Thais And Wrong Numbers

[lomatopo]

I have made a few outbound wrong number calls, and receive many call-backs from those. So many that I sent SMSes in English saying that "I called your phone by mistake, sorry."

With 1-2-Call voice-mail is free, so it is pretty easy to set up a personal greeting mentioning the number they've called, and then set-up the kinds of diverts (all calls, when busy, when the phone is off, on demand) you want. After a few of those people usually give up, in my experience.

[uk_falang]

Haha I have had a very similar experience to this. I tried to call a friend once but tapped in the wrong number and ended up chatting to a thai lady.

The next day i get a call from her thai husband asking why i called her, how did i know her, where do i live, what do i do, what am i doing in thialand, basicly thinking I was fuc**ing his wife!

He kept calling for weeks until I finally told him what he wanted to hear

Then I changed my phone number. Freak.

i am posting this based on a couple of conversations i have had with people recently on this topic- why are thais so weird when it comes to wrong numbers? ie. i will get a call from someone who has dialed the wrong number. i tell them sorry, i am a farang, i don't know you, try again. should be the end of the story. but noooo.... they keep calling over and over again, sometimes for months! and it is not just one person, it is many numbers. and it is no one i know.... my friends also have this problem. do you? what's up with that? i have actually had to block a couple of the numbers from my phone. are they just titillated when they hear a farang voice or what? weirdos...

[uk_falang]

Another thing you can do - if the your phone supports it, is to divert calls from that number to someone else (for kicks and giggles you might decide to divert it to the police, government office, massage parlor, another nusance caller, etc)

quote name='Tippaporn' date='2006-05-10 13:00:05' post='741697']

I forgot which thread I read this in, but if it's someone repeatedly calling you on your mobile simply set the ringtone for that number to mute.

Edited May 14, 2006 by uk_falang

[Dory]

Ok Guys here's what u guys may not know,

those unidentified calls are those who tried to call the previous users of ur number. They are not crazy and there is nothign wrong with technical system or the reception. In the past there was no system that help users to warn their contacts when they decided to switch to other numbers. It would happens more to those who use Prepaid numbers ( high turnover per number)..u just happens to use someone's else ex number..that is all.

Next time, whenever they do calls, tell them this number is no longer belong to those they try to call-end of case.

Hope that this helps.

Dory

[moonoi]

Ok Guys here's what u guys may not know,

those unidentified calls are those who tried to call the previous users of ur number. They are not crazy and there is nothign wrong with technical system or the reception. In the past there was no system that help users to warn their contacts when they decided to switch to other numbers. It would happens more to those who use Prepaid numbers ( high turnover per number)..u just happens to use someone's else ex number..that is all.

Next time, whenever they do calls, tell them this number is no longer belong to those they try to call-end of case.

Hope that this helps.

Dory

Hmm, the point is they are told but don't believe it......so that advice doesn't really help sorry

[Bottlerocket]

Ok Guys here's what u guys may not know,

those unidentified calls are those who tried to call the previous users of ur number. They are not crazy and there is nothign wrong with technical system or the reception. In the past there was no system that help users to warn their contacts when they decided to switch to other numbers. It would happens more to those who use Prepaid numbers ( high turnover per number)..u just happens to use someone's else ex number..that is all.

Next time, whenever they do calls, tell them this number is no longer belong to those they try to call-end of case.

Hope that this helps.

Dory

Hmm, the point is they are told but don't believe it......so that advice doesn't really help sorry

I concur. This is not the past. Y'all have radio & television, don't you? Make a public service announcement or something. I saw one for not parking your car under a coconut tree because you might get something more than a thought in your head. The next wrong number I get I'm blowing a police whistle into the phone to blow their doggone eardrums out. This is war.

[thohts]

That's happened to me, too.

I called the wrong number once, and then that person began to call me about 40-50 times after that. For what, I don't know.

Finally, I forwarded all incoming calls to the police # for a couple of days. (Letting everyone else who called frequently know that they won't be able to reach me.)

They stopped calling after that.

[CSX]

Depending on my mood. It is nice to mess with them a little. When I get a sales call and they don't even know how to pronounce my last name I usually tell them that the person in question was killed by a drunk driver. (that is usually followed by a long pause)

With Thais that kept calling, I would first have to tell them if it were a guy calling that the girl he wants is busy servicing me. (some moaning and groaning with oohs and aahs) You could also tell them that you don't know where the person in question is however ask them to tell the person their looking for to pay the money back that they borrowed. Get creative and have fun. Don't get angry and frustrated and have a heart attact. Give the other person the heart attact. Enjoy!

[Jeff1]

Ah, such fun can be had with wrong numbers, or pretending it is a wrong nember when it isn't.

When the phone rings at 6:00 am, I know its my wife's family wanting money.

Normally goes like this :

Ring-ring:

Me: Hello Krup (I know its no one I want to speak to).

Them: Kho-sai Giah. (Can I talk to Giah)

Me: Long Pause:.... Pud Arai Krup (What did you say)

Them: Kho-sai Giah. (Same again)

Me: Korr-tot, mai-khao Jai, pud igg na krup. (Sorry I don't understand, please say again)

Them: (Nice and Loud) Kho-sai Giah.

Me: Kott Tot Na Krup, Mai Khao Jai, pud cha cha na krup. ( sorry I don't understand, speak slowly)

Them: (Nice and Loud and slow) Kho-sai Giah.

Me: Giah lang naawn, Saw wat dee krup. (Giah is sleeping - Good Bye)

At this point I turn off the phone, or change it to silent. If nothing else it discourages the early morning calls.

That one hit home . The early morning calls are always about money . Minus the conversation . They will get the answering machine , hang up and call again and again . They don't want to lose miniutes

[pantsninja]

most entertaining one and strangest call for me was to my apartment phone, not my mobile. and it happened that my gf answered the phone instead of me, big mistake... this guy says harro, and basically tries to pick her up over the phone, asking all sorts of question and can he get her mobile number. even after she explains she has a bf already he continues and when asked how he got the number, a relative in the building gave it to him after he saw her entering the apartment.

now that was strange, and continued for awhile as not much i could do about it, fortunately i moved out about 2 weeks later.

[grahamb]

Ok; if you had been here in the old days you would probably not be asking why. The old system was very prone to dial out a wrong number from the exchange so you had to keep trying in the hope that you would get though. So today many people do not believe they may be dialing a wrong number - it must be the system. And today most phones have that redial button so if they entered the number wrong the first time it just gets dialed again.

And yes; telephone manners can sometimes be worse then the auto highway.

Yes, the old days. Like 6 weeks ago...

I get way more wrong numbers here than in other countries but I realised 6 weeks ago that some of them may not be mistakes by the dialer, it may still be mistakes by the exchange. I called my wife's mobile by speed dial from my mobile; I was overseas, she was in Thailand. First time: I got connected to a Thai guy, apologised for calling the wrong number and hung up. I checked and I had dialled the right number. I dialled again and got through to my wife but the call dropped in seconds. I pressed redial (i.e. the number I'd just spoken to my wife on) and got connected to the same Thai guy again (and no, he wasn't using my wife's phone! ) Apologised again, hung up. Dialled the same number again, I got through to my wife...

I assume that there was a screw-up in the exchange due to the capacity problems that the mobile networks are having.

[gabe]

i am posting this based on a couple of conversations i have had with people recently on this topic- why are thais so weird when it comes to wrong numbers? ie. i will get a call from someone who has dialed the wrong number. i tell them sorry, i am a farang, i don't know you, try again. should be the end of the story. but noooo.... they keep calling over and over again, sometimes for months! and it is not just one person, it is many numbers. and it is no one i know.... my friends also have this problem. do you? what's up with that? i have actually had to block a couple of the numbers from my phone. are they just titillated when they hear a farang voice or what? weirdos...

I am having the same problem.

[Insight]

The way I deal with the odd unwanted caller is answer the phone and leave it off-hook, not making any attempt to communicate at all. Let their bill run up to as much as they want it to.

They'll give up sooner or later...

Edited June 28, 2006 by Insight

[The Dan Sai Kid]

I'm surprised that no-one has mentioned the other type of wrong-number - the one that calls and says hello and then nothing else.

I just enjoy saying hello back and waiting for them to say something - they never do...

[h90]

i am posting this based on a couple of conversations i have had with people recently on this topic- why are thais so weird when it comes to wrong numbers? ie. i will get a call from someone who has dialed the wrong number. i tell them sorry, i am a farang, i don't know you, try again. should be the end of the story. but noooo.... they keep calling over and over again, sometimes for months! and it is not just one person, it is many numbers. and it is no one i know.... my friends also have this problem. do you? what's up with that? i have actually had to block a couple of the numbers from my phone. are they just titillated when they hear a farang voice or what? weirdos...

hmm all the time.....

Add 10 % to the feed (lathe machine) nooooo not 100 %

Today we got a cheque with 200.000 Baht what, I read 20.000....

100 Baht+7 % = 107 Baht

107 Baht-7 % = 99.51 and NOT 100

this magic miracle is still discussed in our office, on how that could be and if maybe the calculater is wrong because it is from China.......

(and that are technican/accounting with "University diploma"

I think some people here have a generell problem with numbers....

[CymruAmByth]

i am posting this based on a couple of conversations i have had with people recently on this topic- why are thais so weird when it comes to wrong numbers? ie. i will get a call from someone who has dialed the wrong number. i tell them sorry, i am a farang, i don't know you, try again. should be the end of the story. but noooo.... they keep calling over and over again, sometimes for months! and it is not just one person, it is many numbers. and it is no one i know.... my friends also have this problem. do you? what's up with that? i have actually had to block a couple of the numbers from my phone. are they just titillated when they hear a farang voice or what? weirdos...

hmm all the time.....

Add 10 % to the feed (lathe machine) nooooo not 100 %

Today we got a cheque with 200.000 Baht what, I read 20.000....

100 Baht+7 % = 107 Baht

107 Baht-7 % = 99.51 and NOT 100

this magic miracle is still discussed in our office, on how that could be and if maybe the calculater is wrong because it is from China.......

(and that are technican/accounting with "University diploma"

I think some people here have a generell problem with numbers....

Just the other night, beginning at 1.15am, I got 11 calls in 11 minutes from the same mad woman. The last 4 calls we dealt with in Thai by the missus and even she was at a loss as to what the silly cow was on about. She has since called me ANOTHER 4 times, but at least has not woken me up.

I have just left the phone line open for the last 4 calls, to run up her bill, with one of the calls consisiting of her saying "haloooo" for 10 minutes....WEIRD!

On the subject of numbers, I recently asked my Office Manager (Batchelor Degree owner) how many weeks in a year. Upon being told there are 52 weeks, she refuted this as 'Western madness'.

"...Arai Wa? 12 x 4 = 48 na?"

The debate rages and I am currently in the process of convincing her that the big white round thing we see in the sky at night is made 100% of cheese, and that the Indian Karaoke champion is called Getup Andsingh.

Edited June 28, 2006 by CymruAmByth

[tourleadersi]

I kept getting a string of calls through to my home office. They just wouldn't give up. After the 11th call I opened up Linkin Park on my computer, pressed play, set the volume to full and hit Pause. The next time they called I held the receiver over the speaker and pressed play. They didn't call again.

My wife kept getting calls from 2 kids in the Emirates. They would call maybe 15 times a day and just say 'Hallo, Hallo?' I can speak a bit of Arabic so told them they were calling Thailand and they just hung up. They kept calling for a couple of weeks. My guess is the calls stopped when their Dad got the phonebill!

[MrSnrang]

Yeah. They just don't get it...

This one time I was waiting for someone to call me about something important and this dude kept calling me and asking for "Jeat." For the first eight or so calls i kindly told him that he had the wrong number.

Twenty minutes into it I went full blast into fluent Thai swearing that it was the wrong number and to get a fl_lcking clue and stop calling.

... He obeyed and started using SMS.

[Siripon]

Sometimes Thais get the right numbers, recently a friend said he was going to buy the lottery number-935, I asked him why.

His reply was The King is Rama 9, he waved 3 times at the recent celebrations, and one hand has 5 digits.

He won, 935 came up.

[Phil Conners]

Maybe peep's need to get one of these:

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=2125709

[tourleadersi]

Maybe peep's need to get one of these:

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=2125709

How about another feature on the phone where at the end of the night when you are really hammered you could take a picture of your proposed 'date' (be they male of female), it runs a quick 'feature recognition' program and warns you if you are about to go home with a total monster or not. Now that would be useful! Or in Thailand you get your date to blow into the meter and it measures testosterone levels......