my sister, the jerk

[Rine]

So, my sister told me this lovely story of when her boyfriend left his phone at some eatery. She called it and a girl answered, saying, "Hi this is Suzzy!" And what did my sister do? She cussed her out, even when the girl stated that he left it at the food place. She continued to cuss her out, saying that she "shouldn't have answered the phone" and it wasn't her "right." My sister even drove up there to get the phone and chewed her out right there on the floor in full view of patrons!

Okay. One, my sister, the jerk, called the cell phone with the expressed intent of FINDING OUT WHERE IT WAS. (Those were her exact words, "I called to find out where it was.") If the girl did not ANSWER the phone, she would not have found out.

Two, if YOU lost your cell phone and then called it, wouldn't you want someone to answer it and state where it was located?

My sister seems to think that no one should "ever, ever EVER!" answer another person's cell phone. Instead, they should go through the contacts and find out a number to call. Hell, I'd be more ticked off if someone went through my contacts to do that. I'd rather them pick it up when I call.

Personally, I think the girl identified herself as Suzzy because she was the waitress that served her boyfriend and therefore, he would have potentially recognized her.

So am I wrong to be overreacting? I am just so ticked off at my sister's manners! Ugh, she probably scarred that girl for life.

What is the proper thing to do when you have a lost cell phone in your possession? When it happens to me at work and people leave the phone on the counter, I hold it in my possession for an hour before turning it over to lost prevention. If it rings, I answer, stating my name and the store and saying that the owner of the phone lost it. I have never, ever gotten rude remarks and only had relieved owners thank me for answering!

[Plaidman]

http://www.customerssuck.com/board/s...ad.php?t=57924


Read story two for why I no longer help people that leave cell phones.

[malmalthekiller]

Wow. I've never had that problem happen at my place. It's our policy to look through the phone for a "home" number, and call that. With purses we have to look for ID to log it properly. It always makes me uncomfortable looking through someone's phone or wallet, but most people are happy that you have it.

[Kogarashi]

First, yes, your sister was a jerk. What was she expecting when she called to find out where it was if no one should answer it? The phone doesn't magically appear on GPS or something just because you called it.

Second, I think that going through the contacts to find someone to call and report the missing phone is acceptable. Some people don't realize for quite some time that their phone is missing, or don't think to call it, so this helps in that regard. Answering if the phone rings to let the caller know it's missing also works.

Additionally, if there's a lost-and-found or equivalent where the phone was found, I'd drop it there. That's not always an option, though. My husband found a lost iPhone in a park once. Nowhere to turn it in. He had to flip through the contacts, call someone who looked likely, and arrange to drop the phone off somewhere.

[Megg]

I agree, your sister was way out of line.

That said - I used to work at Toxic Hell, and in the course of my long employment there, I found many phones. Some worked, some didn't (one had even been run over! Poor phone!), but if it rang, I never ever answered it. I would look through the phone book and find "home" or "Mom" (everyone has one or the other!) and call that number, explain who I was, and ask for the name of the person who would be picking it up. I never had a problem, except once when I called and heard "Bueno" instead of "Hello". Thanks for taking care of that one, Rodrigo!

[tollbaby]

wow.... your sister was a jerk in this instance. She's still no match for my brother though (long, long story!)

[Jester]

A few points here.

1. I am shocked that a thread with this particular title was started by someone other than me. My older sister has warranted such a thread for so, so long.

2. You are not overreacting in the slightest, because....

3. Your sister overreacted completely. Your sister is not just a jerk, but a huge blazing mound of kangaroo dung. Whatever she may normally think about the etiquette of answering someone else's phone, it's fucking stupid to be rude to someone who has a phone that you are trying to find. Suzzy could have justifiably told your sister to fuck off and thrown the cell in the trash. I wouldn't have faulted her for that after the way your sister treated her.

4. Suzzy deserves praise, not castigation. If you know the pertinent details, go to the restaurant in question and praise her for doing what a good samaritan should do.

5. The best method for dealing with this that I ever saw happened the one time I lost my cell. The dude who found it used it to call his cell, thus informing him of my number. He then called my cell and left a message on voice mail, saying, "Hi, this is Dude, I found your cell phone, call me at 305-555-8768." He figured, quite correctly, that for one reason or another, I would eventually check my voice mail. To me, this is sheer genius, and I've had some friends tell me they never would have thought of doing it like that, but that is the way they would handle it from now on.

6. Your sister is still a fucking jerk. Have her call me so I can tell her just how much I think she is a jerk.

[The Last to Know]

5. The best method for dealing with this that I ever saw happened the one time I lost my cell. The dude who found it used it to call his cell, thus informing him of my number. He then called my cell and left a message on voice mail, saying, "Hi, this is Dude, I found your cell phone, call me at 305-555-8768." He figured, quite correctly, that for one reason or another, I would eventually check my voice mail. To me, this is sheer genius, and I've had some friends tell me they never would have thought of doing it like that, but that is the way they would handle it from now on.

This is genius - I wouldn't have thought about doing that either. Glad he got your phone back to you.

6. Your sister is still a fucking jerk. Have her call me so I can tell her just how much I think she is a jerk.

After she calls Jester - tell her to call me so I can tell repeat what Jester said.

It seems to me your sister reacted like a jealous lover - worried that maybe the waitress had eyes on her man or something & that's why she answered the phone. I hope you can go & tell the waitress that she did nothing wrong - because I seriously doubt she will ever do something nice for another customer for fear she would get told off again.

[Jester]

After she calls Jester - tell her to call me so I can tell repeat what Jester said.

Nothing personal, but with my current mood, my current hangover, and my particular talent with verbal artistry, I doubt you would be repeating what I said.

Frankly, I doubt the sister would be able to dial a phone for a while after I got done with her.

Seriously, Rine, PM me and I'll give you my cell number for your sister to call. I didn't find any douchebags to castigate last night, and that pisses me off more. So send your sister my way. I want a piece of her, damn it!

[Amina516]

Id like to add that your sister is a jerk.....if u didn't know that already.

Shes outrageous. I would have considered getting fired and telling her off had I been Suzy.

[Jester]

Props to Suzzy for remaining professional and not doing just that.