Yesterday morning I had to pay a few bills online when I got to work. The only problem was, I got a new computer there and all of my passwords were saved on the old machine. I couldn't remember the one for my credit card. So I hit the little button that said 'lost password' and they asked me some security questions.
Only problem was, I don't think I ever filled out the security answers before. So it was asking me things like my mom's maiden name and the city I was born in. And when I put the correct answers in, it kept telling me they were wrong. Probably because I never gave them the answers! But after a few tries it locked me out entirely assuming I was a hacker with very poor skills.
So I had to call the customer service number and have them help me out. This nice southern lady answered the phone (thank God for an English speaking person!) though she had a very thick accent so it was still hard to understand her. But I explained to her my situation about getting a new computer and having my passwords saved on the old one. And she launched into a story about her 70 year old mother getting a computer, and her uncle Hugo, and some address book with code words in it listing her passwords. But no one would ever know that's what it was.
And on and on and on. She talked for about 10 minutes about her family and the special password address book, and her uncle Hugo's phone problems. Honestly, it was sweet that she wanted to share her entire life story with me, but I had a bill to pay! And I had to remind her that I was actually calling for help and not to chit chat like we were gal pals having coffee.
It was kind of funny. But I think she must have liked me because after she helped me, she was like, "Oh I'll just stay on the line and we can talk while you set this stuff up....." And she kept right on talking to me. I almost felt bad when I told her I was all set and I was gonna go now. She was like, "are you sure there's nothing else you need?" I'm guessing she chose the job in a call center because she actually likes to talk A LOT. But hey, she helped me and was competent and friendly, so I guess I'd prefer the extra chit chat to someone being a total snotty bitch who hates their job and her life.
It's amazing how nice credit card people can be when you don't owe them money. Well I owe them money, but my bill wasn't late. So she had no reason to get tough with me and ruin my day. That's always nice.
But does this ever happen to you where you call someone like that, and they just start telling you their entire life story? It happens to me all the time.
In fact, a few days ago, I got a phone call at 6am from some lady. I didn't recognize the number, but I was barely awake so I answered it. It was a wrong number and she just said sorry and hung up. But then around 9:45pm that same night, she called me again. This time I recognized the number as the same one from the morning. So I answered.
I told her it was a wrong number yet again, and mentioned how she'd called me that morning too. Instantly she started crying and apologizing and told me that her mother was sick in the hospital and she was trying to call her aunt and kept dialing wrong. I felt horrible and told her it was totally fine. I wasn't mad. I was just pointing out that she'd called me twice. And I told her that I understood it was a hard time for her and I hoped everything was alright.
That made her explain the situation further to me and cry on my shoulder for about 5 minutes. Wow. She was a total stranger! And yet something about my voice made her want to spill her guts and talk to me.
Which reminds me of a time a few Christmas's ago. I got a phone call from a guy in England. He was looking for his friend who lived in San Francisco and apparently his number was the same as mine, except a different area code.
I offered to look in the phone book and find the right area code for him, and he was very appreciative. And we ended up chatting for about 15 minutes! I loved his accent. And he asked me how my holiday was going and what my plans were. And how was the weather in California? And we ended the call with him promising to call me next Christmas too just to chat.
Why does that happen to me? Is it just me? I guess it's a good thing that people like talking to me huh? I must have a very friendly voice.
Does this happen to anyone else?
evil_twin posted on Sep 05, 2008
| views: 297
Comments
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quietone said on Sep 05, 2008....
Only you kyle! LOL nope, can't say it happens to me! What a sweetheart you are for taking the time to listen to a total stranger and their problems! Maybe you are in the wrong profession! haha!! -
uniquely-ironic said on Sep 05, 2008....
Not just you, though I've rarely had wrong numbers want to chat me up. I spend a lot of time talking to people on the phone for work and I probably know more about their personal life than is healthy for work relations. -
wishyouwerehere said on Sep 05, 2008....
E-T - Maybe you should start a crisis help line! LOL - nope can't say this has ever happened to me, though, when I am walking down the street, especially in NYC, I am the first person people stop to ask for help, directions, etc., On planes and trains, strangers always seem to strike up conversations as well ... my bf and mom say it's cause I have a friendly face. My brother was not as kind - he said I am a freak magnet - LOL! -
vreidr said on Sep 05, 2008....
Happened once or twice, yes. One woman was so friendly I almost asked her for her number. We seemed to hit it off. -
Eilan said on Sep 05, 2008....
It's never happened to me, but my grandma once chatted for over an hour with a woman who had called her by mistake. They were both around the same age and, it turns out, knew some of the same people, so they ended up having a really nice conversation. -
the_infernal_optimist said on Sep 05, 2008....
That's pretty cool (although it can be annoying when you're trying to get something accomplished quickly)! It happens to me, too.
The part about the British guy was really neat. :) I think sometimes certain people just connect with total strangers easily because they have a certain something people are drawn to.
~Infernal
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PAPERBACKWRITER said on Sep 05, 2008....
I am chatting with Piet and was telling him of my day, dear Kyle...
I told him that I wanted to blog about this topic today, and had to smile a wide smile as I saw your title on the featured page because that is how exactly I would have chosen the title except to leave the telephone out...and just make a general declaration...yep... strangers love me too : /
When I speak in German on the phone, I am always being asked if I were American and that they like the accent (I don´t agree... I hate telephones but I have a friendly voice and you would not hear how nervous I am using it :S ).
Like wish, I am a person magnet... and that is not only in Europe (I thought being Asian etc... but this was the same when I was still at home in an Arab land etc). I just smile a courteous smile, and at the end of the chat I always have an address a telephone number (not men interested in anything... ) but mostly people who want to network, reconnect, collaborate...even offer me jobs (I read the blog of infernal - talking about the same experience) and had to smile too... the list goes on.
The downside of it is when I am not in a good place... and my face still looks friendly gah... (I remember my boss in the hotel say, even when you are upset you still look sweet - he was the sweetest boss to btw... he called me Pflaume in German which means plum... gayspeak for sweet but dreamy...lol)... and I just want to go shop for food as quick as I can, and dash home again...it is quiet comedic actually when I finally get my brain organized again to write it down!
Hope you and Natty have a fun week-end!
paper ~
edit ~
this took so long, that i gotta to say hello to infernal first in her blog before i posted this... i have so many tabs open, checking from time to time other blogs while i focus my thoughts, lol... i am such a scattered brain... and when i renew your blog in another tab... i see so many who have in the meantime already posted before me, when i have been here first, lol... i feel like a child in sports class who always say to the teacher... please let her/him jump first , lol
see, i am not a "stranger" to you but just imagining you listen, i could go on and on :P
monumental comment strikes again!
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wombat said on Sep 05, 2008....
I bet you said it there..."something about your voice." You are nice enough to do what you can to make them feel all right, and it shows in your voice even!
I've had a few things like that happen---once from a wrong number guy who started calling me every day for awhile until I put a stop to it. And when I worked as a reservations clerk for short while, I got alot of "personal talk" here and there from some men. Ahh...I know...the southern voice! Ha... (I still get that here in the northeast, being a southerner.)
That was very cool about the English guy, though!
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Battycat said on Sep 05, 2008....
It must just be you lol, its nice though that people can talk to you like that, even if its not always the right time :-) -
skald said on Sep 05, 2008....
I would love to take to you on the pone. I like your posts as always. -
Mr_Box said on Sep 05, 2008....
That's pretty funny. Especially the credit card lady. Shit, when I call them they never want to chat with me. They just want me to hand over my life savings and plead for my life.I guess that's what happens when you are late on a bill. The secret to making credit card friends is to pay on time and forget your password :-PI'll remember that.But I do think people just like talking to you. You have a friendly tone in your voice and you're always polite. Most people wouldn't let a stranger chat their ear off. Especially if it's a wrong number.So they obviously find you a caring person that they can't help but talk to. It's pretty cool, man. -
evil_twin said on Sep 05, 2008....
quietone--Maybe I should become a therapist huh? But I seem to do my best work on the phone!
uniquely--I sometimes get work related calls that turn into chats about things I probably don't need to know either!
wishy--I always seem to be the one people ask for directions from too. I guess we both must have friendly faces huh? :-) But yeah, sometimes 'freak magnet' is a more accurate term!
vreidr--At least it's not just me!
Eilan--It's funny how that happens isn't it?
Infernal--I think you're right that sometimes people just have a quality that other people are drawn to. If so, I guess I'm pretty lucky :-)
Paper--Well it's a good thing that you still have a friendly face even if you're not feeling so good. I think mine is the same way. Most people don't ever know if I'm feeling down, because I still smile.
wombat--I do try to be nice to everyone, and I guess it does show in my voice! At least no one has kept calling me over and over, because that could be annoying huh?
batty--Yeah usually it's kind of nice, except when I just want to pay my bill and move on!
skald--Thank you :-) I'm glad you enjoy my posts.
Mr. Box--Yeah the credit card people are a lot more friendly if you actually pay them on time. Otherwise, they get cranky! But thanks for thinking I'm caring to people, because I certainly try to be.
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MsStar39 said on Sep 05, 2008....
This type of things happen to me all the time too. One service rep, ended up getting my email and we continue to stay in touch, People will just come up and start taking and telling me their life stories , when I am traveling I usually always have the same thing happen, I have had different people plus my husband call me a Nut magnt. -
hotaka said on Sep 05, 2008....
It happened to me once or twice but not quite to the extent that it happened to you. I may have had a minute's exchange of free dialogue but never 5 to 10 minutes. I guess I don't find it quite so surprising, especially since it's you, as it seems unusual.
It reminds of this thing I heard on the radio many years ago where this guy calls up an old woman and starts screaming at her about her dumping her lawn clippings and rubbish into his yard and into his pool. The woman taken by surprise soon gets angry and yells back. He calls her back twice and she gets angry right from the start the next two times. Then he calls her back to say how sorry he is because he realized he had the wrong number. She continues yelling at him and hangs up. He calls back again to apologize more and she's still angry. I felt sorry for her because it was a practical joke but it was kind of funny.
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Twylarants said on Sep 05, 2008....
I'm sorry to say it doesn't happen to me. Kyle. I don't look friendly or sound friendly.
People approach me very apprehensively, but it's my face...I can't help it. And I sound curt, short, on the phone. Again, I can't help it.
In case anyone out there ever runs into me, I am very friendly! I neither look nor sound friendly....that's how you'll know it's me, ok? Look for the unfriendliest, yet still rather attractive, looking woman and say "Twyla? Is that you?"
Thank you.
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stoic_dreamer said on Sep 05, 2008....
Ha ha. That's funny. Guess you're lucky and just have a nice voice. I'm not sure about all call centers, but at least the one I worked for monitored us on two things... number of calls and time spent talking on the phone per hour. The number of calls can be easily manipulated by a few calls to your neighbor or writing down a number that's been disconnected and dialing it multiple times. After that, you're just looking for someone who will stay on the phone for 20 minutes to keep your time spent talking up. :-)
Oh... and the Christmas part is really sweet.
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hotaka said on Sep 06, 2008....
Of course, it might be fun when someone calls you to ask lots of questions. Instead of hanging up on telemarketers have a bit of fun and ask them all the same questions. Answer curtly and ask, "How about you?" Then keep asking them more questions and see how much they answer. -
PAPERBACKWRITER said on Sep 06, 2008....
I forgot to ask, is the English guy still calling you every Christmas?
:) Just curious,
paper ~
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scipio said on Sep 06, 2008....
I had a couple of misdialled numbers.
Once when I answered a wrong number - the guy at the other end answered back " then why did you pick it up ? ".
I did not say anything then - but after I put the phone down - I had a good laugh.
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Mamie said on Sep 06, 2008....
huh! I am not surprised! I like talking to you and I have not ever heard your voice:))) I can chat it up with just about anyone too, I wonder if people have said that about me, that they just wanted to ask me something and I chatted on and on and on...oh, well, like I was sayin.....hehe -
queenparanoia said on Sep 06, 2008....
dude i work in a call center business... i might talk to you!!! well cuz our account is an american company... hmmmm. who knows... it might be possible!!! well maybe that's because you have a sweet voice... that's why the girl ended up talking her life to you... ;-)
p.s.
call center is more harder than you think... and yeah i know most of call centers are now in some third world countries... and you know what it helps a lot... it's hard cuz were dealing with angry customers... so i'm glad that in a way youre a nice to her... ;-)
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polarheart said on Sep 06, 2008....
Twinny, it has happened to me, but not recently I must admit. I have had guys calling wrong numbers try to chat me up about 3 or so times before. . .its quite funny :-))
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Fallyn said on Sep 06, 2008....
This has happened to me.....i remember awhile back there was a wrong number and he and i hit it off pretty well. .....things didn't go south till we figured out how old each other was and he was like 20 years older than me. :P he said he'd rather talk to me than the person he was calling.
oh well.
and i have conversations with strangers all the time.
a friend of mine used to work the call center for comcast. He's not a real handsome guy but he has a voice to swoon over. He used to get asked out all the time....at least 2 or 3 times a day.
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evil_twin said on Sep 06, 2008....
MsStar--I can definitely be a nut magnet too! But for the most part, I guess it's pretty cool that people seem to like talking to us isn't it?
hotaka--So unusual things happening sound about right because it's me they're happening to? :-P I guess you're right! My life is definitely not typical most of the time. I've always wanted to talk to telemarketers and ask them questions, but usually I don't bother to answer the phone with them if I can help it!
twyla--You cracked me up :-P So if I see an attractive woman with a scowl on her face and a curt voice, that's you? I'll remember that!
stoic--That's interesting that you have to log a certain amount of time on the phone when you work for a call center. That could be why she wanted to keep talking to me. That makes sense!
paper--You know, he never did call me back. I thought it would have been great if he did, but I'm sure he either forgot or never intended to do it. But he was still a nice person and the conversation was fun while it lasted!
scipio--That is funny! Sounds like someone was just having some prank calling fun.
Mamie--I'm glad you like talking to me :-) And I'm guilty too of going on and on when someone asks me something. I am talker! But usually not with strangers on the phone that I've never met :-P
queen--That's right, you do work for a call center huh? I might talk to you sometime! That would be really interesting if it happened like that. I try to always be polite to those people, even if I can't understand them very well. But I know they're just doing their jobs the best they can. I don't think I could do your job! I wouldn't like dealing with angry customers either.
polar--You must have a really good voice too if men try to chat you up with a wrong number!
fallyn--I suppose it would be a shocker to learn that the person you hit it off with was 20 years older than you! It's hard sometimes to tell how old a person is just by their voice. But your friend must have enjoyed all the attention his good voice got him on the phone :-P
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polarheart said on Sep 07, 2008....
Twinny, well you can judge that for yourself on the post Skald did with a recording of her, my and Quietone's voices. LOL! But I have been told my more than one person in the past that I have a "radio" voice. LOL! Funnily enough I would love to do radio presenting :-)
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polarheart said on Sep 07, 2008....
Here is the LINK if you missed that post. -
evil_twin said on Sep 07, 2008....
Polar--Duh, I forgot I had heard your voice before! I remember that post now. You do have a very nice voice and I love the accent :-) All of you had such sweet voices, how could I forget I'd listened to them already? I'm a little brain dead. But thanks for putting up the link again! -
polarheart said on Sep 07, 2008....
Thanks, Twinny, I am sure you have a lovely voice too :-)) -
motherofchicken said on Sep 07, 2008....
you know...this isn't nearly as interesting, but the last funny phone call from a stranger I got was this old lady called my cell and says "Yes?...." I go: "yeah?...." She goes "Well what is it?" I go " I don't know...YOU called me?", she goes "Who is this?" and I go "I DON'T KNOW! Who are YOU?...YOU CALLED ME!" And we g like this for a bit. It was SO funny. Turns out she is this old lady who was using a cell phone for the first time and she found some number in her memory, she didn't know who it belonged to so she called to to find out. She proceeded to chat for a while (on daytime minutes....grrrr) and eventually said she'll delete it from her memory, and turned to someone beside her for help..except again, she never hung up, so I could hear it all...STRANGE world!
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