To get the rage when companies or organisations give you a hard time for not picking up your phone?

[Thepeopleversuswork]

I've had loads of this recently where companies or organisations call you for whatever reason: sales or responding to enquiries or calling to schedule appointments...

And when you pick up the person says, huffily: "We tried to call you several times but you don't answer your phone."

Someone called me today from Virgin Media trying to flog a TV package. I don't usually pick up but this came from a new number. When I did answer they said: "We have contacted you several times and you seem not to answer your phone." And last week from my dentist, of all things, chasing responses to a customer survey and again it was "why haven't you responded?".

As if people are sitting on the arses for eight hours a day waiting for incoming calls from sales people. I'm lucky if I can get the urgent stuff I need to do in the day for my paid job, let alone indulge people who want to take up my time trying to sell me shit.

I find it astonishing how lacking in basic human psychology people are. If you cold call someone surely its basic courtesy not to assume that they are obliged to give you their time?

The attitude is really annoying, but, I work in an area that calls people back about enquiries or from messages and we always ask for a time that's convenient - and people don't answer the phone, and then call in the next day and moan that we hadn't done enough to try and contact them. I'll try a couple of times and then move on to my next job and maybe try again later if I have time, or they'll say anytime and then not answer on the 5 times I try two days running and then send a message saying no one has got back to them......
But those are different to someone cold calling and getting huffy when you don't answer the phone, I've had a few of those and even when you say it's not convenient or you're at work they carry on! I feel rude hanging up the phone but they'd get my attention - and maybe a sale if they sent me an email because I can read/reply in my own time.

@Maverickess Yeah I do get it, its a no win. My partner works in IT support and this happens all the time: people don't make themselves available to get their problems fixed and then they moan about not getting them fixed.

But I do think at a basic level if you're cold-calling someone you shouldn't have the demeanour that the busy person at the end of the line is expected to prioritise this over everything else.

I worked for a company where nearly everyone was on the factory floor, so to speak, and I was the only one answering the phone. So I dealt with all the business-to-business salespeople and the experience imbued me with the superpower of not giving a shit about upsetting cold-callers.

A company called and we accepted a visit to give a quote; the salesman informed us we would get a follow-up call from "Rachel-in-the-office". When Rachel called I told her that we were interested and the contract with the current supplier expired in three months so she could call me then. She called back one month later and was pushy, so that was the end of that story, we're not buying from you. Rachel's boss phoned up, trying to lay on a guilt trip, we'd wasted their time etc. - no mate, your employee can't follow simple instructions and was a nuisance and now you're being one, so we don't want to deal with you.

I decided that there was nothing stopping me being equally ruthless with these people in my personal life. Your own time is just as important as your work time. If your dental practice are hassling you to complete a customer survey, tell them you're too busy - what are they going to do, call the police? Also, perfect the art of saying "No thanks very much" in a neutral tone and then just putting the phone down. You've said "No" politely, that's all they are entitled to.

I have literally never had such a thing happen. And if any service / organisation treated me with such disrespect then they would be hung up on. And get a formal complaint about their attitude.

The only "pushy" person I have ever dealt with was the guy from "Virgin" calling me about a new deal he could put me on and all I had to do was give him my account number, password etc. And if that wasn't a good enough reason to know it was a spam call, the fact that he rang my work mobile, which isn't on my account, would have been a dead give away. He got the whistle down the phone.