Saturday, November 01, 2008

Am I crazy?

Seriously, if I am, someone leave a comment and let me know. Because at the moment I don't know what to think.

At 7:30 this morning (remember - for those international folks reading - it's the morning after Halloween, traditionally a stay-up-all-night kind of holiday), the phone rang. I did not answer. After about ten rings, the answering machine picked up (we've got it set to not pick up right away 'cause I move kinda slow), and it was a message from the hub's shop to come in and do an inspection. The hub was still out - at a party at the neighbor's. And remember, I get migraines from lack of sleep or interrupted sleep. Sleep interrupted by things like, say, people calling my house and letting the phone ring ten times at seven thirty in the morning.

My thinking was, 1. They have his cell phone number, and 2. Nothing was on fire, melting down, or otherwise threatened with serious damage or loss of life.

I attempted to go back to sleep. The phone rang again. Ten times. They hung up before leaving a message.

Then the phone rang again.

About five phone calls into this - the Goob had been awakened by now - I picked up the phone and yelled "I DO NOT KNOW WHO YOU ARE, CALLING ANYONE AT SEVEN THIRTY IN THE MORNING AND LETTING THE PHONE RING OFF THE HOOK IS LEGALLY HARASSMENT." and hung up. The phone rang again instantly, and kept ringing.

Then the hub got a call on his cell phone - see, they had his cell phone number - and was told by a really pissed off person that he had a direct order to be at his desk in one hour or be run up the chain of command for who-knows-what. Probably having a bitch wife. I'm betting there's some regulation in there somewhere about controlling your spouse.

He called his chief, who caught a lot of this shit that was rolling down hill, but the bottom line is, they BOTH had to go into work at eight on the Saturday after Halloween, to do a routine inspection. (Not put out a fire, or scramble a reactor, or otherwise deal with an emergency. If it had been an emergency I'd have done what I could to help, like tell them where he was, and call him on his cell myself.)

I've got my full-on migraine back and am drugged to the gills. So again, I'm not claiming to be reasonable here.

Now. Is it me, or is this behavior not only TOTALLY unprofessional, but illegal - as harassment - in any and all states and probably under federal statutes? Not to mention utterly juvenile and on par with a twelve year old in a snit?

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Unprofessional, certainly. Stupid, definitely. Illegal? I tend to doubt it, since they weren't calling JUST to harass you. Now, the idiot who had his cell number and didn't use it after not reaching him at the home number in one or, at most, two tries, should be slapped. That is just common sense - if you have more than one number, try them all, stupid! Don't they say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result?

I'm thinking you need to do what my stepfather used to do for my mother after she had put in a 24-48 hour "workday" (she was a labor mediator, and was queen of the marathon session when I was a kid - nobody left the table until something got done, by God!): turn off the ringer and let the machine answer it. Leave your cell phone by the bed, and let anyone who might actually NEED to reach you know that they need to call your cell if they get the machine on the landline. Saves you headaches (literally), and keeps other people from getting screamed at. Win-win.

Verification word for this morning: europic. Foreign film, anyone?

Anonymous said...

Sorry I have to vote with Mandy, it is not illegal unless it is a marketing survey type call. Then I think they can only call between the hours of 9-9.

Unfortunately your hub will probably catch a lot of flack and I think I have heard of people in the service having to watch out for their significant other.

Pam

my word is ousaide. i think sadie means grandmother.

Sarah O G said...

I think you had every right to yell, the only person aloud to call me repeatedly is my husband and thats the only one. I would have done the same thing if we had a land line and the cells, they're lucky it wasnt me because I would have asked for someone else to speak to about it.

Hope your hubby doesnt get in too much trouble because someone wasnt bright enough to call his cell.

my word is persp, they forgot the ire

Bells said...

Yep, I doubt it's illegal.

I'm not an explosive person so can't imagine picking up the phone and yelling like that. I can see how you felt pushed to do so but it's not in my nature unless I'm seriously cornered or attacked - that said migraines and lack of sleep do all sorts of nasty things to people and we all have our breaking points.

Anonymous said...

I say turn off the damned ringer when you're that ill. It's too important that you take care of yourself...

Bunny Queen said...

I once had someone who thought they could call repeatedly like that. My mom gave me a nice loud whistle and told me to use it the next time the SOB (her word, not mine) called to just blow the whistle. Don't say anything, just whistle. When multiple people live in the house, there is no proof who was 'rude' to the caller. :)

Amy Lane said...

Just plain dumb-as-shit-fucking-asinine. Seriously. Not illegal, just stupid.

Fucker. May he get constipated for a week.

Alwen said...

Hey, Bunny Queen, my mom did that to a "breather" once when I was a kid, with a big playground whistle. She said he swore at her and said, "Are you trying to make me DEAF!??"

But he never did call back.

RobynR said...

Not crazy, not illegal (sadly), and I bet the caller is one of those nobs whose wife introduces herself at spousal functions with her husband's rank.

an said...

That was the stupidest way to get ahold of anyone I've ever heard.

Especially if they have a cell number.

I'm with you. And getting mad because of someone's wife wasn't nice to you after you rang the phone a hundred times? Get a grip.