To wonder when we stopped reciting our number when answering the phone

[bearbehind]

Not sure why this popped into my head but it occurred to me that when I was growing up in the 80's everyone used to pick up the phone and say their number.

I can still remember some friend numbers 30 years later as I can hear their Mum's answering the phone but I couldn't tell you my husbands mobile number now.

When did everyone stop doing this? Were we all subliminally conditioned to stop on the same day?

[giraffesCantReachTheirToes]

m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ntv3QYzvM5I

[giraffesCantReachTheirToes]

I say Giraffe residence. The lady of the house speaking. ..

Well I don't really but I might start

[Katedotness1963]

I've never answered the phone saying anything other than "hello".

[soapboxqueen]

I've never done this or know anyone who does it. In fact as a child I was told to give nothing away over the phone until I knew who it was. Even then, always be suspicious because you never know.

Child of the seventies (just).

[Naoko]

I've been in the UK twelve years and answering the phone by just saying 'hello' still feels weird. Where I come from you'd answer a landline with '[name] speaking' or similar. Makes sense to me - the other person knows who they're talking to and whether they've reached the correct person in the household. I don't understand why you'd not want to give out your name to the person on the other side - what are they going to do, perform some kind of black name magic?

[Topseyt]

I don't want to confirm my name or number to anyone I don't know, so I don't say it when I answer. Just hello.

When I was a student back in the mid eighties we had a phone in our student digs. Incoming calls only. I heard a boyfriend of one of my housemates once answer it "Penis Enlargement Service" and just had to hope that it hadn't been my own parents calling.

[CigarsofthePharoahs]

My Mum stopped after the Readers Digest ran a story about people getting random prank calls and if you said your number out loud at the start they were more likely to keep calling you.
I have no idea if any of this was remotely true, but my Mum was very Safety First back then, even to the point of refusing to have an answer machine as The Burglars would know we were out. I suspect her attitude when I was going up has been a contributor to the chronic anxiety I get now.

[Pipbin]

Why did people do it?

To check that people had the right number. Some times you would answer the phone and say 'Daraby 7349,' and the person on the other end would say '7349? Oh I'm sorry, I meant to call 7394'.
These days few people actually dial numbers.

[Pipbin]

This sketch about answering the phone when you learned to use the phone before caller ID is very very funny and well worth the 2 minute listen: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01g11tf

[Pipbin]

refusing to have an answer machine as The Burglars would know we were out

And when you did get and answer machine you NEVER said that you were out, just that you were unable to get to the phone. That would fool The Burglars.

[morningtoncrescent62]

I'd quite forgotten this. As a child I was taught to answer the phone with the last four digits of our number: '5678, who's calling?' I certainly don't do that now, and I can't remember when I stopped.

[allegretto]

Yes, we all used to do this - so much so that I still know all my friends and families' phone numbers from the 1980s (despite them having changed) and use them for passwords

[Pipbin]

I lived with someone as a student who would answer the phone with '234 567 James Mcdougall* speaking, how may I help you?' in a thick Scots accent. He reminds me of the Scottish chap in Fresh Meat in both accent and personality. We might have made sure that he always answered the phone as it made us laugh.


*Name changed

[allegretto]

Pipbin - I love that clip!

[cdtaylornats]

Most of my calls are answered by TrueCall which tells them to bugger off

[AppleSetsSail]

How strange. I grew up in the US and have never heard of this before.

[ElinoristhenewEnid]

I always used to say the number when answering the phone in order that people knew they had the right number but was advised to stop saying number because of cold callers/menacing callers etc so that you were not confirming they had your number!

[Bogburglar99]

My mum still does this. I don't but feel a bit odd every time I don't do it

When my dad was a GP he used to do the old fashioned on calls where they rang the home and you had a wife just waiting to answer it I was always intrigued by his phone answer which was a very deliberately paced and reassuring 'Good evening. Dr BogburglarSenior speaking'. He explained to me that he took so long over it because nobody hears the first thing you say on the phone!

So perhaps on that principle it really doesn't matter what you say!

[WhoKnowsWhereTheT1meGoes]

My parents still do it "Village 123456" very slowly and clearly, drives me mad. I stopped doing it about 30 years ago to annoy them when I realised no one else I knew did it.

[FrizzlyAdams]

We stopped in the late 80s when some perv picked out our number (presumably at random).
We went ex directory and stopped reciting the phone number from that point.

I can remember all our phone numbers up until that one, and most of my friends too.

Couldn't tell you anyone's numbers now though...

[annandale]

Bear in mind there were a lot more people living in most houses then, and a lot more people per phone, also a lot more wrong numbers due to crossed lines or just rubbish dialling. So the starting point was, am I calling the right phone, rather than, is the specific person I've got in my phone memory there?

Also I think there may be a thing about phones being by the front door and being answered in rich households by servants. A bit like having the number of your house outside next to the door. Though I've never opened the front door and said, 'Number 22*?'

*number changed to protect the guilty

[LikeDylanInTheMovies]

My best guess is that before digital exchanges were introduced crossed lines were relatively common and rotary dial phones made misdialling more frequent.

[LordoftheTits]

I've never heard of this in my life but I kind of love it! My grandad always bellows says "Good afternoon, [surname] residence, Mr [surname] speaking".

Whereas I just eye the phone suspiciously and ignore it until it stops ringing

[TooExtraImmatureCheddar]

My granny does this. She says 5 numbers, just to be peculiar - "Hello? Village 12345?", always on a rising tone so it sounds like there should be a question mark at the end. The funny thing is that my grandpa does it too but sounds like he's mimicking her - he doesn't answer the phone very often but I think her intonation has sunk in to the point where he doesn't realise he's doing it. It's a very posh version of her normal voice, too.

I remember the days when you could dial people in your village by using only 3 digits! And then it changed to having to use 6.

[The80sweregreat]

My dad does , he will always say the last 4 digits. He is 94 , old habits die hard for him. I know my mobile better than the landline one!