4 ms·

> Seriously, who's picking up those calls? People who don't live in countries where the problem is this bad? I'm in the UK and I get about 1 unsolicited call

> Seriously, who's picking up those calls? People who don't live in countries where the problem is this bad? I'm in the UK and I get about 1 unsolicited call a month. If I didn't pick up numbers I didn't recognize I would have missed my Doctor (this week), several new client leads and multiple friends and acquaintences that changed their number.

throwaway201103 6y ago
Also people older than ~60 who still have a landline at home, and grew up without caller-id. Answering unknown phone calls was normal, because you never knew who the caller was.
- pmiller2 6y ago
  You don’t have to be 60+ to have grown up without caller ID. I’m much younger than that, and we certainly didn’t have it for at least most of my childhood. However, I do not have a landline at home now, and have not in many years.
- rjsw 6y ago
  In the UK, doctors don't provide caller-id, not even the number of a hospital switchboard.
mason55 6y ago
Wouldn’t all those people leave voicemails?
- randomchars 6y ago
  In some countries, voicemail is not a thing.
- andybak 6y ago
  I guess so but I loathe voicemail more than I loathe the occasional marketing call. It's easier to just answer given the overall chance of it being a waste of time.
  - pmiller2 6y ago
    Just let your voicemail fill up, if it bothers you that much. If you miss an important call, it will show up as a missed call on your phone.
  - bentcorner 6y ago
    This is getting really off topic but I also don't answer calls unless I know them. My mobile voicemail is redirected to my Google Voice # and the automatic transcription is good enough that I usually don't need to listen to the actual voicemail. You might want to give that a try.
    - andybak 6y ago
      No Google Voice outside the US and I've never found a satisfactory alternative.
tomjakubowski 6y ago
If US presidential election pollster cold calls are reaching voters in the UK, things are really screwed up.
- andybak 6y ago
  I'm not suggesting that. I was suggesting that unsolicited calls in general aren't that bad in the UK. We have our own pollsters you know!
pas 6y ago
I don't pick up unknown numbers, I call them back a bit later. If the number turns out to belong to a call center, great, I just hang up. If it's a real person, sure, let's chat. If somebody really wants something, they'll call again. Also, sending an SMS to the unknown number and asking for a name works wonders. If someone really wants something they will take the time to type.

throwaway201103 6y ago

Also people older than ~60 who still have a landline at home, and grew up without caller-id. Answering unknown phone calls was normal, because you never knew who the caller was.

pmiller2 6y ago
You don’t have to be 60+ to have grown up without caller ID. I’m much younger than that, and we certainly didn’t have it for at least most of my childhood. However, I do not have a landline at home now, and have not in many years.
rjsw 6y ago
In the UK, doctors don't provide caller-id, not even the number of a hospital switchboard.

mason55 6y ago

Wouldn’t all those people leave voicemails?

randomchars 6y ago
In some countries, voicemail is not a thing.
andybak 6y ago
I guess so but I loathe voicemail more than I loathe the occasional marketing call. It's easier to just answer given the overall chance of it being a waste of time.
- pmiller2 6y ago
  Just let your voicemail fill up, if it bothers you that much. If you miss an important call, it will show up as a missed call on your phone.
- bentcorner 6y ago
  This is getting really off topic but I also don't answer calls unless I know them. My mobile voicemail is redirected to my Google Voice # and the automatic transcription is good enough that I usually don't need to listen to the actual voicemail. You might want to give that a try.
  - andybak 6y ago
    No Google Voice outside the US and I've never found a satisfactory alternative.

tomjakubowski 6y ago

If US presidential election pollster cold calls are reaching voters in the UK, things are really screwed up.

andybak 6y ago
I'm not suggesting that. I was suggesting that unsolicited calls in general aren't that bad in the UK. We have our own pollsters you know!

pas 6y ago

I don't pick up unknown numbers, I call them back a bit later. If the number turns out to belong to a call center, great, I just hang up. If it's a real person, sure, let's chat. If somebody really wants something, they'll call again. Also, sending an SMS to the unknown number and asking for a name works wonders. If someone really wants something they will take the time to type.