) and then it was transferred, and Nanna was frantically babbling about Uncle P not stopping by and some more other stuff. I just hung up. Felt a little guilty, but what could I do?

That was before the caller ID, by the way.....I told my mom that Nanna called the operator when our line was busy and managed to get through and said it was an emergency, and Mom said "Yes, we really need caller ID and call waiting."

That got a little long, I apologize. I suppose it's a different story if the person calling has a mental illness and every situation is different.