Nobody like crank calls.
But for veterinarian Claire Simeone, discovering her telephone tormentor proved to be positively delightful.
Dr. Simeone, the hospital director with Ke Kai Ola Marine Mammal Center, shared her crank cell phone problem on social media to the amusement of anybody who has ever answered an unwanted call.
“So yesterday I started getting calls at our hospital,” she wrote on Twitter. “I was getting lunch, so I thought maybe someone had a seal-related question. I picked up. Silence.”
The calls kept coming. Nine, in fact, in 15 minutes.
“I start to panic a bit, and drive back to the hospital,” she continued. “Seal emergency? I am on it.”
She gets to the clinic and finds there’s no crisis. But while there, she gets a horror movie moment.
“I get another call. It’s coming from INSIDE the hospital,” she explained. “So I call
@HawaiianTel to check it out. Phone on the fritz? Meanwhile, several other people call the hospital, asking WHY WE ARE CALLING THEM INCESSANTLY?”
OH GOD. She’s not the only one.
“Very nice@HawaiianTel man says it might be an issue with one of our phones, or some of the software. He confirms that, yes, a bazillion calls are coming from one line. But I look at our office line. It’s not that one. He asks me to look around to find the problem line.”
Yes, a “bazillion.”
So, Dr. Simeone walks around the hospital. And around, around. She gets another call from a line in the laboratory.
“That’s the line! I approach the phone…”
“THERE IS A GECKO SITTING ON THE TOUCHSCREEN OF THE PHONE, MAKING CALLS WITH HIS TINY GECKO FEET!!! This gecko has called me 15 times, and everyone in our recent call list,” she wrote.
And, it’s amazing.
THERE IS A GECKO SITTING ON THE TOUCHSCREEN OF THE PHONE, MAKING CALLS WITH HIS TINY GECKO FEET!!! This gecko has called me 15 times, and everyone in our recent call list. *Actual photo of telemarketer* @TMMC @GEICO @HawaiianTel pic.twitter.com/USyKeOiDbE
— Dr. Claire Simeone (@Claire_Simeone) October 5, 2018
And so, Dr. Simeone calls Hawaiian Telcom to explain the problem.
“‘Well, I haven’t heard that one before,’” was the reply, according to Dr. Simeone.
“I had to send out a note to all of our staff and volunteers, who may have received telemarketing calls,” she continued. “I immediately hired gecko.”
So, if you received a silent call yesterday from @TMMC #KeKaiOla, you are welcome, and you may mail us your donation check anytime. @GEICO corporate sponsorships available. 🤣 #onlyinhawaii #withaloha
— Dr. Claire Simeone (@Claire_Simeone) October 5, 2018
Oh, and Hawaiian Tel gets a gold star, too.
HAHAHA! Gecko did not disappoint! Plus, @HawaiianTel man got extra points for saying, “wait, aren’t you The Marine Mammal Center? That’s not a marine mammal!” #hesrightyouknow
— Dr. Claire Simeone (@Claire_Simeone) October 5, 2018
File this under: Hawaii Problems.
Photo Claire Simeone/Twitter
