roy@alanine.phri.nyu.edu (Roy Smith) (06/13/91)
Here's another good one. I just called the 800 number for a
well known manufacturer of Unix-based graphics systems, which I got
from 800 directory assistance, and got:
"For your convenience, the number you have reached,
800-338-wxyz, has been changed. The new number is 800-676-wxyz ...".
They changed the number for my convenience??? Sounds to me more like
they changed long distance carriers and their new carrier didn't serve
the same 800 exchange as the old one (they kept the same last four
digits).
Roy Smith, Public Health Research Institute
455 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016
roy@alanine.phri.nyu.edu - OR - {att,cmcl2,rutgers,hombre}!phri!roy
[Moderator's Note: Someone I know here has all non-pub service except
for one published number which is picked up by an answering machine at
all times. His outgoing message says, "For your convenience, this line
is answered 24 hours daily by this answering system ..." :) PAT]jim.hickstein@icdwest.teradyne.com (Jim Hickstein) (06/20/91)
> "For your convenience, the number you have reached, > 800-338-wxyz, has been changed. The new number is 800-676-wxyz ...". Perhaps this is yet another example of a common abuse of English that drives me up the wall: "If X, then Y" where X and Y have no such relationship. My favorite is: "If you're interested, the number is nnn-mmmm." And if I'm *not* interested, the number is something else? This I've got to see: truly action at a distance, and at faster than the speed of light, no doubt! All I have to do to change the physical property of something is change my mind! :-) Maybe they really meant "For your convenience, we're *telling* you that the number ... has changed." Of course, it's really for their convenience either way, but it would be too much to ask that they admit this in their announcement. Jim Hickstein, Teradyne/Attain, San Jose CA, (408) 434-0822 FAX -0252 jxh@attain.teradyne.com ...!{decwrl!teda,apple}!attain!jxh