Sorry, wrong number! (AlextheKay reminices)

Back in the distant past, when people would do anything for a tankful...oops, wrong script.  Start again.

Back before robocalls made it impossible to use a land-line, almost every summons to a ringing phone was actually for you.  Remember those days?  Might be a friend.  Might be a relative.  Might be a bill collector --aaaiiiieee!  But occasionally, it was a wrong number.

I used to have a second line for the sole purpose of going online.  For those of you too young to remember, computers used to use the telephone lines, linking through a device called a "modem" or "modulator/demodulator."  That meant if someone else called, your call-waiting would disconnect your computer.   aaaiiiieee! .

I was already making a living running online sites from home, so a second line was absolutely necessary.  Unfortunately, the number assigned to me turned out to be just one digit off from a local pizza parlor.  Consequently, not a week went by without somebody calling to order an extra-cheese or whatever.



I'm not an asshole most of the time, so I'd just say, "Wrong number," and tell them the digit they missed.  But once in a while the caller would be a blowhard who would insist that he hadn't called the wrong goddamn number, and I must take the order!  Right <i>now,</i> damn it!  There are some very aggressive people out there.

So i'd apologise, take the order, tell them their pizza would be free and hang up.

How did you handle wrong numbers?  How do you handle them now?

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