When you're assigned a telephone number

[RightSide]

I will never forgive Verizon for assigning me a home telephone number that's just one digit off from the phone number of a nearby all-night drug store.

I'm in bed, it's 11:30 PM, I'm trying to fall asleep, and the phone rings:

"Is this Walgreens?"

"No."

I get at least two or three such wrong number phone calls every single day.

[Chris]

Have you contacted Verizon yet to try to get a new number?
 
We use to get a lot of phone calls for a storage place. Some of the mistake was the phonebook and the other was someone working there. It got so frustrating that people there were giving their customers wrong number to call, I started to give them special deals on storage and just have them say you talked to so and so.
 
Calls have stopped now.
 
Hope you get  this resolved, but you'll probably have to put up a fight.

[Rerun]

Yeah, I'd get a new number!  Drives you nuts!

     

[kristina]

I am so sorry about your problem, RightSide.

I had a similar problem some years ago after I was assigned - by accident -
a very similar telephone-number like the Head-Office of BP.

Unfortunately my own new telephone-number was already printed on a brochure of mine
and this brochure had already gone out. Therefore it was too late for me
to change my telephone-number again
and I was forced to put up with this unnecessary kerfuffle.

It depends, how many people now have your new number and how important it is.

If, for example your doctors/job etc. already have your new telephone-number,
it becomes a difficult decision to change your number again,
because doctors etc. might already rely on that telephone-number etc.

Whatever you decide, I wish you good luck, Kristina.

[Ang]

screen the calls,disconnect the phone at night(if possible)

keep your cell on at night

if not 

[kitkatz]

Offer them special Walgreens bargains. 

Our number was close to a storage place in town. It caused some strange phone calls.

[cattlekid]

I agree with the folks who suggested that you start making trouble for their business - that should straighten things out pretty quickly. 

My freshman year of college, our dorm room phone number was one digit off from a local chiropractor office.  This was before caller ID so I would answer the phone when it rang - starting at 8:00 AM which is way early for college students.  I was *this* close to double-booking appointments when evil Cattlekid  calmed down and then I just called the office and asked them to put up signage to remind their patients of the correct phone number, which seemed to work somewhat.

[Stoday]

In the 1960's my telephone number was one digit different from that of the local crematorium.

Oh the temptation to take the **ss!

[Riki]

My mom's cell is one number off from a local taxi company, so she gets a lot of calls from people looking for cabs on Friday and Saturday nights after the bars close

My grandfather, when he didn't feel like talking, used to (and probably still does on occasion) answer his phone with, "Duffy's Tavern, Duffy speaking."  I thought it funny as a kid, but find it even funnier now, cuz I know where he got it from....

if you've ever heard the radio show about Duffy's Tavern.. I forget what it's called... but Duffy's never frikkin there... so he'd never answer the damn phone.. *LOL*

[The Noob]

yall crack me up! 

when we were first married, our home number was previous specialty car repair shop. we'd get calls all the time with people leaving their name, personal info, even their credit card numbers, in order to get a special part.

i had a few funny conversation with some of them.

sometimes i answer my cell with things like:
"Joes pool hall, we got balls"
"Hello, you have reached this recording in error"
"This is Lester Pots and The Skillet Lickers..you kill it, we grill it"