Call Waiting

[catnapper]

I was thinking today about call waiting. It seems everyone has different opinions and ways of using their caller ID. I want to see how everyone here uses it, what their felings are.

I have a love/hate relationship with call waiting. I NEVER pick up call waiting. If I see its a call I've been waiting for, I'll say to whomever I'm speaking with "oops, so-and-so is on the line, I'll call you back." and hang up. I NEVER EVER put that person on hold to either leave them there for 10 minutes, or pick up the other line only to return to them to say "I'll call you back". Seems pointless either way -- either way I end up calling caller #1 back after I finish the conversation with caller #2.

My boss on the other hand drives me NUTS. She has caller ID, just like I do, KNOWS who is calling but ALWAYS puts me on hold to come back and say "oo, thats so-and-so on the line, I'll have to call you back." Half the time she puts me on hold and I just hang up... then she calls me back miffed that I didn't hold long enough!

The other day I was with her, and she had just placed a cold call to a potential client and said "Hi my name is XXX and I am from XXX company.... could you hold for a second?" she left this new client on hold just as she was introducing herself -- to answer the call waiting!!! OMG, how rude can she be? If *I* were the client, I'd have hung up on her and NOT taken the return phone call! And the call she picked up? Was EASILY one that could have left a message in voice mail or could have been called back in 5 minutes -- which is what she did, she told the guy "I have a client on the line, can I call you back in 5 minutes?"

So, whats your take on call waiting? Do you use it? Are you a call waiting junkie?

[prechrswife]

We don't have it at all. When I did have it, if it was a long-distance call coming in, I might tell the person I was talking to that I would call them back and go on and end the call. If it was local and the current call was not extremely important, I might click over and tell the incoming caller that I would call him/her back. If I was on an important or long-distance call, I would ignore the call waiting. Personally, I don't really like it.

[sirrahbed]

I totally HATE it and won't have it. I do not get that many phone calls though. Maybe when my kids were younger I would have tolerated it - like to hear from their schools, etc - if I spent much time on the phone...so I can see how some folks might need it if used politely and only for urgent calls.

But hate it - YES!!

[chocolatepuppy]

I avoid calling people who have call waiting. My time is valuable to me. I get a call from so and so, 5 minutes into the call, "oh can you hold?" Two minutes sitting there on the phone! OR they say "oh I have to take this call bye!"
And those same people who do that to me, I call them and their phone rings and rings, answering machine doesn't pick up so that tells me they're on the phone and not putting someone else on hold like they did me!

[Pam]

I never used to see the need for it, but I have it now and am happy that I do. There have been times that I might have missed a call that was important to me. I think the people who abuse call waiting are probably the same people who have poor etiquette in other areas of their life.

Another area where I have changed my mind is cell phones. I always hate to hear people having conversations in grocery stores, etc. on their cells. Well a couple of weeks ago I received an important call from the facility where my mom is a resident and found myself answering my cell in Kohl's. I was so glad they were able to reach me. There I was talking on the phone in a store - one of my own pet peeves about other people. LOL! I did keep it short and talked in low tones but it pointed up to me that there are exceptions even to my own way of thinking now!

[Samantha Puppy]

I use it, but I use it politely.

If I'm on the phone with someone and I've been waiting for a call and that call beeps in, I'll say to the person with whom I'm currently chatting - "Hey, I've been waiting for this call - can I call you back in X minutes?" I never put anyone on hold UNLESS the call beeping in is something I know I'll be saying "Hey, I'm on the other line with so-and-so - I'll call you back in a few"... like if I'm on the phone with my best friend and my mom calls. Mostly because if I didn't answer the home phone line when she called, she'd call my cell and bug me there so I nip it in the bud while I can.

As for work, I'm the receptionist so I'm usually just routing calls to the correct person all day.

[QueenScoopalot]

I love call waiting, but find it very rude to keep caller #1 on hold to take call #2! If it's an important call that I need to take, I tell caller #1 that I'll call them back, but many times I let call #2 go to voicemail. How very rude of your boss to call someone else, and then leave them hanging like that! I agree..that's a quick way to end a potential client!

[slick]

My SIL has call waiting and very often she will say "could you hold a minute? My other line is ringing." I just hang up. As far as I'm concerned, it's just a polite way of saying "Excuse me but the other line is ringing and it might be someone more important than you and someone I'd rather talk to. So let me put you on hold and I'll get back to you IF I want to talk to you." Can you tell how much I hate it?

I will never, ever have call waiting. If I'm talking to you on the phone, I will give you my full attention.

I do, however, have call display and screen my calls and always instruct people to start leaving a message so I know who it is and can pick up. With so many telemarketers out there, if I dont' recognize the phone number, I let the answering machine get it.

[NoahsMommy]

The only reason I have call waiting is so that I don't miss a call...like from mom or something important while I'm talking. Like you, I usually don't put the people on hold, unless its a quick "give me an answer or time" call. I'll have the call waiting person leave a message or I'll call the person I'm on the phone with back.

I DO have caller ID and wont pick up the phone unless I know who it is. MUCH easier to avoid telemarketers that way.

[moosmom]

I used to have call waiting. It was okay but I think it's kinda rude to interrupt a phone call to answer another one. That is unless it's necessary. I had it when my daughter had cancer and it was convenient. But now all my friends know that if my phone is busy, it means I'm either on it, or on the computer and to call my cellphone, as it is on 24/7.

[kuhio98]

I just signed up for a new phone service on Friday. The package include caller ID and call waiting. I declined both and they knocked off $15 a month. ($180 a year that I can use for kitties in need instead of useless phone features). So, I am a happy camper. I don't have any problem with caller ID. I'm sure some people have a need to screen their calls.

I refuse to hold for call waiting. I think it is very rude. I only have one friend who puts people on hold when she gets another call. When she tells me she's putting me on hold, I say "No, thank you. Call me back when you have time to talk." Then I hang up. Most of the time she calls me back (hours) later. It might be harder to do with your boss though. I hate call waiting. It is rude. It makes me feel like the other person is waiting to "get a better offer". Thanks, but no thanks.

[grybai]

I don't have a home phone but I do use call waiting and caller ID on my cellphone. I never put anyone on hold but if I'm just chatting with a friend (mainly Laura) I'll tell them I have to call them back if I get an important call. However in most cases, I usually let caller #2 leave a voicemail.

I hate being put on hold so usually I just hang up and wait for them to call me back.

[jazzcat]

I finally got call waiting when my mother became very ill a couple of years ago and I needed to be reachable if anything came up. Now that my Dad lives alone and I care for him I especially need it. It's been nice to have for that reason alone. I have caller ID so if it's not a number I recognize or it's obviously a telemarketer I just don't answer it.

I do have a gripe with people who have it and don't answer when I call. If they don't answer and it just rings and rings then how I am suppose to leave a message if it's important. My sister in law has two teenage daughters who refuse to answer call waiting when they are on unless it's their friends. It really gets on my nerves when I call and no one picks up and I can't leave a message on a machine or voicemail so I have to keep calliing until I finally get something to pick up. UGH!

[luvofallhorses]

We have call waiting and I HATE it. It's rude for someone to call when you are having an important conversation w/ someone or a conversation w/ someone you hardly get to talk to. I hate the phone, period.

[Toby's my baby]

We dont have call waiting, but we used to. I hardly ever used the waiting part, but we had it so you could do three way calling, and i used that a lot, till i got in trouble from the phone bill. I dont mind other people who have call waiting, I just dont like it sometimes because my best friend has it and i am on the phone with her all the time. And when someone like her brother calls and wants to talk to her mom or something, she says "someones calling" and then I wait for 15 min. while her mom is on the phone, yes i wait, becuse a i have nothing better to do, but I wish sometimes people would just say, hey, my brother is on the other line, and he really needs to talk to my mom, can i call you back in a few min. so you dont have to sit there. Other wise i dont mind it at all, i think it is a good way to solve a lot of missed calls.