Sometimes I am also asked to answer questions for such and such polls, how many dogs or cats I have, if I am married, single, or having a partnership, if we own a house or not or if we want to participate for the government to find out how much a retired couple spends per months for living.
Of course these phone calls arrive always when you just turn your spaghettis around your fork and you have the mouth full, when you stand half naked and freezing in your room to get dressed or when you are just watching a crime story on TV. We don't have a display to tell us who is calling, so I always answer the phone, I could let run it through the answering machine, but for some unknown reason, Mr. G. hates this invention and hurries wherever he is to breathless pick up the phone. Then of course I get angry because he is unable to get rid of these people and starts endless conversations, while I in the background shout : hang on !!
Now I found a solution to get rid of them very quickly and even by being polite !
Last time just during an exciting murder story on TV the phone rang. I pushed the TV button on "pause" and answered
- Aaaallo (that's french)
- Mrs Jones ?
- No I am sorry Mrs. Jones is gone out
- Aw, may I talk to Mr. Jones then ?
- No, I am sorry he is not in either, I am only the housekeeper.
A little silence, and then the man hang up !
Satisfied I returned to my murders and Mr. G. wondered where our housekeeper was.
"Please hold while we bring you the complete works of Johan Sebastian Bach"
That's also a possiblity !
Hysterically funny, true and very well written. I can't believe you have telephone sales for wine though! that's new! I must admit I am not very polite to sales people who disturb me in my home. And God help them if they ring my mobile. While I sometimes feel guilty knowing they are just a young person in need of a job, I think to myself...they are not very polite barging into my private life when I least expect it, now are they.
ReplyDeleteDear Gattina ~~ Thank you for your comments and I sure had lots of visitors, and still do. Then get too tired to blog.
ReplyDeleteNever thought of saying "it's the housekeeper" to those callers that ring at meal times.
Take care my friend, Love, Merle.
I'm happy to have caller ID....but I'm not like too many people anyway...I'd just let the phone ring. LOL
ReplyDeleteThis was too funny.
You need caller ID my friend. LOL But minus that clever very very clever. I'm going to have to remember this :)
ReplyDeleteI did a brilliant survey on what I thought of the UK Conservative Party. I gave them 1 out of 10!!
ReplyDeleteGattina, buon fine settimana :-)
ReplyDeleteLOL. I love it! I'm gonna have to use this one!
ReplyDeleteHave a great day!
And you aren't really lieing because you are the housekeeper.
ReplyDeleteOhhh I was my own housekeeper for MANY years until we finally DID just start letting the answering machine get it. But now, with cell phones, we don't even HAVE a phone that rings in the house anymore. (one rings in the garage...) But it just goes to answering machine. Anyone important has our cell phone #s!
ReplyDeleteI love that idea!! I'll try that the next time I get hooked on the phone with one of those people I don't want to talk to!!
ReplyDeleteThat's a funny post. I like your sense of humour. You have hit on a good dea. We have registered on the no call register, which means those sort of calls are not allowed to our number.
ReplyDeleteHa! Ha! that's a good idea! I will try next time the housekeeper way!
ReplyDeleteNow finally the phone never disturb me as since two years I even don't answer when it is a such phonecall. sounds they have understand they won't never have an only chance with me!
I just say "I'm not interested" and put the phone down. It takes just a couple of seconds and is very effective.
ReplyDeleteI do sometimes pretend I'm a foreign housekeeper or speak to them in Greek just for fun, but usually I take the quick & effective route of simply not engaging in conversation.
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ReplyDeleteWhen they ask for my husband I always say, "I'm sorry, he is out riding his bike."
ReplyDeleteGenerally they apologize thinking they've called a child, and I don't tell them otherwise.
A friend of mine always tells them she has diarrhea, can they hold on? ha ha