snowy

This came up in the cell phone etiquette thread. Many of us screen our calls for various reasons, regardless if we have a land line or a cell phone. I'd like to see just how many of us do screen our calls, what are our reasons for doing so (or not doing so), and what we consider polite/rude in screening our calls.

I sure as hell screen my calls. If I don't recognize your number on my cell phone, I'm not answering. You can leave a voicemail and I will check it and call you back. This is mostly because I am incredibly phone-shy. I'm not the kind of person who calls people to chit-chat. If I call someone it's to make plans or arrangements of some kind. So if I don't know you, I don't want to subject myself to the anxiety of talking to you. Sorry

__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

ErcDaMerc

I dont think its rude but i dont care enough screen - i just answere as soon as it rings...
on the other hand, if I get an IM from someone i dont want to talk to at the moment i'll ignore it - i'm often not around anyway so they'll just assume thats the case when i dont respond...

hambone

I have found that if I don't recognize the number, then it is either a telemarketer, in which case I don't want to waste my time, or someone asking for a favor, in which case, if it is important enough, they can leave a message and then I can judge whether or not I will be able to help.

Only time I don't screen is in case I know my wife forgot her cell phone that day, because I would never want to miss her call in case she was in trouble or something.

__________________
"Like liquid white from fallen glass,
Nothing to cry over"

IC3

Ya I screen calls on my cell phone, If it doesn't say who it is..They get the voice mail. I get alot of calls from an unrestricted number..But they never leave message's. I figure it's some kind of soliciting company.

__________________
"To win any battle, you must fight as if you were already dead" -Musashi

StanT

I screen my calls electronically. If you aren't on my short list of known numbers, the phone won't even ring, it goes directly to the answering machine. Even if I know the caller, I won't necessarily pick up. Hell, I don't always want to talk to my mother.

I purchased a telephone and telephone service for my own convenience,not so that the whole world could annoy me. Leave a message and maybe I'll call you back ... or don't bother calling, I'm fine either way.

Gilda

I never just answer the phone unless I know for sure who is calling and want to talk to that person.

When at home, if I'm doing something I don't want interrupted, I just ignore the phone and check messages later. If I have the phone on, I screen, and seldom pick up. Most of the time it's a telemarketer. Heck, most of the time, the caller hangs up with no message left, saving us both some wasted time.

On my cell phone, people who I want to talk to have personalized ring tones, and if I get a generic tone and don't recognize the number, I don't answer. I also set it to "away" if I'm in class, at a public performance of some type, or driving, check messages later, and return calls at my convenience.

kutulu

I don't mind a little bit of call screening. There are certain times that you want to not be bothered, such as dinner time, etc. There is no number attached to it, but I do think it's rude to screen most of your calls.

I don't count telemarketers or numbers you don't know as screening calls. I mean when you see that it is someone you know and chose to wait for them to leave a message.

martinguerre

i miss my old phone for this reason...the caller would hear 5 rings no matter if i hit ignore or not. my new one immediatly rolls them over to VM if i do that. i've taken to simply letting calls get missed instead.

no reason to snub them by letting them know that i'm not taking the call...but i do like to protect my time by hearing what some folks have to say before getting back to them. i think it's just a fact of life...

__________________
For God so loved creation, that God sent God's only Son that whosoever believed should not perish, but have everlasting life.

-John 3:16

rmarshall

Screen sometimes. Hate collection agencies.

Slavakion

I've been screening lately because my work keeps trying to call me in. Seriously, if you haven't scheduled me, I'm not going in. Wish I had caller ID.

pig

I always screen my calls. Not that I never answer my phone, but I always check. Occasionally I decide not to answer even if it's a close friend. I may even sort of want to talk to them. Just not at that particular moment. They are under no obligation to pick up when I call back. I also am not offended when they don't pick up, or even if they do accidentally pick up and then tell me they'd rather not talk right then. Eventually, we'll get each other on the phone. Really, it's so much more efficient than the old school technique of having someone else answer the phone and ask who's calling so you could thumbs up or down.

/Incidentally, I've been playing phone tag with a friend of mine for three months. She lives 5 minutes from my house.

__________________
You don't love me, you just love my piggy style

Siege

I screen my calls only when i'm busy/in class/at work. In general, I pick up almost anything, worst case scenario is that it's some random telemarketer who get's the "sorry, but i'm not interested. This conversation is ending."

Unless of course it's someone I clearly don't want to talk to

__________________
"Your name's Geek? Do you know the origin of the term? A geek is someone who bites the heads off chickens at a circus. I would never let you suck my dick with a name like Geek"

--Kevin Smith

This part just makes my posts easier to find

Grasshopper Green

I screen my calls. I'm just not the chit-chatty type on the phone. If it's my husband, sister, or dad, I'll pick up. If it's someone else, it'll depend on my mood. If it's an unknown number, I rarely pick up; I'll just check my messages later. If it's important, they'll have left one.

__________________
"They say that patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings; steal a little and they throw you in jail, steal a lot and they make you king"

Formerly Medusa

Destrox

None what so ever.

I am either answering all incomming calls, or not answering any at all.

__________________
You bore me.... next.

spindles

I don't screen calls, but I will ignore the phone completely if I'm in the middle of something. In that case I'm not screening, I'm just not answering.

__________________
who hid my keyboard's PANIC button?

n0nsensical

No caller ID on the landline and 98% of the calls to it are either telemarketers or not for me, so as a rule I never pick it up unless I'm expecting a call. Even then I'll usually wait for them to start leaving a message. (And it seems the people calling for me always leave a message while nobody else does.) Hell, I should probably just turn off the ringer.

On the other hand, I always answer my cell phone unless the caller ID was blocked because I want most of the calls to that.

__________________
"Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded." --Abraham Lincoln

absorbentishe

Yes and no. Screening as in looking at the number, if I recognize it, I'll answer, otherwise, v-mail you go. Same for my home phone.

Meditrina

We screen our calls using the caller id. I don't answer calls that do not show a number and lately we are avoiding an old friend of my husband's who is trying to get us to join some pyramid scam thing. On occasion, I don't answer if my parents call. They do not always call at a good time.

__________________
"Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles." ~Alex Karras

Suave

As far as my cell, I pick up every time. It's almost always someone I want to hear from. As far as the home phone though, if the number is an 800 number, then I pick up and laugh maniacally then hang up. I tried pranking them before (storyline and everything), but I start cracking up almost every time.

__________________
"Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions." - Albert Einstein

"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." - Plato

Suzz04

I screen mine. Mostly because I am so tired of the telemarketer's. They don't take no for a answer. Since I've gotten tired of it, it's been f*** off and leave me alone already.

Most of the time though, I don't hear the phone ring when I'm in another room. So, it's like a convience for those times.

Plus, having caller id, let's me know who it's for and who's called while I've been out. I've got alot of friends and family that will not for the life of them talk to a machine.

Telluride

I always screen my calls at home, just to make sure the person calling is someone I want to talk to. A lot of telemarketers call my house, for some reason. I'm not worried about them talking me into buying something I don't want. I'm just too polite to hang up on people and I don't feel like wasting my time saying, "Sorry. I'm not interested." for 10 minutes until the person on the other end finally gives up.

I don't screen calls on my cell phone, since there are only a handful of people who know my number.

__________________
"I am certain that nothing has done so much to destroy the safeguards of individual freedom as the striving after this mirage of social justice." - Friedrich Hayek

guthmund

I screen.

I only have a handful of people call me anyway due to my years and years of bad phone etiquette. Finally my CONSTANT VIGILANCE has paid off.

I once had a telemarketer call me 8 times in one night. On the last one of the night, I finally pick up the phone with "You're quite the persistent little monkey aren't you?" followed by a Spongebob Squarepants/Jihad yell. (I don't know if that's the proper description, but the Spongebob fans know what I'm talking about, right?)

He hasn't called back yet....

__________________
No signature. None. Seriously.

jorgelito

Um, why don't you all just sign up for the "Do Not Call List"? It works great!

I only have a land line. That's it. Only calls I ever get are from mom, brother and a few friends. Plus, if you don't want to be bothered, don't give out your number.

__________________
"The race is not always to the swift, nor battle to the strong, but
to the one that endures to the end."

"Demand more from yourself, more than anyone else could ever ask!"

- My recruiter

maleficent

I rarely have people call me -- one of the joys of being a lousy conversationalist... The calls I do get are generally work related, and while I have caller ID I generally have to take the call... Personal calls, depending on my mood, who it is, and the hour is whether I pick up the phone or not..

__________________

Ishmal

i always pick up the landline without even thinking...

it's got a screen that displays the number, i just don't look at it...

but my mobile is a different matter,

i look at the number, and if i feel like talking to that person i will answer...

if it comes up as a "private number" it depends on if i feel like talking to a random person...

basically i comes down to my mood.

__________________
"Despite the high cost of living, it remains popular."

Supple Cow

That's easy... yes.

One stalker in a lifetime is plenty, but more than five is an embarrassment of riches.

__________________
"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
(Michael Jordan)

El Pollo

No, I don't screen my calls. I see no reason to. I like my friends and family and don't need to avoid them. And when a call comes from an unrecognized number I always make sure to answer. What if it's a friend stuck on the side of the road calling from a payphone and he needs help? I've been on the other end of that situation before and my call was ignored because it came from a payphone. It sucks. And if it's a telemarketer, you just hang up. No need to listen to them. No need to make excuses. Just hang up. It's not rude. I spent one day as a telemarketer and the best calls were the ones that hung up on me immediately without making me give my stupid little monologue. The worst ones were the ones who listened to me all the way through just to say "not interested" and then hung up. Besides, I'd rather spend 5 seconds on the phone than have the phone ring in my ear and then listen to my voice on the answering machine.

eMOTIONal20

I don't use the phone much, but I remember having my roommates answer my phone because of a certain person who would not stop calling...

At my dad's house, when I stay there, we have one of those answering machines you can listen to while someone leaves it, so if someone important is leaving a message we can just pick up the phoe in the middle of it and talk to them. I think there's some people my dad doesn't want to talk to either....

__________________
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." - Gandhi

ChistledStone

Nup, I'm a attention seeker, I need all the calls I can get. Plus it's for my freelance webdesign... Not many calls on that though.

__________________
A.minor.fall.then.a.major.lift

Marvelous Marv

Absolutely.

I only turn on my cell when I want to talk to someone, so almost no one has that number.

Landline, I use caller ID. Don't pick up if the number is "unknown." That's a dead giveaway to a telemarketer.

I used to use "privacy manager," which didn't even let a call through if the number was blocked. The caller got a message that said, "The person you have called does not accept anonymous calls." But that cost $3 a month.

Now, on the extremely rare occasion that a telemarketer gets through, when they ask to speak to [my name], I just say "hold on for a minute," and leave the phone off the hook until they give up.

For the reason listed by the former telemarketer above.

I've heard it also works if you start breathing heavily and ask the telemarketer (in a husky voice), "So.... what are you wearing?"

Suave

You have to rely purely on your sexiness to get through life, eh? Don't know, you seem like a good conversationalist to me.

jorgelito: First off, not all of us are American. Second, the DNCL does not save you from everything. As a Canadian ex-market researcher (the poor cousins of telemarketers), I made thousands of calls into the United States. Your silly lists don't apply to us! MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!

__________________
"Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions." - Albert Einstein

"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." - Plato

jorgelito

*doh!*

*slaps forehead*

Damn you! *shaking fist* Stay away from my phone!

__________________
"The race is not always to the swift, nor battle to the strong, but
to the one that endures to the end."

"Demand more from yourself, more than anyone else could ever ask!"

- My recruiter

Suave

Luckily for you, I got out of that business a few months ago.

__________________
"Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions." - Albert Einstein

"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." - Plato

pig

Sounds like someone's staying busy.

__________________
You don't love me, you just love my piggy style

little_tippler

I screen my calls generally. Sometimes I just don't want to talk to people. I'm a bit shy and get anxious so if I'm not in the mood then I don't take it. What I hate is people calling me back later and then letting me know they had called earlier and "why didn't you pick up?" when I don't want to have to lie but also don't want to be blunt and have to say, "you see, I don't always feel like answering the phone just because it's ringing!". My mom does that, no screening, no matter what she's doing (having a meal, chatting to me, whatever). I hate it.

__________________
Whether we write or speak or do but look
We are ever unapparent. What we are
Cannot be transfused into word or book.
Our soul from us is infinitely far.
However much we give our thoughts the will
To be our soul and gesture it abroad,
Our hearts are incommunicable still.
In what we show ourselves we are ignored.
The abyss from soul to soul cannot be bridged
By any skill of thought or trick of seeming.
Unto our very selves we are abridged
When we would utter to our thought our being.
We are our dreams of ourselves, souls by gleams,
And each to each other dreams of others' dreams.

Fernando Pessoa, 1918

odu_sonar_AE

I usually screen my calls, and always do on my cell. I'm tired of wasting my minutes telling someone they have the wrong number. Only a select handful of people call me on my cell, but I get more than my fair share of wrong numbers.

sapiens

I only have a cell phone and the only people who have the number are family, close friends, and my daughters daycare. I may check to see who is calling before I answer the phone, but I rarely screen calls. If I don't want to talk on the phone, I turn my phone off. I've have been known to turn my phone off for 2 or 3 days at a time.

Redlemon

My cell phone is even more restricted; wife, nanny, and work, and my workplace would never call me outside of work hours. And my wife knows I hate talking on the phone. Therefore, if my cell rings, it gets answered because it is important.

At home, the Do Not Call list takes care of telemarketers. Also, we don't answer the phone while eating dinner, but I don't consider that "screening".

__________________
I can't read your signature. Sorry.

ruggerp11

I almost always answer the phone. Occasionally if I don't want to talk to someone I will not answer a specific call (especially if on the phone with another person) but usually "hello" or "hey whats up" is what you'll hear when you call.

__________________
Patriotism means being loyal to your country all the time and to its government when it deserves it.
--Mark Twain
Do What makes you happy
--Me
BUT!
"Happiness is the absence of the striving for happiness" - Chuang-Tzu

Charlatan

I rarely answer the phone anymore... most times it is telemarketers trying to sell me something.

If it is important, the person will leave a message and I can call them back.

Additionally, I really hate it when the phone rings while I am eating dinner, watching a movie or TV show...

Just because you are calling doesn't mean I have to answer.

__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke