My phone rang yesterday afternoon. The caller ID said that it was UnitedHealthcare. Over the last few days, United Healthcare had phoned several times but left no messages. I thought to myself, “Why not?” I picked up the phone, and the caller said that he had important information about a prescription, and to verify my identity he needed my date of birth.
Now, this was something that had happened in the past. Someone, who could be anyone, phones me up and wants me to prove who I am. It’s offputting! Just as I had done in the past, I told the caller that first he would need to verify his own identity. And of course, since the poor fellow was reading from a script, I heard a bit of rustling of paper but, beyond that, silence. I ended up hanging up.
I didn’t enjoy doing this, but felt I had to, because I wasn’t giving any personal information over to someone who just phoned out of the blue. But I still did not like doing it.
You see, at the other end of the phone call was a man who was likely doing it for minimum wage or even less. It’s certainly not a job I would like to do, so I presume he didn’t like the job either, but was forced to do it on account of personal circumstances. These are people who might work from home because they are handicapped. They might be people who are desperate to earn a few dollars. Whatever the reason, they are fellow human beings, and it’s important to be nice and respectful. And sometimes these calls can end up bringing a smile to one’s face.
I remember a phone call from long ago, from someone who was trying to sell, let’s say, replacement windows. I told him we could not afford them at the present time because my wife had just lost her job. Within an hour I received a phone call from the owner of the company. He had a lead on a job that might be suitable for my wife. The lead did not work out, but there was something really cool, really nice, about the owner himself responding to the earlier call, and trying to help.
Another example. I got a phone call from a lady who was offering a deal if I changed to another phone company. She told me the name of the company and what the offer was, and I said yes. Suddenly the line went blank. A few minutes later, the woman phoned back again. She told me she was so excited that someone was interested in the offer that she accidentally hung up. It certainly made her day, and it really made my day as well, because I was dissatisfied with my current phone company and I had wanted a change.
I certainly think we get too many spam calls, and it’s nice to have a filter to block them. But when a person ends up talking to a telemarketer, it is, after all, a human being talking with another human being. The person on the other end has feelings, challenges, frustrations. And so it’s important to smile. Of course, it’s not really a video call, but it’s possible and quite doable to smile with one’s voice.