Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!mailrus!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: john@zygot.ati.com (John Higdon) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: 800 Wrong Numbers Message-ID: <2492@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 27 Dec 89 19:02:47 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Reply-To: John Higdon Organization: Green Hills and Cows Lines: 46 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 9, Issue 602, message 2 of 12 One of the greatest annoyances connected with subscribing to 800 service is The Wrong Number. Naturally there are those calls where you say "hello" (remember, I'm not a business) and the caller simply hangs up. But what began getting to me some time ago was the pattern that started emerging. Idiot calls to my 800 number now fall into two categories: 1. Callers wishing to reach a local (SF) ferry and public transportation service; 2. Callers wishing to reach the Hilton Hotel chain. After blowing my stack when awakened at 5:45am by a woman who said, "Isn't this ferries?" (I beg your pardon!!), I developed a new approach. The moment I realize what the person who is on the line is after, I take their reservation or give them what (made up) information they seem to be seeking. Great fun! A similar tactic is used for the Hilton callers. I used to take their confirmed reservations, but lately I have informed them that Hilton has gone Chapter 7 and that they should call 800-325-3535 for reservations at Sheraton. "Are you sure?" "Well, I answered the phone, didn't I? We're just the cleanup crew, carting stuff out of the offices." Maybe this is all a bit mean, but after all I am paying for the entertainment. John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@zygot.ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o ! [Moderator's Note: A similar situation here in Chicago several years ago was when the Hyatt Regency people opened their new, very posh hotel. A flop house of half a century here, the *Hotel Regency* was frequently getting phone calls wanting reservations at Hyatt Regency. They took the reservations, had the customer secure them with a credit card number, and cheerfully gave out their address to the naive out-of-town callers who if they showed up at Hyatt Regency were disappointed to find their reservations had never been received, even though the charge came through on their card later on....if they showed up at the Hotel Regency, they were doubly disappointed, I'm sure. And in the few cases where Hotel Regency got sued, they won every time; they had said nothing deceptive on the phone, and they had given the address of their establishment. PT]