I did it. Please shoot me now.

That is great CL. Mine once called and kind of stumbled "Hi PB, this is T but you probably have caller ID and already knew that." Um, yeah, I already wet my pants 30 seconds ago when the phone rang.

I'm laughing because I've had that same experience. T called and I picked up and said, "Hi, T!" He said, "Hi MKAC, this is T." I laughed at him and he got flustered and kind of stammered a little and then I felt guilty for laughing at him. THEN I thought, nope, I DON'T feel guilty. How many times has this man rattled my cage??

Sometimes, I hate caller ID...cuz I sit there and stare at the phone, and freak out while trying to decide whether or not to answer it. Of course, without caller ID, I'd probably still sit there and freak out while deciding whether or not to answer, but it would be worse, because I wouldn't know who's calling. On the other hand, not knowing who's on the other end of the line does make starting a conversation easier, because you can do the whole "hi this is..." thing rather than having to launch right in to the conversation. Yeah - phones suck.

I use an ominous sounding ring tone for the therapists in case I don't have on my glasses when the phone rings to read the caller id. I don't want to blindly answer should one call.

Oooh, now I want to think up the perfect ringtone for my T. I think I need a Mr. Rogers one!!!!

That's a neat feature.

I use the same technique for my mother.

This is one of the most LOL threads I've read anywhere in a long time!

pbutton, you rock!

And phones: let's not even go there! Where's the good ol' Pony Express when you need them?

PB, good job for calling. I was fully prepared to post the same question over and over until you did

My T called once and said, "It's T." I said, I hope with the snobbery I like to pretend I have, "I know. I HAVE caller id."

I do think it's a bit of a game with the phone these days. Are we supposed to pretend we don't know who's calling, and just let them announce themselves? Or should we intone in a particular way, like an overenthusiastic hello, to indicate we know who they are? And are they supposed to pretend that they don't know that we know who they are? Con-fusing.

I was thinking about the caller id thing. I don't have caller id on the office phone. I get a lot of people who call and say, 'yeah I was just calling to check the status of the case. Please call me back.' Okay. I would TOTALLY call you back, IF I knew who you were. I don't always recognize clients' voices though, because most of the work I do is in writing.

I don't have it my office either. It is interesting the number of times people will say just use the number on the caller id to call me back. Finally, I added the statement that I don't have it in the message I recorded.

Those of us that were around before caller ID are generally used to saying "Hi blah, this is pbutton." What do you say if you don't need to say that anymore?

Maybe sometime in my lifetime we will go to all texting and email. I can DO that.

I've got a special ringtone for both my T and my parents (different tones, of course). It's interesting...as soon as I hear T's ringtone, depending on my mood, I either feel a deep sense of relief or I start to panic. As soon as I hear my parents ringtone, I usually think 'seriously, you're calling again. I don't want to talk to you right now!' and then have to decide whether or not to answer...I don't always do so.

You are CLEARLY much nicer than I am, stopdog. I have sort of a survival of the fittest attitude about it. If you're too dumb to leave your number, you dumb enough that you will be too annoying for me to talk to.

Yeah, would totally love it if the world went to all texting, email, and IM. I can handle that! I love my pdoc and T because they both prefer email for 90% of out of appointment contact.

You know, even though most people have caller ID, I still say, "Hi, this is Rhi, may I speak with..." when I call someone. It's a hard phone etiquette habit to break. Now, if I'm answering the phone and caller ID says it's a friend or family member, I usually answer with 'Hey, what's up?' Stranger numbers still get "hello, this is Rhi," when I answer. I still prefer to announce who is calling, since caller id just says who the phone belongs to, not who is actually on the other end of the line.

MKAC - one time I had a client who clearly and repeatedly videotaped himself committing a crime of the sort that really inflames people, the victim testified, and he had written letters to the victim describing the situation and kept copies in his own file - and he wanted me to argue insufficiency of the evidence on appeal.
I am not sure he could have found his way out of a paper bag. I am not nicer than probably anyone, but if I screened clients out because of stupidity, I would never have had any.

In terms of ring tones - I have used O Fortuna, Night on Bald Mountain, and the Stormtrooper bad guys theme from Star wars to identify therapists.

I love this thread and every single post in it. Even my dorky ones.

I have to careful reading this thread because I keep snickering and then my husband wants to know what I'm laughing at. Not in the mood to share.

My husband and I play hot-potato when our clinic calls. Whoever is closest on the 4th ring usually picks it up.