You've dialed the wrong number..

[Hobgoblin]

This was last night:

Phone rings.
Hobgoblin: Thank you for calling video games, this is Hobgoblin, how can I help you?
Old Irritable Man: Do you sell VHS tapes there?

My store is inside a Hollywood Video (movie rental store, for those who don't know). We get people calling us all the time thinking we are, in fact, Hollywood Video. This is common, and since no one EVER listens to what we say when we answer the phone, we refer them to Hollywood after they ask if we have the latest Ben Afleck/Cameron Diaz mashup that's supposed to rock our socks.

Hobgoblin: I'm sorry, you might want Hollywood Video ....
OIM (interupting): No, I don't want Hollywood, I asked if you sell VHS there.
HB: I'm sorry about that. No, we don't sell VHS here at this .... (click).

He just hung up in the middle of a sentence. Now, some of you who regularly deal with customer service over the phone might be familiar with this, but that's a first for me. I was pissed all night long.

Man I hate people.

[Arcade Man D]

"Thank you for calling $NameOfArcade, Arcade Man D speaking, how may I help you?"

"Yes, do you carry <insert video game product here>?"

"No, we are an arcade."

"Are you sure? I was told this was the name/number for the video game store in the mall."

"No, sir/ma'am, you want <insert one of four stores that carries video games in the mall, and ISN'T LISTED IN THE PHONE BOOK UNDER ARCADES, BUT UNDER VIDEO GAME SALES!>."

Yes, I do get sick of that call. Considering that we get more of those calls, than we do calls that are actually for us.

[tollbaby]

Have you ever noticed wrong numbers are never engaged!!!!

actually, a friend of mine who lives in the UK wanted to phone me the other night, but he realized that he had misplaced my phone number. I live just outside of Ottawa, Ontario (Hull Quebec, to be precise, not even the same province)... so my friend looked up my last name and first initial in the TORONTO, Ontario online directory.... that's a little more than 5 hours from me *snicker* He did manage to find someone with the same last name and first initial as me, and proceeded to phone them up. He was lucky it *was* engaged I told him the next day where I lived, and he felt like a bonehead, because of course he knew that already :P

[Getoutofmylobby]

I'm convinced a drug dealer had my phone number before i did. After awhile i started answering "You got any?" with "No, but can you find me some?"

BTW, welcome to the board. Good to see someone else from St. Louis.

[NightAngel]

Many years ago I got a phone call in the middle of the night from a guy I *thought* was a friend of mine.

He and I talked for an hour or more.

Then he said, "Yeah, remember that one time...*insert story*."
and I was like, "Uhm, no- what are you talking about?"

Guy: "Come on- you remember! You couldn't forget that!"
Me: "Apparently I wasn't there- I don't even know *people involved in story*."

Long silence...

Guy: "Valerie?"
Me: "I'm not Valerie- are you John?"
Guy: "No."

Guy: "This is really weird isn't it?"
Me: "Yeah..."

Guy: "I've really enjoyed talking to you."
Me: "Yeah, me to. Valerie is probably wondering why you haven't called yet though."
Guy: "*laughs* Yes, she probably is- think she'll believe this?"
Me: "Nope. I wouldn't believe it if it hadn't happened to me."

Guy: "Well, maybe I'll accidently misdial you again sometime and then I'll be able to let you know how it worked out."

[Noelegy]

At the first apartment that my ex-husband and I lived in after getting married, we had a phone number which had apparently previously belonged to an air-conditioner and conveyer belt business that was no longer in operation. I used to think that the phone company had to wait 6 months before re-issuing a phone number. I guess the turnaround time is shorter now.

The business must have gone Tango Uniform while owing money to people, because we were deluged with calls for them. We finally got an answering machine and used it to screen calls, even saying on the greeting, "You have reached the residence of Hisname and Hername Lastname. THIS IS NOT [name of business]. Messages left for [name of business] will not be delivered. If you are calling for [name of business], you have the wrong number. Please leave your message after the beep."

Yup, we got plenty of messages for the defunct business, even after that. We eventually had to change our number, because the signal-to-noise ratio was so bad.

[BookstoreEscapee]

When I lived in Philly I used to get calls for the guy who had the number before me from some financial something or other. I think it was a bill collector. They seemed rather urgent about him calling them back. I was never home when they called and it was always too late to call back by the time I got the message. Finally I managed to get ahold of them and tell them whoever they were trying to reach no longer had that number. Since I was living alone I didn't really want to put my name on the machine, or I probably would have changed my outgoing message and hoped they would get it.

[tollbaby]

Heh. I've had my current number for two and a half years. Let that sink in for a minute.

In the last SIX MONTHS, I have started getting NUMEROUS irate phone calls for a woman with an african-sounding name (I can't pronounce it, but lots of m's and b's stuck together) from collection agencies. Like, multiple calls a day from SEVERAL collection agencies.

I've had the number for TWO AND A HALF YEARS. All of a sudden, bill collectors are calling for this woman. If I ever catch her, I'll wring her neck for giving my phone number out!!!

Also had a sweet old guy who lived at the nursing home down the street who used to call multiple times daily to speak to his daughter Theresa. He phoned for almost a whole year (persistent little bugger). When I phoned the nursing home to find out what the heck was going on (their number kept popping up), the head nurse said she thought she knew who was doing it (alzheimer's patient, sadly, he didn't mean to be annoying)... she mentioned suspending his phone privileges so he wouldn't be able to do it anymore, but I felt so bad for him, I told her to leave him his phone, I didn't mind too much I used to actually chat with him once in a while. It stopped about a year ago though I think he passed away.

[draftermatt]

At work we answer with "Blah Blah Inc." and get "Is this the doctor's office" or "I need to make an appointment"

But the worse one is at home. For 2 years we've had this number, but we still get calls for Mary. One guy had the audacity to say "I don't have the wrong number, just the wrong information" And he said it real pissy. My response, "well f*** you"

[CrazedClerk]

In the same day this week, I got not one but TWO calls to my house for the woman who used to have the number. Both calls were from Law offices...

...apparently wanting to discuss the "serious legal action" pending against her. I got a good laugh from listening to the message and pondering just what this lady might have been involved with, as it seems she made a few enemies!

[The Wanderer]

The number for the company I work for is 1 digit off from the 1-800 number for probably the fourth largest credit card company in the US. We get about 2 calls a week for them, and the bad thing is that people usually start talking about a bad charge on their credit card, or some other problem. I work in vacation rentals and we do deal with credit cards a lot, so it often takes a minute for me to realize that these people didn't want our business at all.

People always react with paranoia when they realize they have just given their card number to some random guy on the phone.

I realize that it is just an honest mistake, but after about the fifth time this happened to me, something funny occured to me. Not one of these people ever are suspicious of the fact that some real person just answered the phone for a large, multinational customer-service based organization with probably millions of clients. Honestly, when is the last time you called a credit card company or public utility and just had someone pick up on the second ring? Whenever I call anywhere anymore, there is always menus to get through.

[Rapscallion]

Well, that last would probably have expected his gf to have his number, but he still didn't realise the answerphone didn't sound like hers.

Rapscallion