Print this page
Download as PDF
This is one article from the issue of September, 2002.
For other stories and articles, go to the Current Issue.
|
|
Technology |
|
Caller ID
Benefits And Abuses Of A Tool
|
Caller ID is a feature offered by most telephone companies. When you have it (usually a small extra monthly charge) you can know who's calling before you answer the phone. It allows you to be more knowledgeable before you pick up the call, and it allows you to let those calls you don't want go directly to voice mail or an answering machine. You can use it intelligently as a source of information, but it can also be abused. How you use it displays your professionalism and communications skills to the world.
How Caller ID Works
First, you need to have signed up for the service with your telephone company.
Second, you must have appropriate equipment that will detect and display the Caller ID information. Most advanced phones and corporate phone systems have that built-in. At home, you can add an inexpensive display to your phone line, and put it within "eye-shot" so you can determine who's calling with a glance.
Once you've got the service, here's how you use it: The phone rings, and you look at your Caller ID display to see:
C A Ogdin / DeepWoods
(530) 295-3657
You know it's me before you even reach for the handset. Of course, if my call's not as important to you as something else right now, you can just let it roll over to voice mail. That's a good use of technology to help you be more efficient.
If we have an on-going dialog across many messages, or you've previously called me, you now know I've responded, and you can return my call when its more convenient for you. That's especially useful when you're on a teleconference or other telemeeting, and want to be ready to deal with my call later.
If I'd prefer to be mysterious, or to not reveal who I am, I can blank your display and not show you who's calling. When the call originator presses "*67" on the dial pad, their information will be suppressed. However, it's always available to "911" and to any of the toll-free numbers (like "800," "877," etc.), despite your override.
Caller ID Abuse
There are some inappropriate ways that Caller ID can be used. In particular:
| Never use Caller ID to greet your caller, and
|
| Never call back based on Caller ID; use their voice mail message.
|
We have a custom in our culture: When we initiate a phone call, the recipient simply says "Hello," or identifies whom you've reached. It's the recipients' prerogative to decide whether to remain anonymous or not. The originator of the call usually identifies themselves as part of the dialog initiation. If you answer the call, "Hello, Carol Anne," because you know it's me, you've committed two errors:
1 | You've violated the cultural custom; some people will be so unnerved by your advanced knowledge they'll hang up. At best, you'll have an awkward start to your conversation.
|
2 | You could be wrong: I may have allowed someone visiting my office to call you on my phone. You don't really know who's on the other end of the line; Caller ID only tells you to whom the number is registered.
|
In addition, if you receive a call but the caller left no message, you may be able to use Caller ID to recover the number they called from. That can be good information...but be careful how you use it.
If they've left you no voice mail message, do not use the phone number you've recovered to call back. That can make a bad impression. If they'd meant for you to call back, they'd've left you such a request. Also, the number you retrieve from Caller ID could just be an error; I may've misdialed your phone number, so your uninvited callback is not only unnecessary, it can be seen as a violation of privacy. At a minimum, it tells me that you've got Caller ID, and I should be more careful of calling you in the future, and that's unlikely to inspire collaboration.
Use Caller ID for the information it provides, but be careful about how you use it. Misused, it can surprise others and suggest to them that you're not operating within existing contemporary business customs.
|
|
