Don’t call me. Really, please don’t. In fact, I’ll make it easy for you. I won’t even give you my phone number. While returning a $10 item in a Hallmark store today, the sales clerk handed me a receipt to sign explaining the store would want to know the reason for my return. Fair enough, I thought. I wrote down “changed my mind”, signed the paper, and handed it back to the woman behind the counter. Up until this point the woman had been pleasant and friendly.
Then she looked at the paper and noticed I had left the line where my phone number was requested blank. Without even looking up at me, her pen poised and ready, she expectedly asked, “What’s your phone number?” I replied matter of factly, “It’s unlisted.” (I have mother to thank for this gem of wisdom). You would think I had cursed at the woman. She looked at me shocked and exclaimed, “I don’t know how you get away with that!”
Excuse, me? Now it was my turn to quizzically examine her in disbelief. Was she serious? She acted as if I had committed some sort of crime. Yes, withholding information. I think that’s a misdemeanor or perhaps a felony… if it’s a police officer requesting the information, but I’m pretty certain that doesn’t apply to a cashier in a Hallmark store. What about my rights, the customer’s rights? Isn’t there a right to privacy listed somewhere in there among the few rights we have remaining? Oh yes, the right to remain silent. I’ll leave that line blank if I want to, thank you. How about the right to privacy? Do I hear you laughing? Please, don’t laugh at me. That would be a sad reaction. Really, you should be on my side - your side.
Why do businesses think they are entitled to demand our personal contact information? I don’t want Hallmark or any other business to call me. You’re not my friend. You don’t care about what I want. I want to be left alone. I know you only want my number so you can sell it and interrupt my dinner or my favorite tv show. Frankly, I don’t know how you get away with that - expecting, no demanding, that everyone give up their personal information so you can use it later to exploit and annoy them.
There’s a reason it’s called personal information. Personal information is information that belongs to a person. That person owns it and has the right to chose who is privy to that information and who is not. I encourage you to realize and exercise your right to just say no when someone requests personal information you would rather not share. You don’t have to give it out just because someone asks. In fact, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t. Then maybe all of those cashiers would stop looking at me like I’m the strange one.