I loathe talking on the phone.
I remember where I was in high school and all I wanted for my birthday was my own private line. I begged and pleaded for my very own line. When I finally got it .... I thought I was super cool. I mean come on...I had my own personal phone number. I got a totally awesome phone + answering machine and it was all mine. I would record a new answering machine message like every other day. I swear from the time I got home to the time I went to bed I was talking on that frickin phone.
Then everything changed.
The job I had out of college was working customer service for a car company. In theory it was great. The company titled it as a "training" period and the best way to be trained (in their eyes) was to be completely immersed in the product. The paid you a lot of money and since this was basically training, the customer service center was full of recently graduated college kids eager to advance in their careers. You did not take your work home with you. It was just a 8 hour shift of answering phones, email and letters. After work it was just a bunch of kids waiting to blow off the frustration of getting yelled at on the phone 8 hours a date. After work was a lot of fun.
During work...was hell on earth.
For 8 hours a day I was constantly screamed at. I have never been called so many fowl names in my entire life. Sweet old men would resort to nice phrases like: "Your a dumb son of a bitch and a whore too" (And that was the nice guy!). Awww....doesn't it just warm your heart? The first few months I was shocked that America had such a dirty vocabulary. My virgin ears would be tarnished for life. When someone called with a positive thing to say I honestly would not even know how to answer the call. I was so used to being yelled at....
After finally getting out of the dreaded call center I went out into the field and became a District Manager. This meant that instead of having customers call me all day on a hardline phone, I now had car dealers calling me all day on my cell phone. And if they were not calling me....I was calling them begging for something.
As time went on my love affair with the telephone began to drift away. The second I got home from work the last thing I wanted to do was be anywhere close to that phone. Still to this day I hate talking on the phone. After several years of bad phone experience all I relate to having that thing next to my ear is negative.
I used to be a great phone person..talking for hours just chit chatting with friends. Now...I cant really remember the last time I had a conversation on the phone that lasted more than 10 minutes. I will be the first to admit I am very short and to the point on the phone. I know some people think I am being rude...but I honestly do not even realize I am doing it. Bottomline...I hate the phone. Good thing Eric and I see each other in person every day!
Here is the Good News:
I am an IM addict!
And text messages? I am a whiz at T9.
So...moral of the story...If you IM me....or text me...I promise you will have a much better conversation!
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7 comments:
i totally know what you are talking about - not b/c i feel the same way, but b/c my DH does! i used to think it was so rude of him to always end our phone conversations so quickly, but had to get to used to the fact that he just isn't a phone person. but he doesn't have any experiences like yours to back up his feelings about the phone. he just doesn't like it. period.
Oh, I hate the phone! And I don't even have a good reason like you! I too begged for my own phone line (though I never got one!) and couldn't stay off the phone when I was younger. But these days, you'll get about ten minutes...if you even get me to pick up at all. ;)
OMG I am the SAME way, Sarah. People always tell me they hate talking on the phone with me because they feel like I am rushing them off...well, I am! Send me an email and I promise to be MUCH nicer...lol
I am the same way!!! I didn't have any negative experiences like you, but I HATE to talk on the phone!!!
My story was almost exactly like yours when I wanted my own phone line. Then when I started working, I understood why many people did not like talking on the phone so much when they got home from work. Because one was on the phones at work and the last thing you wanted to do at home was talk on the phone. Then the cell phones came into being, ay yay yay! Thank goodness for the web browser, camera, text and IM features. After all of this about the phone, would you believe I now want an iPhone. Arrgh!
I'm the same way--even blogged about it. When I was a teen I also had my own phone line and was ALWAYS on the phone with friends.
Now it's crazy--I HATE calling people! It takes me forever to make appts. with doctors, the salon and even friends. I don't know what it is, but I hate the phone and prefer gmail, AIM, email or text messages!
Same here - I hate talking on the phone! Back in the day - forget it, you couldn't get me off. But after being on it dealing with annoying clients all day, the last thing I want to do when I get home is chat! :)
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