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Fridayfive.org
Mar. 14th, 2003 09:48 am1. Do you like talking on the phone? Why or why not?
I depends on the people. There are some days when I absolutely dread picking up the phone at work, because ick, people. I want to be a hermit and instead I have to go deal with whatever printer's broken today. I'm also a very kinesthetic person - I work through problems by doing them, so I'd much rather walk a user through something in person, than try to talk them through it on the phone. (Phone support is ick, too.) I'm going through the steps myself anyway, I might as well let them see what I'm doing.
And on the other hand, I love talking to my parents and my brother. I don't get to see them that often, so I'm more than happy to curl up with the phone and yak with mom about dandelions for an hour.
2. Who is the last person you talked to on the phone?
The phone hasn't rung yet this morning, so it was probably telling Physical Plant about the leak above my desk yesterday afternoon.
3. About how many telephones do you have at home?
There's one in the kitchen and one in my bedroom besides Ali's and Lori's phones. And my cellphone. I tend to use the kitchen phone the most because it's cordless, and I pace and wander around a lot.
4. Have you encountered anyone who has really bad phone manners? What happened?
Oh lord, yes. I worked phone support for the US Dept of Education's FAFSA website for over a year. (It looked a lot different a couple years back.) Hysterical students, hysterical parents, all calling in the night before a deadline, trying to get this form to end all forms filled out so they (or their kid) could get financial aid. We got all kinds of people. The foul-mouthed cursers on whom we could hang up, the graduate students who thought a higher degree meant that they could magically tell the difference between a mouse and a hockey puck, the ranters who would blame us for the site design, the deadlines, the government, the tax laws, their parents, the state, you name it...
I think the worst one was a woman who called in about her boyfriend's cousin's PIN. I was trying to figure out who the hell she was, why she was calling if it wasn't her PIN, and at the same time trying to tell her that we were the Department of Education and that PIN was so that the boyfriend's cousin could fill out a form to get financial aid: student loans and the like. Somehow she got it in her head that I was that cheating, conniving little bitch who got herself knocked up, and wanted said boyfriend's cousin's money, and I could forget calling ever again! Then she hung up.
That stunned moment I had after she hung up will forever define 'flabbergasted' to me.
5. Would you rather pick up the phone and call someone or write them an e-mail or a letter? Why or why not?
Letter, email phone, in that order. Usually. I usually don't have the time to do the former, so I content myself with email, which gives me the time to craft a response and think about what I'm going to say.
I depends on the people. There are some days when I absolutely dread picking up the phone at work, because ick, people. I want to be a hermit and instead I have to go deal with whatever printer's broken today. I'm also a very kinesthetic person - I work through problems by doing them, so I'd much rather walk a user through something in person, than try to talk them through it on the phone. (Phone support is ick, too.) I'm going through the steps myself anyway, I might as well let them see what I'm doing.
And on the other hand, I love talking to my parents and my brother. I don't get to see them that often, so I'm more than happy to curl up with the phone and yak with mom about dandelions for an hour.
2. Who is the last person you talked to on the phone?
The phone hasn't rung yet this morning, so it was probably telling Physical Plant about the leak above my desk yesterday afternoon.
3. About how many telephones do you have at home?
There's one in the kitchen and one in my bedroom besides Ali's and Lori's phones. And my cellphone. I tend to use the kitchen phone the most because it's cordless, and I pace and wander around a lot.
4. Have you encountered anyone who has really bad phone manners? What happened?
Oh lord, yes. I worked phone support for the US Dept of Education's FAFSA website for over a year. (It looked a lot different a couple years back.) Hysterical students, hysterical parents, all calling in the night before a deadline, trying to get this form to end all forms filled out so they (or their kid) could get financial aid. We got all kinds of people. The foul-mouthed cursers on whom we could hang up, the graduate students who thought a higher degree meant that they could magically tell the difference between a mouse and a hockey puck, the ranters who would blame us for the site design, the deadlines, the government, the tax laws, their parents, the state, you name it...
I think the worst one was a woman who called in about her boyfriend's cousin's PIN. I was trying to figure out who the hell she was, why she was calling if it wasn't her PIN, and at the same time trying to tell her that we were the Department of Education and that PIN was so that the boyfriend's cousin could fill out a form to get financial aid: student loans and the like. Somehow she got it in her head that I was that cheating, conniving little bitch who got herself knocked up, and wanted said boyfriend's cousin's money, and I could forget calling ever again! Then she hung up.
That stunned moment I had after she hung up will forever define 'flabbergasted' to me.
5. Would you rather pick up the phone and call someone or write them an e-mail or a letter? Why or why not?
Letter, email phone, in that order. Usually. I usually don't have the time to do the former, so I content myself with email, which gives me the time to craft a response and think about what I'm going to say.
