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codeman38
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04 Jan 2005, 1:16 pm

JennieRichee wrote:
I've been mistaking mobile phone users for schitzophrenics, and vice versa, ever since the advent of the small cell phone.

Hehe! And the hands-free sets only make things worse in that respect...

Have you ever responded to some random person, thinking they were talking to you, only to turn around and discover that they were holding a conversation on their phone? I've had that happen several times...quite embarrassing.



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08 Jan 2005, 4:58 pm

Melvis wrote:
I think mobile phones are great though- if I don't know the number I don't have to answer it and cos I can see who is calling I can prepare myself before I answer (but since my mum and dunc are the only people who normally ring me its not usually a problem).

Mel


I'm a bit of a geek when it comes to gadgets so I kinda love my phone! But I'll admit, I do like seeing who's calling me, and being able to ignore it if it is someone I'm wanting to avoid!



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09 Jan 2005, 8:47 am

codeman38 wrote:
Have you ever responded to some random person, thinking they were talking to you, only to turn around and discover that they were holding a conversation on their phone? I've had that happen several times...quite embarrassing.


Yes and also including people who were talking to themselves, people who were talking to others, and people who were calling out to people who were behind me.

Embarrasing incident happened to me in school back in october 1992. While in the hallways between classes, I heard two girls talking about a student I knew I grade school. This student had asked out one of the girls and she was going to accept his offer.

That was in the morning. When afternoon came I saw this student coming down the hallway in my direction, so as he was about to pass me, I called out.

"Hey Jason, she said she would do it"

I got an odd look in return. It was then that I realized that the person I had just addressed was not jason, but someone who looked like him. I then scrutinized the situation even more, and realized that I had actually met this stranger back in July of that year at a monster truck pull/car burn.

Some daredevil who weighed like 350 pounds jumped a motorcycle 150 feet thru the air over cars. He needed to use the whole 1/2 mile of the race track we were at to get his motorcycle up to speed to make the jump.

I remembered him because my dad was his dad's boss at work and they both happened to be there that night.

Of course, as is usually the case with me, I don't pick up on these things until it's too late and I've put my foot in my mouth, so to speak.


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Pugly
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10 Jan 2005, 4:13 pm

I usually don't like to use the phone. Conversations flow even worse then when I talk to someone face to face.

When I call someone up for business type thing I need all the info I'll need to do the transaction written down in front of me. I used to have problems just calling up and ordering a pizza. If I have to recall any info from my head I have problems. It also takes me a while to get used to calling any place new, if something comes up unexpected... ugh I have problems thinking of what to say.

For work I have to call and order parts or send stuff back to companys, and after a while I got the process down and now it is easy. But it sure took a while before I was comfortable. I am just glad my job doesn't require me to haggle a price over the phone.

I find it funny that people feel compelled to ask "how's it going?" over the phone at the begining of any business type phone call. Its completely silly and pointless, this person doesn't really want to know how my days going... and really its just a waste of time. I never say that... I just go right into what ever transaction I need to do, it sometimes catches the person on the other end off guard.

I for one am glad there is more automated stuff over the phones... its easier to deal with the machine if I screw up. And it tells me exactly what I need to do for any transaction... every time I call... can't beat that.



alex
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10 Jan 2005, 4:37 pm

Pugly wrote:
I find it funny that people feel compelled to ask "how's it going?" over the phone at the begining of any business type phone call. Its completely silly and pointless, this person doesn't really want to know how my days going... and really its just a waste of time. I never say that... I just go right into what ever transaction I need to do, it sometimes catches the person on the other end off guard.


I think that is done for the same reason that computers use Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol. If you call someone else and start spouting out business you could potentially disclose information you'd rather not. For instance, if you called who you thought to be your girlfriend and started saying stuff and it was really your boss, you would have wished that you said "hello, how is it going?"


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codeman38
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10 Jan 2005, 4:50 pm

alex wrote:
I think that is done for the same reason that computers use Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol. If you call someone else and start spouting out business you could potentially disclose information you'd rather not. For instance, if you called who you thought to be your girlfriend and started saying stuff and it was really your boss, you would have wished that you said "hello, how is it going?"

Which is the reason I often start phone calls with a simple "who's this?". Gets right to the point, rather than the roundabout and insincere "how's it going?"...



codeman38
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10 Jan 2005, 4:52 pm

Pugly wrote:
I for one am glad there is more automated stuff over the phones... its easier to deal with the machine if I screw up. And it tells me exactly what I need to do for any transaction... every time I call... can't beat that.

Somewhat related, this topic came up on another Aspie forum a while ago...

What's your opinion of those new voice mail systems that, instead of requiring you to push buttons to get where you want, ask you to *speak* certain keywords that are distinguished by a voice recognition program?

I'd like the idea better if the systems actually coped well with my rather quirky speech patterns... as it is, many of those systems can't even understand "operator" unless it's pronounced in a certain precise way!



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10 Jan 2005, 4:54 pm

I hate those systems- on the rare occasions I've had to use one (I avoid calling anyone if I can help it) I always have problems with them.


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Pugly
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10 Jan 2005, 4:58 pm

Oh, I never just jump into talking about things right away. I always say this is so and so calling from [insert company name here] usually followed by what I am calling for, I just remove the pleasantries.



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10 Jan 2005, 5:19 pm

I am pretty direct on the phone - I have worked (reluctantly) in business to business telesales and customer service call centres, and as an accounts assistant dealing partly with accounts payable, so I usually have a mental script worked out for most scenarios. The only problem I have is that I have trouble turning the gibberish people appear to spout into meaningful words 'on the fly' as I can't process it fast enough, which makes phone work (and conversation in general) very tiring.

I resent being called at home by most people, as it is usually inconvenient and irrelevant - particularly sales calls which often provoke a hostile reaction... :evil:

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codeman38
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10 Jan 2005, 5:49 pm

duncvis wrote:
The only problem I have is that I have trouble turning the gibberish people appear to spout into meaningful words 'on the fly' as I can't process it fast enough, which makes phone work (and conversation in general) very tiring.

Yes! Auditory processing is one of my biggest hurdles when it comes to making phone calls, perhaps even more than actually being able to get my own words properly formed. Quite often I have to ask people to repeat themselves two or three times before I can finally make out what they're saying. It doesn't help that the phone distorts everyone's voice, making it quite a bit more unintelligible than in face-to-face conversation...



Astro
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10 Jan 2005, 8:44 pm

Just stumbled across this discussion. Mark me as another with difficulty placing calls. Drives my wife crazy, because she'll leave me a list of people to call and often I can't bring myself to do it. I'll sit there paralyzed by the phone then go do something else. :oops:

Plus, it makes it much worse when I do make a call and then she tells me that I said the wrong things! Usually I need all the details of the call in advance or I screw it up and get really frustrated.



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10 Jan 2005, 8:53 pm

I often find phones easier than talking to people in person, especially if I'm intimidated by them.

Oddly enough, I've got this weird phobia of answering machines. When I get someone's answering machine, I hang up and generally don't leave a message. The instant the answering machine comes on, I instinctively realize "thank God I don't need to talk any more" and simultaneously "I would have to talk for no immediate benefit.". And I hang up.


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NoMore
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10 Jan 2005, 9:17 pm

Astro wrote:
Just stumbled across this discussion. Mark me as another with difficulty placing calls. Drives my wife crazy, because she'll leave me a list of people to call and often I can't bring myself to do it. I'll sit there paralyzed by the phone then go do something else. :oops:


I'm the same way! I like it when my husband makes the phone calls. Once in a while he'll expect me to make some calls when he's out of town, and I put it off and put it off.... :lol: Eventually he'll come home and make them himself.



Astro
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10 Jan 2005, 11:46 pm

I was thinking about this tonight, since my wife got cross with me (rightfully) for not making a couple important calls. I really wanted and intended to but convinced myself to put it off.

What I was thinking is that my wife has a fear of heights and maybe, for me, those phone calls are like asking her to walk across a wobbly suspension bridge. yech!



codeman38
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11 Jan 2005, 4:19 pm

Astro wrote:
What I was thinking is that my wife has a fear of heights and maybe, for me, those phone calls are like asking her to walk across a wobbly suspension bridge. yech!

That's actually not a bad comparison! I think that's fairly well applicable to my own fear of eye contact as well...