TV blogging

I just want to note, for the record, that the season finale of Grey’s Anatomy has started off with some of the most clichéd lines EVER. I mean, it’s not bad, in the way that other guilty pleasures aren’t bad. But hackneyed? Yes.

OK, some spoilers below the jump. Close your eyes now if you haven’t watched it and you’re reading on the full feed.

a favor…pretty, pretty please

I am no fan of jinxing things. So I am just going to ask for some waves. For the next 24 or so hours, please.

Hello, you've reached 555-1212. How can I help you?*

It always amazes me how many people never learned proper telephone manners. I mean, I am not a huge fan of the phone, much preferring an email–for getting quick messages to people–or a personal conversation–for those more in-depth discussions–but at least I know how to talk on the phone.

Today, I am calling people about apartments because I’d like to go look at some this week. I have spoken with two people who were VERY nice–cordial, informed, and apparently completely cognizant of the fact that, as people looking to rent an apartment, they need to be POLITE.

I have also spoken with one person who was all but unintelligible, though helpful, and I can forgive her lack of mechanical skill with the telephone because her attitude was nice.

But the two other folks I reached on the phone today? Heh heh heh.

One is, presumably, the resident of the apartment. I called. He answered with a mumbled, muffled, hungover-sounding “‘Lo?” It’s 1:30 in the afternoon on a Monday, by the way. I asked for “John.” He replied, “‘s John.” I said I was calling about the apartment and wanted some more information. He said something that I couldn’t even guess at, it was so muffled, and promptly hung up on me.

Nice.

The other one is even worse, really. He was an apartment finder/locator. I called and said I was curious about the apartment they had listed. He interrupted me to ask, “When did you need to move in?” I said, “Well, July 1 or maybe la…” and he, again, cut me off to say, “We can’t rent that for July 1.” And then he hung up on me.

Whatever happened to a nice, “I’m sorry. Thank you for calling!”? Or at least a “Goodbye!”? It’s easy to blame geography (like, “All New Yorkers are rude” and “All Southerners talk too slow.”). But I talked to at least three helpful people today! So it’s not geography!

I’m not thrilled about continuing to make calls. But I will, and I will keep my manners, and I will hope that no one else will hang up on me today.

*This was the way one of my grade-school textbooks said everyone should answer the phone. That’s a little extreme, but I wouldn’t mind a return to it, if it meant no one would hang up on me.