Yes another rant post. After probably the fourth call from a number I dont know went to voicemail I questioned on Twitter to see if others treat their phones like me.

###Phone Etiquette

I don’t answer my phone unless I know who it is (caller ID) and it is the proper time for me to talk to them. Yes, that means I don’t answer client calls on weekends and I don’t pick up the phone if my mother is calling during the work day. If it’s so important then leave a message.

When I asked on Twitter if anyone else treats their phone the same way the overwhelming response was yes. Every single person vets their calls with caller ID and often doesn’t answer. They call back if you leave a message but if you don’t the you won’t hear from them.

Yes, this means I miss out on some clients maybe, but I don’t care. If you can’t respect my time and leave me a message I probably don’t want to work with you anyway.

###One more Step

I take this one step further at night, I turn my phone off (well Airplane mode). I just figure that anyone with a real emergency has my wife’s number as well. None of my clients stand to loose millions of dollars in the 8 hours I sleep, and if they do they’d have to pay me to be on call in the evenings and weekends.