why is this acceptable?

You know what I have always found immensely irritating is when you get a wrong call and the guy on the other line is rude when you tell him that there is no ‘Warren Patel here’. I am sure that he’s frustrated but I can’t understand people taking it out on the person they incorrectly called.


Just today I got a call from somebody who says

“I’m calling about that Apartment you have for rent”

I responded by saying that he must have the wrong number since I don't have an apartment for rent and before I could even finish the guy who called me just hangs up the phone.   There was no ‘excuse me’ or ‘sorry to bother you’ or even the courtesy of asking if the number he thought he dialed was mine just a guy who seemed annoyed at me for their mistake..

There is no other situation in this civilized world where it seems completely acceptable to hang up on a complete stranger for absolutely no reason other than your own inadequacies. It does remind me of a time a few years ago when I picked up the phone and although it was a wrong number the person on the other line tried to sell me life-insurance although I wasn’t the person he called for originally. I think I kept him on the line mostly out of shock since we have all come to expect that the wrong number ringer will inevitably be a total ahole.

Now I would say that at least once per month you get a call like this, I’m sure everybody does and I would guestimate that you only get a friendly response one in ten times. How does somebody justify being a dickhead when they realize that they are the ones who made the mistake and they bothered somebody who was probably hanging out with their kids or doing shopping or watching TV!