The Rejection Hotline was started by Jeff Goldblatt as a way to avoid unwanted advances. It provides a fake phone number that, when called, delivers a message rejecting the caller. The service has grown in popularity, but some argue that polite rejection is still the best approach. Goldblatt believes that the hotline is necessary for situations where a person is creepy or scary. Local numbers are available online, and Goldblatt makes money from downloads and other joke hotlines.
The Rejection Hotline is a service started by Jeff Goldblatt in the early 2000s. Initially starting as a joke, with little intent even being serious, Goldblatt came up with the idea of using the Rejection Hotline as a way to shrug off the amorous advances of others that just don’t appeal. Instead of extending conversations with people you honestly don’t want to know, give the person a fake phone number. When the person calls the rejection hotline, they are greeted with a message that they have not reached the designated person and have been rejected.
The telephone message on the original line then suggests that the rejection may have occurred because the person has bad breath, body odor, or a combination of the two, and provides several other potential reasons for the rejection. At the end of the message, people are asked to forget the person who gave them their phone number, as that person has already forgotten about them.
Though Goldblatt initially started the rejection hotline as something of a joke, he was also inspired when he saw a woman attempting to repel the advances of a would-be suitor. Eventually he ended up embarrassing the boy in public by calling him several unfortunate names, producing an awkward public situation for rejection and rejection. Goldblatt felt that providing a hotline to avoid this kind of public discomfort was a bit fun and definitely necessary.
Rejection hotlines have grown in popularity, and you can now find numbers for numerous major US cities. There are also a number of copycat jokes, some nastier than others that eviscerate the rejected person with cruel claims or hints as to why that person was rejected. While some believe the rejection hotline is a public service, which has long been needed on the dating scene, others believe that polite rejection in public is still the best way to get rid of someone you’re not interested in.
Goldblatt argues that even when you try to be polite, you just can’t shake some people. Men and women may have had the experience of trying to politely deny the advances of someone they find undesirable. If a person appears “creepy” or a little scary, there may not be a good way to tell them to leave. In this case the rejection hotline may be a better way to extricate yourself from a difficult situation.
Local rejection hotline numbers are easy to find on the Internet, and Goldblatt makes money if you download rejection hotline ringtones. There are several other free joke hotlines Goldblatt has produced since that may be fun (or offensive) to visit. Other services span the Internet age and also offer opt-out email addresses.
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