Phone harassment-in general just bad karma-and often illegal

I had a very bad experience yesterday my dear reader(s). An incredibly unstable individual decided to take her bad day out on me. To the point that she made threats to my safety. This is not proper phone etiquette. Nor is it the best way to live one's life, but we'll keep this discussion to proper phone usage.

This is the family friendly-ish edited versions of our five (yes, 5) conversations.

Call #1
Me-Answering the phone politely with my company name.
Her-Yeah! Who is this?!?!?
Me-Repeat company name
Her-WHO THE HELL IS THIS?!?!?!
Me-This is company name
Her-NO!!!!!! WHO THE HELL IS THIS?!?!?!?!
Me-Who are you trying to reach?
Her-You been calling me all day. Stop it or get bent!
Me-I'm a switchboard operator, I do not make phone calls.
Her-Begins screaming incoherently
Me-Hangs up

Call #2
Me-Answering the phone politely with my company name.
Her-Oh I got you now! I'm reporting your ass!
Me-Excuse me?
Her-Your dead
Me-do not threaten me
Her-Begins screaming incoherently
Me-hangs up

Call #3
Me-(recognizing the phone number)Answering the phone less politely than normal with my company name.
Her-WHAT????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Me-Ma'am, you're the one that keeps calling me
Her-Begins screaming incoherently
Me-Stop calling me or I will have to report you
Her-continuing to scream
Me-hangs up

Call #4
Me-Answering the phone politely with my company name (she decided to call from a different phone # this time).
Her-$#@!^^$* (*%^#!%@ %%^&***#@!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Me-Hangs up

Call #5
Me-Answering the phone politely with my company name (she decided to call from yet another phone # than the previous two).
Her-I'm going to ____ rip your %*#!^)@ ______ off and _________ you _____.
Me-I've written down all the numbers that you've called me from and I will report you to the authorities. I suggest you stop calling me.
Her-Silence
Me-Hangs up

Let's dissect this incident to clarify where she may have misunderstood what to do when calling other people shall we?

Mistake number one
She did not know who she was calling. As you no doubt know from previous posts, I've found this to be an unhelpful no-no for everyone that is involved. She asked multiple times in her first call who the hell I was. Just a side note, it's not nice to swear at people you know, let alone those you don't.

Mistake number two
She did not seem to be well practiced in the listening skill department. As you also likely know from previous posts, I find this a very important skill to grasp. It will help you not only in your various phone interactions throughout your day, but in life in general as well. I knew she was not good at listening again from her multiple demands to know who the hell I was. Remember to open your ears (instead of just your mouth) every time you speak with someone-practice makes perfect! If you do your best to listen in all your interactions with others, and you'll have it down in no time! I know you all can do this!

Mistake numbers three and four
She kept calling. This in spite of the fact that she did not seem to know who or why she was calling. This caused her to be more frustrated I'm sure, which then seemed to cause her to break with normal perceptions of acceptable behavior and move in to the realm of threats of physical harm to me. That, my lovelies, is in fact against the law. Which mistake #4. I do not advise breaking the law, as it can only lead to you getting into various degrees of big trouble. That's no fun at all!

Did she do anything right?
Well, it seems she did learn from mistake #2. She decided to listen when I said I would have to contact the authorities and firmly suggested she not contact me again. The fifth call was indeed her final call to me (thus far).

The lesson here is quite simple. Everyone has caller ID these days. I know where you are, and don't you forget it.