“Two monologues do not make a dialogue.”

Jeff Daly

For the past couple of weeks we have been settling into our beautiful new home. I really can’t adequately describe just how much we love it. But as is the tradition in our lives, something kind of funny has happened.

Well, with the new house we decided to get a new phone number. Little did we know we were getting a “recycled number”.

Here’s where things start to get funny.

Over the past few days I have noticed on the caller ID that we have been getting several phone calls from “Unknown” numbers and even one call from Mexico. I found this quite odd, considering no one yet knows our new number.

As part of our service, we have a voicemail account with the phone number. I hadn’t yet configured it, so I called in last night and took care of the setup. When our voicemail picked up, though, there was already a greeting message on it. Apparently, a company called “Intimate Sensations” previously used this number.

Very. Interesting.

So—perhaps with a twinge of regret—I went ahead and changed the greeting, pass code, and adjusted everything to reflect The Boudreaus. Easy enough.

Then came this morning. We were having some furniture delivered, so I worked from home.

:: ring, ring ::

Me: “Hello?”

Strange lady: (very serious tone) “Is this Intimate Sensations?”

Me: “No.”

Strange lady: (still quite serious) “Is this phone number xxx-xxx-xxxx?”

Me: “Hmm, I’m not sure, I just got this phone number and can’t remember. Let me check, I’ve got it written down right…”

Strange lady: (interupting in a desperate tone) “Is this Intimate Sensations? I’m looking for Intimate Sensations!”

Me: “I…can’t really help you with that. Can you give me that phone number again?”

Strange lady: (now, in a hostile tone) “Is there someone more responsible there I can talk to about Intimate Sensations? Let me speak with your manager!!!”

I hung up at this point. Again… with a twinge of regret. I can only imagine what might have been had I let this play out further.

She didn’t call back. I have no doubt that more phone calls like this will be coming for a little while.

I can’t help but wonder what kind of business Intimate Sensations is.

But it appears they have a loyal fan base.

Stephen Boudreau serves as VP of Brand & Community at Virtuous Software. For over two decades, he has helped nonprofits leverage the digital space to grow their impact. To that end, Stephen co-founded RaiseDonors, a platform that provides nonprofits with technology and experiences that remove barriers to successful online fundraising. He is an avid (but aging) soccer player, audiobook enthusiast, and the heavily-disputed UNO champion of his household.

Copyright ©2024 Stephen Boudreau.