Wrong number

For the fourth time in recent memory, my cell phone rang only for me to be greeted by an unfamiliar number and voice telling me something totally incomprehensible. 'Sebastian told me to call', 'The shipment has come in' (in Icelandic mind you), and I sit there on the other end baffled, trying to figure out what they are talking about. Invariably it turns out they are looking for a Polish woman, I guess also named Elisabeth (only she spells it Elizabet), who lives in Sandgerði.

This is not to say that I never get calls by mistake in California. But if a Californian looks up a number in the phone book, their sense of security that they have the right person, and not just someone with the same or similar name, is much lower. Lower than 50/50 I would say.

Comments

MamaOlive said…
I haven't had any trouble with my cell phone, but here in England, apparently the landline phones are assigned to the address, not the person. I've been in this house for 10 months and I get a call for the previous occupant almost every day.
October 20, 2008 at 3:53 PM
Lissy said…
Every day! That is horrible! My worst experience though was when we got the previous number of a 24 hour dental referral service when I lived in Ohio. Yikes!
October 20, 2008 at 8:58 PM
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