It really sucks when your phone # is one digit away from the Holiday Inn.

[Sannum]

No I am not Guest Reservations. I don't know what happened to the mini-bar. I don't have any idea if you left anything in your room. It is really fun when I get calls at 4AM from a screaming business traveler wanting to know how to get here from the airport with him claiming that I am sleeping on the job.:crazy:

Geez.

[wtmusic]

1. I suppose the fun has worn off

of telling people if they don't like it, they can shove the mini-bar up their ass... :evilgrin:

[Democrat 4 Ever]

5. My phone number was once a very popular pediatric doctor's home #.

I get his phone calls all night, weekend, holidays, etc. (I have a home based business - arrgh!) Now I've had this number for over 10 years but apparently no one ever updates their records - especially the local hospital. The pediatric ward and the emergency room call a lot at night. Doesn't matter how many times I've told them to update their records and change the number they still call. I've called the doctor's office and asked them to send out a memo of their new number. They have but still no luck. The really fun ones are from frantic parents who think I'm the wife who just doesn't want to disturb the good doctor's sleep. They just beg me to wake him up. (You can always tell the new parents.) I do not have a clue why he changed his number - too many calls at night?

I chose this number because it has the name of my business spelled out in the digits - good on business cards, etc. so I hate to change it. I've put up with it now forever and the calls have slacked off to about 3-4 a month rather than every dang night but still...!

[wtmusic]

10. Very frustrating

My number is close to some real estate seminar guru's, and my number was actually printed in some of his literature. When I asked his office to correct it, they were very flip, so I figure anything goes.

Now when people call I say he can be reached through the Department of Corrections, that "we don't deal with nickel-and-dime players" etc.
The possibilities are endless. :D

[matcom]

2. got you beat

ours is one # away from a locak pharmacy. little old ladies telling me about their goiter before i can get a word in to tell them i can't help.

one old chap last week had HORRIBLE hemmoroids aparently :scared:

[caty]

4. Oh my!

Ours is one number away from an elderly lady named Dorothy, who's best friend calls her several times a day. When I get the call my mistake, I just say as kindly as I can, "No, you have the wrong number. That's o.k. Bye". No matter how many times it happens, I just can't bring myself to be rude. The lady always sounds so sweet.

[DS1]

22. habanero enema

They'll stop calling

[phaseolus]

3. Long, long time ago

...in Milwaukee, a radio station changed its format. It was now "Star 95", they were giving away $10,000 to the 95th caller on their first day, and their contest/request line was 964-STAR. My phone number at the time was 964-TSAR.

They started taking calls at around 5 AM, answering a few calls every hour, and my telephone never stopped ringing. For a while I amused myself by answering "Heyhowyadointoday, GUESS WHAT???!?!?!?" in my best announcer's voice...

[LynneSin]

6. When I lived in Bucks county, my number was 1-digit from a tax lawyer

I'd come home and have these log-winded replies on my answering machine with people crying their eyes out because of some sort of tax trouble they were in

[Mojambo]

7. At least you're not Filk.

Seinfelders will get that one.

[mark11727]

8. Two quick stories ---

(1) Before I was married, our phone number was very close to the local car repair (the exchange number was very similar, and the number was identical) --- so we were constantly getting phone calls inquiring if their car was done yet. Most callers were friendly enough, but one day, no matter what I said, or how I tried to tell him that HE WAS CALLING THE WRONG NUMBER, this really irate asshole just wouldn't give up.

"WHERE'S MY CAR, G*DDAMMIT," he screamed.

"You win. It's ready. Come pick it up." :evilgrin:

************************************

(2) Fast forward to modern times. The Home Depot regional office in New Jersey has an area code identical to our local exchange number here on Long Island (nice going, Verizon) --- if a customer tries to call Home-D without first dialing "1" for an out-of-area code number, all additional digits after the initial seven numbers are ignored, and WE GET THE CALL.

Six in the morning, people calling up, yakking about sheetrock.

Jeebus. :eyes:

[jonnyblitz]

9. our house phone is one digit off from Norwich cab in CT

one time a person called for a cab and my sister recognized the guy as somebody who worked at the pool supplies/repair store so she went out and gave him a ride home from the bar he was at(for free)....:shrug:

[motely36]

11. My number is very close to a Credit Union

So, believe it or not, I have people call and leave messages that include their bank account number.

I also get calls for a popular restuarant from people wanting to make reservations.

[Gormy Cuss]

12. same name as a local plumber

His listing was in bold and said plumber, but at least once a month I'd get a call intended for him.

Most people apologized, but a few callers who were trying to locate him after hours thought they had cleverly found his home number and accused me of lying. These were always late night or early morning calls that woke me up. Those people got my expert plumbing opinions.
:evilgrin:

[Jokerman]

13. Even worse, a nursing home front desk.

We used to get calls all the time asking if the mail was in or if they could have guests for dinner. Thing that bugged me most was how rude many of these senior citizens could be. I was always polite and tried to help them reach the correct number but some would just hang up on me, others would refuse to believe me and a couple even cursed at me.

[LibertyLover]

14. Telephone numbers

My extension at the office is one digit off from the visa processing office. Several times a month I get a phone call from some irate investment officer or his/her assistant demanding to know where in the process of getting a visa for, say Vietnam, so-and-so's passport is. All this after I have answered the call with my name and Legal Department. I usually am polite and suggest that they re-dial or offer to transfer them, but one day I got this real charmer on the line. He demanded to know where his passport was and when it would be ready for pick up. When I said in my best apologetic tones that he had reached the Legal Department not the Travel Department and I honestly couldn't tell him, he blew, accused me of incompetence, stupidity and lying and slammed the phone down after vowing to make sure I paid for my sins with my job. Luckily I have caller ID on my phone, so I knew who it was. I went directly to my chief counsel and reported the call. He called the individual in question and asked if he had just made a call to the Visa office. Yes, the IO replied and the person I talked to was incompetent, lazy, stupid, impolite and I'm going to do something about it. My boss then told him that he had contacted the Legal department, had spoken with me, that I was one of most intelligent and polite individuals in the office and he did not take kindly to the threats being made. The Charmer completely changed tacks and apologized profusely for having made an incorrect call. My boss than called his boss and reported the conversations. I got a verbal and a written apology from both the Charmer, his manager and his director. And the Visa office got reorganized and now has a different number so I get a lot fewer visa calls.

[Rising Phoenix]

15. I feel for you...

Mine is one digit away from Walgreens, which is open 24 hours, sucks.

[CBHagman]

16. What's worse: callers who won't admit misdialing.

I used to work for a store where one of our lines was one or two digits off from a local insurance company. People paid no attention when someone answered the phone, "Record Theatre. May I help you?" The callers would just launch into a discussion of their health issues before we could stop them.

And then when I would point out that they probably meant to dial such-and-such a number, they would angrily insist, "But that's what I dialed!" No, they hadn't, or I wouldn't be talking to them.

I've had the same phone number for 10 years, and for a good part of that 10 years I got calls from what I'd call the Doreen People. Someone would call and ask for Doreen. The only Doreen I've ever even heard of is the Mouseketeer, and she doesn't live in my apartment.

One of my co-workers brightly suggested that perhaps my number once belonged to Doreen. :eyes: Yeah, and the same guy calls me for eight years, asking to speak to Doreen? I finally asked this one guy what number he wanted. Turned out he was reversing two digits in another number. I no longer get those calls.

[northzax]

17. when I got my most recent cell number

in 1999, it was apparently recycled from a drug dealer, for a couple of years, I'd get calls at 2 am, from strung out junkies, desperatly needing to talk to Daryl.

[SOteric]

18. The phone company in this area will happily change your number

at no charge. I know. I used to have the number of a video rental place. I'd get the most alarming inquiries for a single woman living alone.

[redqueen]

19. Oh that must be awful!

My work number is a different area code than this place called the Dance Academy... I get their calls all the time. Thankfully, it doesn't happen in the middle of the night.

:pals:

[Lone_Star_Dem]

20. The first number they gave me was one off from the local pizza delivery

If I had been thinking on my toes I could have made a fortune selling pizzas! :D

[texas1928]

21. Ours was one number off from the Pizza Hut.

I used to take orders.

[MrScorpio]

23. My number used to be the Arby's

Actually, it was a couple of digits off.

"Hey, did you know that we are giving away free roast beef sandwiches? Hurry on down. Ask for Jeff, the manager."