Just for fun: (weird topic) what's the most ridiculous rude thing someone said to you on the phone

[SparklyUnicorn]

Re: the map thing, if you live where you can't see sunrise or sunset and streets don't necessarily run N/S or E/W, it's a bit tricky! Bless their hearts, the people designing roads around here have a thing for circles. "Inbound" and "Outbound" are common designations here, to tell whether you're going toward or away from downtown.

 

Yup...that's what it is like here.

 

I live in a valley and it's cloudy a lot.  There is no method to the madness with many of the streets. 

 

My method of finding stuff is along the lines of "tell me what landmark is nearby".  I always get upset when my land mark is moved.  You know, like a tree stump or broken sign.  LOL

[SparklyUnicorn]

Not on the phone but through a drive through...I was working at Mc ads when I was a teenager. It was a Saturday and I was working through the change over from breakfast to lunch. A guy comes through the drive through at like 10:25 and starts to order cheeseburgers. We had just started all the lunch food and nothing was ready yet so I told home we were still on breakfast. He started screaming at me talking about how all the clocks and watches in their vehicle all say 10:30 and how F-ed up we all are and what the F were we doing in there. A couple of damn it’s and F-bombs later he took off roaring through the parking lot and flipped me off as he drove past. Over cheeseburgers lol.

 

LOL...BTDT..I worked at McDs...that was a common complaint.

 

We used to get one regular customer who'd come through the drive through and order an ice cream cone and he wanted the server to basically feed it to his gigantic slobbery dog. 

 

Yeah...some interesting times working at McDs... :laugh:

[Andani]

Yup...that's what it is like here.

 

I live in a valley and it's cloudy a lot. There is no method to the madness with many of the streets.

 

My method of finding stuff is along the lines of "tell me what landmark is nearby". I always get upset when my land mark is moved. You know, like a tree stump or broken sign. LOL

This is why people like us get mocked.

 

"Where they knocked down that big yellow house, right past where the blinking light used to be."

[Amber in SJ]

I once called the DirecTV customer service line because my picture was starting & stopping & completely pixelated.  This was years before HD & streaming etc.  The customer service person said to me in a southern drawl,

 

"Well, Ma'am, as you know this is satellite TV and we are having a big' ole thunderstorm here in Atlanta, so I believe the satellite got hit by lightning and that is the problem with your TV."  

 

I tried to tell him that lightning is an atmospheric event and in general satellites are above the atmosphere.  That it was more likely that my reception was having trouble due to solar flares, and he said, "That's a whole lotta science for a little lady like you."

 

Bless his heart.

 

I asked to speak to his manager.

 

Amber in SJ

[Laurie]

One day out of the blue my dentist's wife called me.   She wanted our dog to impregnate their dog!   I can only imagine the conversation with her husband that led to this phone call:   "Do any of your patients have a golden retriever with a boy's name?"  

 

Our dog was neutered.  Once she found that out she wasn't interested in letting him be friends with her dog.  How rude!   :laugh:

[Jean in Newcastle]

I got a middle of the night phone call asking to speak to someone with my last name but different first name.  I said that I wasn't she.  "Are you sure?"  Well, yes, I do know my own name. 

[Martha in GA]

 

And I did, and I called my parents on another continent to complain about my stupid voice and - since I was on a roll - the short gene they had ALSO given me. LOL

I feel your pain! I once had a salesperson come to my door and ask to speak to my mom. I told her I would have to call her because she lived in another state...

[Night Elf]

Two.

 

First was when my kids were much younger. This guy called asking for a donation to a fund for missing children. I asked him to send me some literature and I'd read it and make a decision. I do not just give money over the phone. He said they didn't have enough money for literature and I should just donate to him over the phone. When I said no, he said something like 'I just hope no one takes YOUR kids.' I was shocked.

 

Second was a couple of months ago. Someone kept calling me and I told him to take me off his calling list and he said No. I asked him who this was and to let me talk to his supervisor and he said it's none of my business and then he hung up on me. So 20 minutes later I got another call but it was a different person. That was the 6th call that morning. My DH taught me how to block numbers on our phone. I didn't receive anymore calls from them.

[Heathermomster]

A marketer called my house and asked to speak with Mr. or Mrs. Cockburst.

 

The letters c-k-b are not in our last name.

[Kalypso]

When we decided to put ds in school in 6th grade, I had to let our piano teacher know that lesson time needed to change since he came to our house during the day.  When I called, he actually made the comment to me that we made the decision to put our son in school behind his back. 

 

It was such a weird, awkward comment to make. After that phone call, he was no longer our piano teacher.

 

We still have a good laugh now and then over the conversation.

[SparklyUnicorn]

When we decided to put ds in school in 6th grade, I had to let our piano teacher know that lesson time needed to change since he came to our house during the day.  When I called, he actually made the comment to me that we made the decision to put our son in school behind his back. 

 

It was such a weird, awkward comment to make. After that phone call, he was no longer our piano teacher.

 

We still have a good laugh now and then over the conversation.

 

:huh:

[SanDiegoMom]

Unfortunately the rudest words on a phone call were both spoken by my parents! I called them to let them know that I was pregnant (unexpectedly, a little bit BEFORE our wedding, though we had been dating for 8 years:-)) .  My dad:  How could two such intelligent people do something so stupid! My mom: Is this some kind of horrible, sick joke?  My parents were never very good with surprises.  My husband's parents, on the other hand, merely said "congratulations, honey that's wonderful" and kept their opinions to themselves.

 

My parents have long since apologized and love all their grandkids.  

[school17777]

The time I was on the phone with a business trying to find their location......and I asked him if he was on the north or south side of the road...and he said, 'well, it just depends on which direction you are coming from.' I said, ' no. No it doesn't.' But he ignored me and went on describing the intersection and such......so when I was close to where I thought he was I said, ' OK, I am getting close, now are you on the north or south side of the road'. With an exasperated tone he said, ' again Ma'am, it just depends on which direction you are coming from.'.

 

When I got inside the business I was dying to ask for him and tell him his business sits on the north side of the highway--regardless of which direction he is coming from.

 

My family still laughs about it.

 

I’m with this guy on this! Directions should be given in left right terms, not north, south, east, and west. Only in OK do they do that!

 

(Our roads here are very curvy here, so while you are generally heading say north, at some point you are going west or east)

[dirty ethel rackham]

Can I add a story where I was the inappropriate one? (Didn't mean to be inappropriate ... it just came out haha)

 

I worked in a large department for a company. We had 3 men there who went by the name Dick. One day someone called and asked to speak with Dick. I said "Do you know his last name? We have a lot of Dicks that work here."

 

Yeah. That was uncomfortable.

 

Oh, I did something similar.  Not a phone call, but an incident at work.  I was in a "professional training seminar" breakout session with several higher up people in the company when I worked in IT for a major department store.  We were talking about something to do with marketing, who makes decisions, etc.  I was making the point about men being greater consumers of electronics, which I referred to as "adult toys."   I heard someone snicker and I realized my mistake.  I could feel my face turning bright red and I stammered through the rest of my comments.  Yeah, I didn't want to run into any of them in the elevator after than.

 

I've had people call at odd hours - wrong numbers looking for someone.  I had a man tell me that I'd better f-in get that #!tch on the phone right now.  I lit into him saying how dare he call a boring suburban family in the middle of the night and interupt our sleep.  I've had the IRS people and the problem with your computer people try to pull a fast one on me as well and they got mad when I wasn't gullible.  

[gardenmom5]

I got a middle of the night phone call asking to speak to someone with my last name but different first name.  I said that I wasn't she.  "Are you sure?"  Well, yes, I do know my own name. 

 

I had something similar.  towards 9pm.  asked for me by name - then asked a bunch of specific questions - nope not me, sorry.  then they called again.  I *thought* I convinced them that time that even though my name was the same - I was a different person.  next night - call me again - later in the evening.   Nope- still a different person. . . . . :toetap05:  and I told you I have never lived in Oregon. . .. :toetap05:

NEXT NIGHT - calls even later (close to 11pm). . . . . different person who is quite belligerent and accuses me of lying about my identity  :cursing:.   no more mrs nice guy - I started back on them that I told them I'd never lived in oregon, I wasn't the person for whom they were looking, they were harassing me - this was the THIRD NIGHT IN A ROW!

I don't know if it was a really persistent debt collector - or perhaps someone looking for a birth mom.  (all of my children are accounted for . . .)  there is another woman in the area with my name. (we were even at the same gyn office.)

 

eta: clarification - they were asking for the same first name, last name, and middle initial. 

 

- different story - I do recall the time a friend called at 2am as her dh was out of town, and there was an emergency for which she wanted dh's help.  she was so apologetic about calling - but what is most memorable. . . . it wasn't mil asking "did I wake you?"   (happened enough we talked about blocking her.)

Edited March 23, 2018 by gardenmom5

[Lady Marmalade]

I will never forget the time that an elderly gentleman called me and that I was his granddaughter.   The phone number came up as being from the nearby tribal reservation, and being curious, I answered the phone.  He asked how the family was and made small talk that made me think he knew me for a while, but then he got to the purpose of his phone call.  He wanted me to let my mom know that he had been able to secure an ample supply of bear grease for the upcoming ceremony.  He hadn't completely figured out when he was going to be able to get it to my mom, but he wanted her to know that she would have it in time.  THAT was the point I realized he really had the wrong number, but by then, the conversation had gone on far too long to say something.  I simply asked "What ceremony?"  And then he proceeded to launch into a whole "when you're old enough, your mom will have to fill you in on the details of the ceremony.  For now though, I'm not going to be the one to tell you about it." 

 

I never did reveal who I was, and he never called our number again.  To this day, I do wonder about the ceremony that requires bear grease, but is not something for young ears to hear.  

[Jaybee]

I learned "never eat shredded wheat," in small-town Midwest as a kid. The asking for north/south is also a rural Midwest thing. I've not heard it on the east coast, or south, and I think its because the midwest, north of Kentucky, is laid out in squares. Giving directions is almost as easy as those maps on a graph worksheets they do in first grade. Other places have roads that are too curvy and windy to just be referred to with cardinal directions.

 

Exactly. Scarlett lives in OK, where the land is mostly flat and the cities are more grid-like. There are other places with lots of hills and curves and trees, where it is much more difficult to know the cardinal directions. I grew up in one of the latter, and was shocked at how I actually did have a good sense of direction--once I lived in a flat state where cities were more on a grid.

[SKL]

Oh I used to get a lot of calls for some guy I have never met.  Creditors, friends, possibly drug dealers.  All hours of the day and night.  I should google his name, I'll bet he's in some databases.  (Can't recall the name off hand though.)

[PeachyDoodle]

DH once got a call on his cell phone in the middle of the night from some guy who insisted DH was his parole officer. He refused to listen when DH explained that he wasn't and never had been anything remotely resembling a parole officer. The guy even knew DH's name! It was very strange and kind of weirded me out. If it was a practical joke, no one ever owned up to it.

[caedmyn]

When I was pregnant with #5, I wanted to see a chiropractor for a specific pregnancy-related problem, so I called the one I'd gone to a dozen or so times (but hadn't seen for probably 3 years) to see if he thought he could address that problem.  I told him I was pregnant and he made a comment about "Well how many is enough?" (he knew we had several already).  I told myself he probably didn't mean it the way it came out...but I haven't been back to him and if I need a chiropractor again, I'll find a new one.

[Stacia]

I got crank called in Spain.

 

My best friend & I were in our 20s & were traveling there for two weeks. Finally, we were in a hotel with a/c (luxury!), which meant we could actually shut the windows & curtains (no noise! no light!). It was wonderful to be in a dark, cold room after so many sweltering summer days & nights there. In the middle of the night, the phone rang. I answered. I must have been dreaming about breakfast because the person talking was speaking in Spanish &, for some reason, I was thinking it was the hotel front desk calling to ask what we wanted for breakfast. But, as I woke up more, I realized that was not it at all. And when I realized the rude things he was saying, I yelled (in Spanish), "What time is it?!?" He was kind enough to answer me (I think it was 2:30am). :lol:  And then he kept on going on his original call. I cussed him out (in Spanish) & hung up. I was so mad because he had ruined a perfectly great night of sleep.

 

Afterward, though, we were creeped out, wondering if it was a hotel employee or someone staying in the hotel who had seen us. I tried to call the front desk & find out if they had patched a call through to our room, but I didn't ever get a clear answer. And, we were just one story up & our window/door to the outside didn't latch well & we ended up not sleeping the rest of the night wondering about creepy dude.

 

Sill, I laugh when I think about it becuase a) I thought it was a breakfast call and b) I asked the time & he gave it. :lol:

[StephanieZ]

Once, long before cell phones in my life/budget, I was calling dh at his school. (I was pregnant and near due date, it was something important.) He was in his last year of vet school, doing clinical rotations, so I was calling the main vet school hospital. 

 

I asked for him by name. 

 

The receptionist corrected my pronunciation of his last name -- which, of course, was also my own last name. Very firmly, accentuating the "correct" pronunciation. 

 

Then she asked me who was calling. 

 

"Stephanie Z-----, his wife."

 

There was a pause, and then the receptionist asked me about the pronunciation and sort of apologized. 

 

LOL. 

[Scarlett]

Yup...that's what it is like here.

 

I live in a valley and it's cloudy a lot.  There is no method to the madness with many of the streets. 

 

My method of finding stuff is along the lines of "tell me what landmark is nearby".  I always get upset when my land mark is moved.  You know, like a tree stump or broken sign.  LOL

 

Ok, I get this.  But still and yet do you not know what direction your own house faces?

[Scarlett]

Wow, I still have no clue how I'd know if I were south or north. 

 

LOL 

 

I am not sure if I should be embarrassed.  I do not drive very far too often so that's part of it.

 

 

But it wasn't the person driving who didn't know his directions.  I was driving.....he was in a business.  On a straight road in OK that runs East/West.  And it isn't even that he didn't know his directions.....he didn't say, 'oh I don't know if I am on the north or south side of the hwy.'  What he said was it would depend on which direction I was coming from.  

 

I mean, surely you do understand that north and south and east and west do not change regardless of what direction you are coming from?  

[Scarlett]

Exactly. Scarlett lives in OK, where the land is mostly flat and the cities are more grid-like. There are other places with lots of hills and curves and trees, where it is much more difficult to know the cardinal directions. I grew up in one of the latter, and was shocked at how I actually did have a good sense of direction--once I lived in a flat state where cities were more on a grid.

 

 

Yes I do live in OK now.  But I spent my entire life in AR in lots of hills surrounded by a lot of trees.  And curves and such.  In places, where as you travel you might not know which direction you are actually going at any given moment.  Although, I did always know the general direction I was going. 

 

 However, IN MY OWN home I could certainly tell you from which direction the sun rose each morning and which direction it set each night.  

[Corraleno]

When I was a teen I got a phone call from someone who had an extremely thick accent and also sounded kind of drunk (slurring his words). At first I thought it might have been someone my dad worked with, so I asked if he wanted to speak to my father and he said no. I kept apologizing that I couldn't understand him and asking him to repeat what he said more slowly. After I'd made him repeat it about 6 times I finally understood what he was saying and realized it was an obscene phone call! I was totally mortified at the time, but in retrospect it seems pretty funny, making this guy repeat this VERY obscene sentence over and over, more slowly and with better enunciation.  :laugh:

[Stacia]

As a kid, I once answered the phone & it was someone wanting my dad. My dad wasn't home so I asked if I could take a message. They guy said sure & gave me his name. I didn't write it down because I figured I would remember it.

 

Hours later, my dad came home. I told him somebody had called.

 

Who?

 

I can't remember.... Um.... I think it was something like John Thomason or something.

 

Immediately, my dad lights up & says, "Oh, it was David Olzehnevsky!" (or something similar)

 

And he was right. I recognized it as soon as he said it.

 

:lol:

[SquirrellyMama]

A marketer called my house and asked to speak with Mr. or Mrs. Cockburst.

 

The letters c-k-b are not in our last name.

I had to text someone with the last name of Manock. The first line I typed was "Hi Mr. Mancock!" So, glad I caught that one before I sent it 😂 I've also had to catch it before sending because when I do type his name in correctly my phone changes it to Manicotti.

 

When I got my new cell number I had collections people and some concerned friends calling for a girl who must have had my number. I'm curious what happened to her.

 

Kelly

Edited March 24, 2018 by SquirrellyMama

[Miss Peregrine]

I remembered one that was really funny. Only one person was rude about it. When we first moved here, whoever had our number last must have managed a mobile home park. We would get multiple calls a day asking us to open the gate. I patiently explained and even called the park to tell them to change the number on their kiosk. One elderly man got really upset with me after I explained that we don't live there, I can't open the gate and I don't know the code. He told me I better learn it so I will have an answer when people call!

Edited March 24, 2018 by Miss Peregrine

[MomsintheGarden]

I recall "talking" to one of my then-girlfriend's (MomsintheGarden's) girlfriends on the telephone one evening when we were in college.  She liked to talk...a LOT!  I fell asleep sometime during the conversation and when I awoke, she was still going! :lol: She never even noticed (or cared) that I was not there for quite a while!

 

How were you able to get away with that?  Whenever I fell asleep while she was talking at me, she would notice!  She'd say, "Are you falling asleep while I'm talking AGAIN?"  She never got the hint!

 

[MomsintheGarden]

Reg's sister called last fall to say that they were having Thanksgiving at their house, and that they were inviting Grandma, other SIL & family, and cousin this-and-that. Then she said that our family wasn't invited.

 

The weird thing is that she is usually a very nice person.  I guess everyone has their moments!

[TechWife]

We live near several colleges. Every year for three years, around the time students started moving in, a woman would call our house and ask for my husband by name. He was never home when she called, but each time, I asked if she wanted to leave a message she would say "Tell him his grandmother called." At that point I would inform her that she had called the wrong number, then she would argue with me for a few minutes, asking if he went to a particular universit (the answer was yes, my dh was a grad student at the time, her grandson was an undergrad). Every year I had to tell her, "Ma'm, yes, that's my husbands name, but his grandparents are deceased." After three years of this, we moved and our phone number changed, so I don't know if she kept calling that same number or not.

[EKS]

Ok but how do I tell north or south?  Without using a compass?

 

I already beyond embarrassed myself so I might as well learn this now.  :laugh:

 

If you're in the continental United States, north is the direction you would need to walk to go straight to Canada.

 

The sun rises in the east.  If you're facing the rising sun, turn 90 degrees to the left, and that's north.  This isn't a perfect method, but it will get you in the ballpark.

 

If you live near a coastline that runs north-south, you can tell north that way too.  So, say you live next to the Pacific Ocean.  Face the ocean and north is to the right going up the coast.

 

I think that most people pay attention to a combination of where the sun is and where landmarks are.  Once you get the hang of it, it becomes second nature.

[*LC]

A telemarketer told my mom that he was going to blow up her house.

 

Someone claiming to be an IRS agent threatened her if she did not get him the contact information for someone who rented a house from my parents. It was when I was a teen but it was very odd

[Jean in Newcastle]

Ok, I get this. But still and yet do you not know what direction your own house faces?

No I don’t. My house faces sort of southeast. But not directly. The street, which curves, doesn’t run just one direction either. No one in this area is stupid. But we tend to give directions with rights and lefts. To not be able to accommodate that seems weird.

 

(I can tell which direction is north, south, east and west depending on which mountain range or body of water I see. But if I am on a wooded curvy road I can’t see the mountains or the water. )