I have a SkypeIn number in San Francisco that forwards my calls to my mobile in China. I’ve had it for over a year to help my friends and family call me in China at no cost to them. Since the number is an American number, it’s not uncommon to get calls in the middle of the night or random wrong numbers. However, two times in as many weeks I’ve had this following conversation:
- me: hello? [thinking: what time is it?]
- them: Hi, is Rob there?
- me: no, wrong number [oh god, it’s 6am]
- them: is this 415-555-1234?
- me: yes, yes it is
- them: is Rob your roommate or are you the current home owner?
- me: no, this number calls to China
- them: China, huh? well, hum [obvious confusion at this point] does Rob live there?
- me: what? this is a number in China, you’ve called Shanghai
- them: oh, okay. Are you the current home owner?
- me: you’re kidding, right? you’ve called a number IN CHINA
- them: we’re calling around homes in your neighborhood to see if anybody is interested in selling. the market is…
- me: did you miss the fact that I live IN CHINA!?
- them: well sir, there are some great opportunities available right now [the preprogrammed robo-script has obviously kicked in at this point]
- me: are you honestly trying to pitch me right now? what in god’s name do you think you can possibly sell to me IN CHINA?
- them: there are many people interested in buying property at the moment in your neighborhood
- me: [cutting him off] you’re kidding right? this conversation is over. i’m hanging up.
Yep. A day in the life in China. Full of idiot telemarketers from the states.