AIBU?
DancesWithOtters · 06/07/2017 10:33
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Mulledwine1 · 06/07/2017 10:35
*If it's a friend Would it really hurt to take the call and keep it short"
If it's a friend would it really hurt to email or text?
If it's an organisation, you can often say how you would prefer to be contacted. If you send them an email, tell them you want them to email you back. Don't give a phone number, or if it's a compulsory field just fill it with zeros or something.
YANBU, it's fine to not like phones. I particularly don't like voicemail as people don't just say "it's x can you phone me back, number is y" but leave a long involved message that I don't want to listen to. And they rattle through their number so quickly, without repeating it, that I have to relisten to the long involved message. An email is so much easier.
And you don't play phone tag all day when you ring and they're in a meeting. Then they phone back and you're on the loo. Then you call back and they're at lunch. Etc.
PlymouthMaid1 · 06/07/2017 11:20
I don't like talking on the phone either. Would rather email and text initially but if it's a nearby friend then meeting up for a chat is way better. I also find phone calls so intrusive as they always come at dinner time, in the middle of your favourite TV or when in a rush so unless you know someone's routine really well I prefer not to call.
RaspberryBeretHoopla · 06/07/2017 11:23
I have a friend who is similar and she just tells people "I don't chat on the phone"
Fine, I have never thought twice about it. I just text and email. I also have a friend who has dyslexia and she never uses texts or emails as she finds them very stressful - she likewise just tells people not to text her and rather to phone her.
AHedgehogCanNeverBeBuggered · 06/07/2017 11:39
It depends - if it's at work then YABU, I'm not at all keen on the phone but it's a really important way of establishing and maintaining a relationship with colleagues and stakeholders, so I grin and bear it rather than ask people not to call me. Sometimes it's much quicker and easier to talk someone through an issue than to have endless back-and-forth email exchanges, so colleagues who don't answer their phone or try to prevent people getting their number get short shrift from most people.
If it's family or friends - a lot more info can be conveyed in a call than a text, although email can be a good substitute. However, if it's someone you don't see face to face often it's difficult to maintain a close relationship via words on a screen (not impossible but harder). There does need to be some compromise on both sides and an understanding that you both need to communicate in different ways so a mix is probably best.
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