Caller-ID question Do you call back?

[Carly_Roach]

No, and I think it's weird when people do.

I don't call people back, but this is something my parents might do if they get home from somewhere and didn't recognize a number of someone who called when they were gone. Their thinking is that it might be a family member or friend who needed something and was calling from another phone somewhere.

An example would be if one of us were stranded somewhere and the cell phone battery might have died. We would have called from the nearest house.

Rather than call everyone they know when they saw that number, they'd be pragmatic about it and call the strange phone number. Even two hours later a stranger would have said something like, "Yes. A young woman/man had a flat tire out front and called from our phone" or something like that.

So I don't think it's weird when other people call back from their caller ID. Sometimes folks from a different era do things like that.

 

[Mom21]

I hate when people do that to me. I only call back if it is friends or family. I figure since they didn't leave a message they just wanted to chat and will call back at my convenience. I never call a number I don't recognize.

A few weeks ago I called a number in the morning and realized I dialed one number off. I hung up in the middle of the first ring. Late that night I got a call from someone saying "did you call this number?" I had honestly forgotten and he got irate and was screaming at me. Nut job!

 

[LoraJ]

I don't. Most likely it is someone calling for Cablevision since their number is so close to ours. I did get a message on my voice mail the other day where someone yelled "Go to H__!!!!" I was bored so I called them up and asked them what upset them so much to say that. Of course the person denied doing that. The message from us on our voice mail is that we are NOT Cablevision.

 

[merryweather20]

If its someone I've just missed I'll do that, but not to a strange number.

 

[EeyoreEma]

Nope. And I find it a bit weird. Of course, I have some little old lady who calls me every few weeks and asks me what time it is or what day it is. Never met her before. Drives me batty. Last time she called at 6:30 am - dh was not happy with her!

 

[dollydell]

I do the reverse lookup and if it doesn't come up as a telemarketer then I will call them back, but mostly that is because I have a lot of family and friends that refuse to check voicemail that they get, and never leave messages, even if what they have to say is really important. It is quite possible for one of them to have called from someone elses phone also.

 

[sue1013]

No I never do. I only look at the caller ID if I'm there my mother checks her caller ID as soon as she gets home and calls back each number on there. Of course she doesn't leave her cell phone on either she's got some strange phone habits. I figure if they wanted me they would leave a message.

 

[Karalea]

No but I hate people who do. It happens all the time at work. We get 3 or 4 calls a week from someone demanding to know who called them and why they didn't leave a message. When I explain that they are calling a business with 3 dozen employees, they usually still insist that I ask if anyone called them. Yeah...right. Like I have time for that.

I can't believe people actually do that. It is a missed phone call. You are not that important and obviously netiher was the call or they WOULD HAVE LEFT A MESSAGE.

 

[dollydell]

like I said, I know a lot of people that refuse to leave a message even if it is important.
So you all saying they would have left a message if it was isn't true.

 

[MIGrandma]

No, I never call anyone back who doesn't leave a message.

I think it's odd someone would call a person back just because they saw their number on their cell or caller ID. If the person didn't leave a message it is obvious that it was either a wrong number or the call wasn't important enough to leave a message.

It does annoy me if I happen to answer the phone, when I don't recognize the number, and rather than the person saying "sorry, I have the wrong number" they just rudely hang up.

 

[Northstar]

I don't, but after years of thinking people who do are weird and compulsive, I now understand what's going on.

There are two ways of dealing with your phone after you've been away from it. You can either call your voicemail and listen to any messages, or you can check your missed call list and call each number back. Most people use only one of these two methods, and think those who use the other are weird. The people who don't listen to voicemail also tend not to leave voicemail messages, figuring you'll call them back when you see their number.

I learned not to leave voicemail for certain young people I need to contact now and then, because invariably, they didn't listen to my messages (and didn't call me back either). Instead, I call them and hang up. Within hours, I get a call back!

By the way, those of you who are complaining that strangers call you back even though you didn't leave a message... guess what, most of them would call you even if you did leave a message, because they don't listen to voicemail!

 

[kacaju]

no, add me to the list that thinks it's weird! I sometimes get a lot of calls due to my volunteering. I once had a woman call me in July about a Pre Cana call for Oct. I was on vacation and checked my voicemail. She called twice, left messages both times. I then had another voicemail from the Church saying there was someone trying to reach me.
Now, I planned on calling her once I got back, because she was now calling the church I called her back. She ended up finding a different class!! Oh my... so impatient, the Church even told her I was probably on vacation so give me a week.

 

[SDFgirl]

No, I never do.

My big pet peeve is when someone calls me and says, "Who is this?" Umm, excuse me, you called ME!

 

[happygirl]

I will if they call several times in a roll.

 

[PlainJane]

I generally call back if I just missed the call (i.e. I couldn't get to the bottom of my purse in time). Most of the people I know don't leave messages. Half the time, it is someone I know; they are just calling from a different number, a new number, or I never put their number in my phone.

 

[kafitty]

if i don't know the number, i don't pick it up unless they leave a message or call back repeatedly. too many issues with crank calls when i was younger.

actually it's funny that this thread popped up - my boss from my seasonal job called me earlier and it woke me up mid-dream, so i was wayy too foggy to answer it (doesn't really sound good if he's waking me up at 11:30am ). He didn't leave a message, so i'm not gonna call back - it's not in-season, so i have no idea what he could want. If he really needs me, he'll call back or text me.

 

[ICF]

No....I just figure it was a misdialed #.

 

[NikitaZee]

No, I don't. I figure they'll call me back if they need to speak with me. It's also a HUGE pet peeve of mine when people do that to me. Every now and then, I or someone in my house will dial a wrong number. If we realize it when the person answers, we say sorry, wrong number and hang up. If we realize it after we've heard the first bit on an anserwing machine, we just hang up. I've gotten people calling and asking 'did you call my number today?' That really bothers me - isn't anyone entitled to a wrong number anymore without having to explain it later?

 

[clovergirl5]

On home phone, unless it is someone I know, I don't call back, they will leave a message if need be. On cellphone, only vip people have the #, school, family, dh, dd, few friends, I will call back to make sure I didn't miss something important.