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Sally2005
10-11-2007, 08:30 PM
Home phone rings around lunch time...
I answer in deep male voice, "Hello?".
Female voice asks, "is this Mrs. xxxx"?
I say "no. She's not here."
Female voice asks, "Are you Mr. xxxx"?
I ask, "Who is calling?"
Female voice says "We are a local family business and we want to know if you want home delivery of our product....blah blah blah".

So here's the question? What are they thinking? Do I sound like a woman? (I don't think so, but hey, if I do that will help me pass!). Do they just assume the person answering the phone in the daytime is female? What if I was a Miss or a same sex partner?

Anyhow, just thought it funny how gender complicates conversations and how we can choose to read a lot in to what words someone else uses or ignore it. Probably better to ask "Are you the person who does the shopping?..." if you were a sales person wanting not to alienate someone in the first 3 words.

Jere Oneil
10-11-2007, 09:52 PM
I don't think I sound feminine either, but I regularly get called Miss and other feminine forms of address on the telephone

Rachel Morley
10-11-2007, 10:08 PM
I like to play a game and always answer the phone if it rings in the early evenings because that's when we get the most sales calls. I always answer in my best femme voice just to see if they call me Mamm or ask to speak to Mr *******. Sometimes I fool them but most of the time I don't :(

I'm not sure why they asked if you were a Mrs if you answered in your male voice. Perhaps your male voice isn't "that" deep and they wanted to be sure because it was too close to call. :strugglin"

wannabie
10-11-2007, 10:12 PM
What are they thinking? Do I sound like a woman?

Mabye. Alot of women have deep voices and their insulted if you call them Mr. on the phone.

Lisa Rose
10-11-2007, 10:25 PM
I don't have a fem voice so when 'they' call and ask for the misses I say, "You're speaking to her." Really throws them for a loop.

Just have fun with 'them' they're reading from a script, making cold calls. Basically mindless puppets.

Sally2005
10-11-2007, 11:59 PM
I Lisa got it... I like the idea of playing with them by using the opposite voice of what they expect.

jandebs
10-12-2007, 04:56 AM
people inevitably start off with all kinds of fixed ideas. I was in sainsbury's a few years ago, with my daughter, who'd lost me and went to the enquiries desk to ask them to help find me. They asked her my name which happens to be jan h. ( was lucky enough to get a girl's christian name ) and so they said 'oh you've lost your mum then.' She insisted 'no it's my dad', and they repeated the question about three times, getting the same answer. A few minutes later i heard the message over the intercom thingy ' could Mrs. H please come to the enquiry desk to collect her daughter'.

Joanboy2001
10-12-2007, 08:41 AM
My wife and I were at a local restaurant recently and the waiter came up to our table and siad "waht can I get for you ladies".

My wife and I looked at each other and smiled wide but said nothing. The waiter then looked confused and said in an embassed fashion "I'm sorry, I didn't look very carefully"

I wasn't dressed but I had on lipstick, my nails are clear polished but they shine, a tight fitting gold necklace and my hair was fluffy. At first glance he must have seen the lipstick and necklace.

I felt curiosly flattered. I spoke to him in my scratchy voice that sometimes passes as a women's voice on the phone. The poor guy was probably confused.

Joan

ChantelleCD
10-12-2007, 08:56 AM
I think you are reading to deep into this. I have worked as a telly sales consultant many a time, and that means ringing up new customers all the time. I have made the mistake so many times of calling a man a mrs and a woman a mr. Its easily done when your at it all day

Chantelle X

janet1234
10-12-2007, 09:05 AM
For a while I did some telephone work and frequently could tell male from female.

Ema1234 GG
10-12-2007, 09:25 AM
I'm sorry to burst your bubble but I've worked in telephone customer services a great deal and it's common to call men "Mrs" and even men "Mr", often just because you aren't thinking.

I'd regularly ask guys if they are Mrs X when they'd ring up using their wife's details.


For a while I did some telephone work and frequently could tell male from female.

It's not about telling male from female, it's the fact that you're not thinking properly about what comes out of your mouth lol.