Source: Pexels/Reddit
Calling the wrong person is a special kind of awkward, especially when you spend the first few seconds thinking it might workout in your favor. The slow realization that a stranger has been accidentally let into your business is mortifying, but in some cases, extremely hilarious.
How would you handle a super embarrassing accidental phone call? One woman recently shared a silly example from her own life on Reddit. Here’s what happened.
“Can you transfer me to reservations?” …kid, this is my living room.
So this happened back in the 90s when I was a teenager.
If you weren’t there, just imagine a world where you couldn’t Google anything.
Unfortunately, most people reading this can’t do that anymore.
My mom had assigned me the task of getting a campsite reservation at our favorite state park while she was at work.
This place was notoriously difficult to book, especially during the nearby town’s annual festival.
We didn’t know the exact dates of the festival, so she told me to call, find out, and see if by some miracle they had a cancellation for those dates.
Seems like a big stretch, but not unlikely.
I found the number in the phone book, or so I thought, and dialed.
A guy answers with a pretty casual “Hello?”
Me: “Hi, I’m calling to find out when the town festival is this year?”
A pretty innocuous question.
I figured I’d confirm the dates first so I didn’t look like an idiot when I asked for the campsite.
The guy was nice.
He gave me the exact dates but his attitude changed when I asked the next question.
Well that can’t be good…
Me: “Do you guys have any campsites avaliable for that weekend?”
The Guy: “Uh… I have no idea.”
Me: “Well, can you check the system?
Pretty smart follow-up question for a kid to ask.
The Guy: “No.”
I was flabbergasted, thinking to myself why wasn’t this state park employee being helpful anymore, maybe I had the wrong department at the park.
Nevertheless I was determined to continue the mission my mom tasked me with.
Most would have given up at this juncture.
If I was able successed I would be the hero and have saved our family’s vacation.
Me: “Can you transfer me to reservations?”
There’s this long, awkward silence.
A plot twist is lurking on the horizon.
The Guy: “Kid… this is a private residence, you will have to call the state park.”
I realized I’d been treating some random guy like my personal travel agent for the last few minutes.
I apologized and hung up.
Not the worst thing one can do, but definitely one of the funniest.
Turns out, I’d read the number wrong and called a guy who lived in the town where the festival takes place and near where the state park was located.
He was honestly too nice for his own good, most people would’ve hung up the second I asked about the festival dates.
Most certainly wouldn’t have been that hospitable.
I gave up on the task, being too difficult for me.
I didnt want another embarrassing incident.
I told my mom what happened when she got home from work.
She must have loved every minute of that.
My whole family had a laugh at the dinner table at my expense.
My Mom took over the task of finding us a reservation, she couldn’t get one.
We ended up going to the park anyway and waited at the park office for an opening if someone canceled last minute.
That’s one way to do it.
We did end up getting a good site and had a wonderful trip.
Yes, I’m the “Lady” that was told by a stranger “I don’t work here!”
Well that’s a flip on the usual perspective! Let’s see how the good people of Reddit chimed in here.
The comments jumped at the chance to share their own anecdotes.
Some of the stories being surprisingly wholesome.
Others were slightly more alarming.
If you enjoyed this post, check out this story about a student who did the math and figured out he was better off skipping school than serving detention if he forgot his ID.
Though a few of the examples were more modern than you’d expect.
And one person even dropped some knowledge.
The way she would have given anything for caller ID…