Compounding this problem, restaurants often want to text you instead of calling out your name when your table is ready. Seems like a great idea except the first time I did it I began receiving bizarre group texts that were clearly spam. I have refused ever since but still receive the weirdo texts every few weeks.

Evidently these services are not very secure. The restaurant said they received multiple complaints and discontinued the service. But after a 6 months or so it was back anyway.

I look at it as free entertainment. I screw with them and give them false information, answer as slowly as possible, start asking them dumb questions and try to waste as much time of theirs as possible.

I get a great many calls that are ID'd with just a city and state, and almost all of those are places I've never heard of and don't know anybody there. I don't answer those, either.

I probably do miss some calls from people I know, because they use cell phones that don't identify them--just show the number. They don't get answered, either. If someone wants to talk to me, they'd better tell me who they are.

flashguy