WTF is wrong w/ people?

So, twice this week I’ve gotten calls from people who are not friends who just started talking to me when I answered the phone. The first was the massage guy who just started talking and asked how Nick was feeling – he was checking to see if Nick was well enough to make the appointment the next day, but it took me a minute to figure out who the hell it was. The second was today: this chick just starts talking and asks me if I have Quark loaded up and could she come over and print some stuff out…

Um. Yah.

Ok, massage guy I can give a pass to. We’ve talked a lot and several times on the phone, perhaps he assumed familiarity.

The chick today, however, was just plain stupid. After I realised that I did not know this girl – let’s face it, my friends call and ask me to do stuff like this often – I asked who it was. The girl giggled and said, “Oh, it’s Leslie (or something) and I got you off of Google.” I said to her, “Why would you call me and talk to me without introducing yourself?” She giggled and seemed to not understand why that was an issue. She then apologized awkwardly and I told her if she wants to print something out she can go to Kinkos or another print shop for fuck’s sake.
WTF?

Are people so completely rude and senseless that they don’t even know how to call a stranger any more? Do they think that everyone on the planet uses a cell phone all the time or has caller ID and can see who’s calling – not that it matters if you don’t know the motherfucker in the first place! Why would you Google someone and then call them and just start talking? WHY? Furthermore, why would you think you are calling a print shop and then they answer the phone with a plain Hello? Wouldn’t that be your first clue that a) this is not a retail establishment or b) this is someone’s personal number? And even if you’re stupid enough to assume these things, why would you just start talking without so much as a “Hello” or “Hi, I just found you on the web, and…”

Geeze. It’s stupidity like this that convinces me that our society is breaking down faster by the year. We are going to hell in a handbasket. I know I sound like a fucking curmudgeon, but DAMN, are people under 30 really this naive? Or lazy? Or stupid?

What is it that makes this behaviour seem ok to them?

Here’s a clue: IT IS NOT OK TO CALL ANYONE, BUSINESS OR OTHERWISE AND JUST START TALKING UNLESS YOU ARE FRIENDS WITH THEM.

Gods, just the fact that this must be said is pathetic, is it not?

If you call me this week, you’d better identify yourself straight away – I may hang up on you if you don’t.

Harumph.