A Missed Call: Mystery or Nuisance?
In the dim distant past, if I squint hard enough I can remember a time where when the phone rang, you had two choices:
- Answer it.
- Don’t answer it.
If the phone rang off before you got to it, you assumed the caller had misdialed and continued blissfully with your life.
But nowadays there’s a new protocol*:
- Don’t reach for the phone until it’s on its fourth ring
- If it clicks off after 1-3 rings, view the caller-ID to see who wants to speak to you at your expense
- Call them back
The infamous missed call.
- A lot of delivery people will give you a missed call when they can’t find your house.
- Sons, daughters, husbands and wives do it when their credit is running low.
- Certain cheeky friends do it when they feel that the call serves you so you should pay for it.
- Taxi drivers do it to let you know they’re waiting outside (Hallelujah!)
- Business acquaintances do it when they feel that the call serves you so you should pay for it.
- Sometimes, even job applicants do it – after all you’re the one advertising the position so you must need them more than they need you.
It’s become hard to tell what’s a missed call and what’s a wrong number.
Me Returning a Missed Call where I don’t recognise the number: Ring ring… ring ring…
Caller: Hello?
Me: Hello, did you call me?
Caller: Hello!
Me: How can I help you?
Caller: Hello!
Me: Yes, hello
Caller: Hello!!
Me: Did you call me?
Caller: Tell me!
Me (Thinking): WTF?!!
Maddening? Ugh!
Now, I don’t return missed calls if I don’t recognise the number. If you want to speak to me, pay the odd dirham please. My therapist says I’m worth it.
There is one exception. Delivery drivers. If I’ve paid for the product in advance then I’ll return those missed calls or I know I’ll be trudging to the depot myself.
It’s only unpaid products that motivate drivers to do whatever’s necessary to find your house. A small tip worth knowing.
Love ‘em? Hate ‘em? What’s your opinion of missed calls?
*By new I mean new to me, I believe missed calls have been a popular practice in India since the first person brought their first handset and discovered it came with per-second billing.
Really all these people do this??? I have so much to learn about this soon (if everyone actually gets their act together) life in Dubai:)
Do you realise when I posted a comment there is an ad for 24/7 answering service. How ironic lol.
It’s a hint that you should bring an answering machine with you when you come! Missed Call is a noun here
Rofl – I wll add one to the list of items to go. But then we are assuming that we will ever get there lol.
I don’t really mind the missed call business but the endless Hello? malarky drives me up the pole. Especially when the other party has called me and I answer and say ‘hello’ – which I believe is the socially and culturally acceptable way of answering the phone, even in Dubai.
Me: Hello
Other party: Hello.
Me: Hello.
Other party: Hello.
Me thinking: you bloody called me, what do you want?! stop saying hello!. But they are settled in now and happy to spend the rest of their shifting hello-ing me.
I’m always the first one to crack, it’s the only way forward.
Me: Hello, yes, er, how can I help you?
Other party: Madam we come now to fix your garden
Me thinking: arrrgh! I don’t have a garden. All this hello-ing and it’s a wrong number.
I think I’ll missed call my friend and get this frustration off my chest.
That’s hilarious! I dare you to burst into Lionel Ritchie next time “Hello, Hello, is it me you’re looking for?”