For the purposes of narrowing down the answers to these questions, we're talking about phone calls from people you know (e.g. family and friends).
1) Under what circumstances do you not answer your cell phone? And is it often that you purposefully ignore a phone call even if you could answer it?
2) If you have a missed call, what is your turnaround time for returning it? Are there calls that you don't return at all? Does it depend on the situation (yours and theirs)?
3) Do you consider it a common courtesy (or part of cell phone etiquette, as the media calls it) to return a phone call within a reasonable amount of time (or at least acknowledge you got the message in some form or fashion)?
4) If you have called someone and they didn't answer but you left a message (therefore, for them, it's a missed call), do you expect a call back within a certain amount of time? Does it depend on who the person is that you called? Are there times that you don't expect a call back?
5) Do you ever get offended or hurt when other people don't return your calls? What is your limit?
6) How do you communicate your cell phone expectations? Do you believe you communicate your cell phone expectations well? Do you think there is a difference between people's cell phone habits and their expectations (a sort of not-treating-others-how-you-would-like-to-be-treated kind of a situation)?
I want to try and be more considerate to others regarding my cell phone habits so this is more for gauging what my expectations should be and what other people's expectations are. I'm curious as to what people's expectations are for cell phone calls, missed calls, etc. So please answer cause I would love to know everyone's opinions! =)
I am the worst person ever to answer these questions b/c I am HORRIBLE when it comes to returning phone calls. Ask any of my colleagues if you don't believe me and I've still yet to figure out why. Here goes:
ReplyDelete1. it is often that i don't purposefully answer. why? no clue. sometimes i just don't feel like talking on the phone. i also never answer my phone if i don't recognize the number.
2. I return phone calls based on the importance of the need. Major need - return right away. If not, maybe a day or so?
3. Yes, I consider it common courtesy to return a phone call in a considerable amount of time. If I can't do that I usually send an email "hey I got your call - don't worry. I'll be giving you a call soon."
4. again i guess it depends on need of me - some i will say - "hey don't worry about calling me back right away" but i do expect something within a reasonable amount of time.
5. Yes i get hurt when ppl don't return my calls - but it's not too often b/c I'm horrible at returning ppl's calls. I'm usually the perpetrator. Oops.
6. I have never really thought much about cell phone etiquette in this way. I don't really communicate it I guess - we have with the leadership team at Case, but with friends - ehh, it's not that important to me. I'd rather talk about friendship expectations and that business.
However, I do believe in this - if you are the person calling someone, you lead the conversation. Nothing kills me more when someone calls me, and then is silent and doesn't lead the convo. I just wait .... and boy is it awkward. Blah! I can't handle it.
And I love texts. Verizon baby - text me whoever has verizon!
Jess, I like the new format! Please don't use my answers to gauge appropriate phone habits... I have some very bizarre fears in regards to the phone.
ReplyDelete1) Under what circumstances do you not answer your cell phone? And is it often that you purposefully ignore a phone call even if you could answer it?
I never answer a phone call that I don't expect unless I can guess why the person is calling. If I am unsure, I let my voicemail deal with the surprise. I usually don't get a ton of unexpected phone calls, so I don't ignore many of them... but if I did get a lot, I would ignore many.
2) If you have a missed call, what is your turnaround time for returning it? Are there calls that you don't return at all? Does it depend on the situation (yours and theirs)?
If it is urgent, I call right away. If it is not urgent, usually I try to find a way to respond that is polite but doesn't involve the phone. However, if I don't return the call within a few days, probably I rudely forgot about it which has gotten me into trouble in the past...
3) Do you consider it a common courtesy (or part of cell phone etiquette, as the media calls it) to return a phone call within a reasonable amount of time (or at least acknowledge you got the message in some form or fashion)?
Yes... maybe uhmm... 3 days? I guess it depends who the person is... like if I haven't talked to you in months, then maybe a week is appropriate. But again, this means any form of response... so email, IM, in person, facebook, etc.
4) If you have called someone and they didn't answer but you left a message (therefore, for them, it's a missed call), do you expect a call back within a certain amount of time? Does it depend on who the person is that you called? Are there times that you don't expect a call back?
Same answer as above.
5) Do you ever get offended or hurt when other people don't return your calls? What is your limit?
I guess I don't use my phone enough to answer. But in regards to all communications, typically I get hurt even if they ignore one... not saying that's a good reason to get hurt, but I do nonetheless.
6) How do you communicate your cell phone expectations? Do you believe you communicate your cell phone expectations well? Do you think there is a difference between people's cell phone habits and their expectations (a sort of not-treating-others-how-you-would-like-to-be-treated kind of a situation)?
I do not communicate my expectations well mostly because I'd rather people email me or talk to me in person than call me and that is a kinda weird thing to tell people...
I would say that in general most people have a tiny bit higher expectations for others than themselves... but in general I think people who want ppl to return calls also return calls themselves.
The end. =)
ooooo! my turn!
ReplyDelete1) busy or don't feel like talking. most of the time, though, it's because my phone is in a pocket of a garment that i'm not currently wearing.
2) a lot of the time, i won't return a missed call if there's no message. if someone really wants to talk or has something to talk about, they'll be a message, right?
3) as soon as possible, provided there's a message, of course.
4) i usually specify whether i want a call back or not, and usually i like to receive that call back in accordance with the matter about which i am calling. for example, if the event is tomorrow, the person i'm calling should call me back today or early tomorrow.
5) nope.
6) i usually yell at people. "DON'T TEXT ME! I GET CHARGED FOR THAT." other than that, though, sometimes i'll say something passive-aggressive if they actually pick up: "Hey! You answered!"