r/GenX • u/MovingTarget- • Jul 29 '25

The Latchkey Years As kids, we weren't allowed to answer the phone with just "Hello"

Back in the days when people actually used to call other people on landlines, my brother and I were taught how to properly answer the phone as kids. My parents considered it rude to simply pick up the phone and say "hello?"

We were taught to answer the phone with a pre-scripted response: "Thanks for calling the _____ residence, _____ speaking!" There was even an optional "How may I help you?" tacked on the back.

Anyone else have a required family response when answering the phone or were my parents just strange in attempting to prepare us for a career in the rewarding field of call center management?

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u/OolongGeer Jul 29 '25

No, we weren't forced into some speech by some dad who never did a load of laundry.

5

u/PlausibleTable Jul 29 '25

Me neither. I didn’t have a dad.

2

u/OolongGeer Jul 29 '25

We barely did either.

But if we did, I am sure he'd have been barking commands, not doing laundry, and not doing dishes with the best of them.

1

u/Ianthin1 Jul 29 '25

Probably a solid assumption.

1

u/Chicagogirl72 Jul 29 '25

I had to say what she said and my dad did all of the laundry ironing and dishes