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If someone knocks on my door and I haven't invited them over I don't even consider answering it. It doesn't matter to me what sort of uniform they are wearing.

If someone knocks on my door and I haven't invited them over I don't even consider answering it. It doesn't matter to me what sort of uniform they are wearing. The same goes phone calls. I don't understand the obligation people feel to engage in unsolicited meetings and conversations.

TeMPOraL 7y ago
> I don't understand the obligation people feel to engage in unsolicited meetings and conversations. If they get you on the line, you're going to fight against a professional liar on an uphill territory made of cultural norms and basic politeness. Turns out disengaging from a conversation isn't easy. But how do they get you on the line in the first place? Like anyone, you probably have frequent periods of time when you have a lot of errands in progress. Maybe you've ordered a bunch of things on-line, booked a trip, just sent documents to your accountant, and posted your car for sale. Any of these can face roadblocks that generate a phone call. In such periods of time, you'll be more likely to pick up that unknown number calling in, because maybe it's one of the vendors calling with an issue that can either be resolved in 30 seconds on the phone, or 2 days via e-mail. For the bad actors (marketers), it's a numbers game. Personally, I also don't take calls from numbers I don't know... except whenever I run any kind of errand remotely, which is when they usually manage to catch me (only for me to wait until they tell me what they want, at which point I hang up).
- praptak 7y ago
  Just say "hang on a minute" and mute the phone without disconnecting. Waste more of their time than they wasted of yours.
  - ganstyles 7y ago
    I do this to some extent. Usually if they get me on the line, I have them wait, then come back after a few minutes, then have them wait, pretend I can't hear them well, pretend I don't understand their questions, etc. It's a bit of a burden, but kind of fun. But really my reasoning is that if they weren't on the phone with me, someone who won't fall for their scam, they would be on the phone with someone more likely to fall for their scam, so better me waste some of my time and have a little fun than the next person losing a bunch of money to a scam.
    - Moru 7y ago
      If you answer the call at all you will be put on the "Answers calls" list and sold to the next company. It's a way of cleaning calling lists from dead numbers.
- StanislavPetrov 7y ago
  >. In such periods of time, you'll be more likely to pick up that unknown number calling in, because maybe it's one of the vendors calling with an issue that can either be resolved in 30 seconds on the phone, or 2 days via e-mail. I haven't picked up an unsolicited phone call or answered the door in 25 years and I never had a problem with it.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
1123581321 7y ago
Learning to say no to solicitors gives you the freedom to make new connections with your neighbors. People enjoy that freedom.
miguelmota 7y ago
I second this. If I’m not expecting it then I don’t bother. If something is important then they'll call a second time and leave a voicemail or come knocking again but that has rarely happened.
s17n 7y ago
Because a world in which people are unwilling to answer their doors is depressing, and answering the door is only going to cost you like 30 seconds of your time.
copperx 7y ago
I get what you're saying, but I get irate at people who don't answer calls from unknown numbers. Spam or soliciting? Hang up and block caller. It doesn't take more than 5 seconds. I've been in situations when I don't have access to my cell phone and I need help from friends, so I call from a stranger's cellphone. I never get an answer. I have to text them from the stranger's phone (and see their text messages), wait for them to see the message, then accept the call. It's incredibly frustrating.
- ganstyles 7y ago
  One problem here is that by answering at all, you're confirming your phone number as one with a real live person on the end. They track this and will keep calling. Anecdotally I noticed after I stopped picking up, the number of calls I was getting decreased.
  - Jarwain 7y ago
    I like to pick up and immediately hit mute. If they say something, maybe I reply, but typically the spam callers just hang up after a few seconds. I read somewhere that picking up but not saying anything can take you off the rotation or something
    - sk5t 7y ago
      I've done the same for a span of a couple months--immediate mute, no interaction. It didn't seem to make a difference one way or other other though with regard to call frequency.
    - Moru 7y ago
      It's just a machine calling. If you pick up and make a sound, you will be immediatelly connected to a person. If no person is available it will just drop the call and call again later. Only way is to not answer.
- noizejoy 7y ago
  I maintain voicemail for that purpose and would call you right back. And call blocking doesn’t work well, since caller id is easily spoofed.

TeMPOraL 7y ago

> I don't understand the obligation people feel to engage in unsolicited meetings and conversations. If they get you on the line, you're going to fight against a professional liar on an uphill territory made of cultural norms and basic politeness. Turns out disengaging from a conversation isn't easy. But how do they get you on the line in the first place? Like anyone, you probably have frequent periods of time when you have a lot of errands in progress. Maybe you've ordered a bunch of things on-line, booked a trip, just sent documents to your accountant, and posted your car for sale. Any of these can face roadblocks that generate a phone call. In such periods of time, you'll be more likely to pick up that unknown number calling in, because maybe it's one of the vendors calling with an issue that can either be resolved in 30 seconds on the phone, or 2 days via e-mail. For the bad actors (marketers), it's a numbers game. Personally, I also don't take calls from numbers I don't know... except whenever I run any kind of errand remotely, which is when they usually manage to catch me (only for me to wait until they tell me what they want, at which point I hang up).

praptak 7y ago
Just say "hang on a minute" and mute the phone without disconnecting. Waste more of their time than they wasted of yours.
- ganstyles 7y ago
  I do this to some extent. Usually if they get me on the line, I have them wait, then come back after a few minutes, then have them wait, pretend I can't hear them well, pretend I don't understand their questions, etc. It's a bit of a burden, but kind of fun. But really my reasoning is that if they weren't on the phone with me, someone who won't fall for their scam, they would be on the phone with someone more likely to fall for their scam, so better me waste some of my time and have a little fun than the next person losing a bunch of money to a scam.
  - Moru 7y ago
    If you answer the call at all you will be put on the "Answers calls" list and sold to the next company. It's a way of cleaning calling lists from dead numbers.
StanislavPetrov 7y ago
>. In such periods of time, you'll be more likely to pick up that unknown number calling in, because maybe it's one of the vendors calling with an issue that can either be resolved in 30 seconds on the phone, or 2 days via e-mail. I haven't picked up an unsolicited phone call or answered the door in 25 years and I never had a problem with it.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]

1123581321 7y ago

Learning to say no to solicitors gives you the freedom to make new connections with your neighbors. People enjoy that freedom.

miguelmota 7y ago

I second this. If I’m not expecting it then I don’t bother. If something is important then they'll call a second time and leave a voicemail or come knocking again but that has rarely happened.

s17n 7y ago

Because a world in which people are unwilling to answer their doors is depressing, and answering the door is only going to cost you like 30 seconds of your time.

copperx 7y ago

I get what you're saying, but I get irate at people who don't answer calls from unknown numbers. Spam or soliciting? Hang up and block caller. It doesn't take more than 5 seconds. I've been in situations when I don't have access to my cell phone and I need help from friends, so I call from a stranger's cellphone. I never get an answer. I have to text them from the stranger's phone (and see their text messages), wait for them to see the message, then accept the call. It's incredibly frustrating.

ganstyles 7y ago
One problem here is that by answering at all, you're confirming your phone number as one with a real live person on the end. They track this and will keep calling. Anecdotally I noticed after I stopped picking up, the number of calls I was getting decreased.
- Jarwain 7y ago
  I like to pick up and immediately hit mute. If they say something, maybe I reply, but typically the spam callers just hang up after a few seconds. I read somewhere that picking up but not saying anything can take you off the rotation or something
  - sk5t 7y ago
    I've done the same for a span of a couple months--immediate mute, no interaction. It didn't seem to make a difference one way or other other though with regard to call frequency.
  - Moru 7y ago
    It's just a machine calling. If you pick up and make a sound, you will be immediatelly connected to a person. If no person is available it will just drop the call and call again later. Only way is to not answer.
noizejoy 7y ago
I maintain voicemail for that purpose and would call you right back. And call blocking doesn’t work well, since caller id is easily spoofed.