For wanting callers to default to calling my landline first.

[slowrun]

I prefer receiving calls on my landline. There is much better confidentiality. Sound quality is better. I can hear the ringer better. We also have a good quality answering machine. I also have a pen and paper handy, can write dates down and check diaries.

When I take my mobile out, I could be anywhere. I could be running or paying for something in a shop. So I cannot always give full attention to the call. I'm ok with a quick question and of course in an emergency I'm happy to be reached by my mobile.

However! if I give my mobile number out people seem to default to that. Hence I don't often but then end up ringing up to chase appointments if I'm going to be away from home.

AIBU? How do other people manage this?

Same, although mine is 85! She does have a phone in the sitting room but she would have to stand to get it. Easier for her to answer the mobile.

Bit, yes, of course. But my landline has a better answering machine in terms of sound quality and reliability. Numbers aren't recorded if they are withheld.

oh get with the beat Baggy !

Dont give your number to people that you dont want to contact you or decline the call
Leave it on silent or stop alerts from this number , lots of options

DH and I usually just give our landline number. We work from home, if we're out and about we don't want to be hassled. The landline has a filtering feature - by default callers have to state who they are and then we can choose whether to always allow, allow this time or block. No nuisance calls. Much better quality line, we don't seem to have good mobile reception in our house.

Mobile numbers are just given to people we are happy to hear from at any time, or who we want to hear from asap. Not all and sundry.

Do whatever works for you!

As I said OP, I quite agree about your default service preference being an improvement, but do understand that ringing the mobile first is the default now and that is why people are doing it.

Additionally, there are also privacy concerns. When I worked briefly as a GPs receptionist in the early 00s, we were told to ring mobiles where both were given, because the chances of someone other than the patient answering were lower. If the patient's spouse or dad or whoever answered the phone and we asked to speak to the patient, we weren't allowed to say who was calling and some of them would get arsey and/or hang up. Which I do get actually, but there's a good reason for you why an organisation might automatically default to a mobile. Much less likely to have to speak to someone who isn't the patient/client. That matters when you are handling people's private information.

Who are all you people making and receiving phone calls?

If I do have someone call me and for some reason it’s not practical to take the call there and then I ask if the can call me back in ten minutes, or whatever

I'm with you OP; some people are always snapchatting me, it's like, for god's sake, can you not just WhatsApp like a normal person??

Additionally, there are also privacy concerns. When I worked briefly as a GPs receptionist in the early 00s, we were told to ring mobiles where both were given, because the chances of someone other than the patient answering were lower

Useful to know. My suspicions were correct that the mobile is often used a default by the NHS. Thing is there are privacy and logistical concerns if you default to the mobile. People often won't want to receive important calls from NHS personnel when they are outside the home. Asking for a preference default is definitely the most considerate course of action.

My Dr’s surgery asks for a preferred and alternative phone number option.

My Dr’s surgery asks for a preferred and alternative phone number option.

That's great.

Well this was in 2003 OP so I don't know if it's still current. But there'd been a couple of unfortunate incidents of people ringing the home phone number and the voice of the receptionists being recognised. Fine if you're a 51 year old living with your 51 year old spouse and the call was to let you know your routine smear was due. Less so if you're a 15 year old who'd been going to the GP about the pill and your parents wanted to know why you'd been attending. So it wouldn't surprise me.

But there'd been a couple of unfortunate incidents of people ringing the home phone number and the voice of the receptionists being recognised

Not a problem if patients were allowed to express a preference default. Equally I might not like to receive a call from an NHS professional if talking to my child's teacher but would feel extremely torn if it was important.

I worked at our GP surgery in the summer holidays when I was at uni (hence knowing about the preferred and alternative phone number options) and we weren’t allowed to leave answer machine messages on landlines for privacy reasons. If they didn’t answer the landline and there was no mobile number we had to send a letter, which was hand delivered if it was urgent.

@lubeybooby

No one I know apart from my grandparents in their 90's uses landlines anymore

Oh come ON! That's preposterous to suggest that only people born before 1925 use a landline!!!

I much prefer the landline too, and I am not a granny or someone over 90! I am less than middle aged! I do have a mobile phone, and it's useful for a secondary number if I am not at home, (and for sending quick texts!) but not for all my calls.

Also, I live way out in the sticks, and the mobile phone reception is not great. It wavers in and out, and sometimes cuts off. I have to go to the top of the road to send a damn text sometimes! So a landline is essential for me.

The fact that my mobile phone signal (AND internet connection,) is shite means I will never ever ever have smart meters either...

And yeah, I agree with you @slowrun

But you still rang the landline first Soy.i'd be happy with that.

Yeah, the receptionist who had to hand deliver the letter wasn’t so pleased though .
(Kidding... was a bit of a pain though!)

They actually had a thing where for certain patients we weren't to use the landline even if they didn't answer the mobile or it was switched off. It had kicked off a couple of times. This was before I started though.

I don't even have the landline numbers of most people I know. Our landline phone hasn't been plugged in for years. The only people who prefer me to call a landline number to reach them are family members 65+.

Omg why do you even have a mobile....? For emergencies and 'time sensitive' calls you said. Surely that's quite a small number of people who need to have your mobile number?
What a load of fuss about nothing!

I have 3 landlines.
I always keep my mobile on silent (we have poor reception here anyway).
I always give my landline number out in preference to mobile.

My landline is much better for work calls. I can type notes as I listen to it, the sound quality is better and it does not require there to be a charged battery so more reliable. Someone spent 15 minutes the other week trying to get me to be able to see his screen whilst we did a call on the mobile and it didn't work for anyone and he was paying for my time, when we could have just had a normal landline call much better.

Fight back for landlines. Resist any state attempts to force us off them. let battle commence.

(starting with digital VAT in April where I suspect when they get round to telling us what products we will be forced to buy most of them will be based on mobles mandated by HMRC - hope not..)

I would never default to phoning someone on their landline, because a lot of people no longer use them at all, or expressly prefer their mobile.

As someone who has to call people during the day, yabu. I cringe when I see a landline listed, as no one ever answers it, and it turns into an endless game of phone tag. I don't have time for that!

I want a man to walk on front of my car waving a flag to make people aware that I'm coming. It makes no difference that I have to drive at 3mph and inconvenience other people. This is how it used to be and this is what I want, dammit!

Easy. Just stop providing your mobile number. And when someone calls you on your mobile just ask them to remove your mobile number from their database and just use your landline.

I've done the opposite to ensure I only get called on my mobile.