The following happened to me some 10 years ago, with me calling from Florida to a number in New York. A much more recent phone exchange brought it to mind now:

Me: Hello, could I speak to ______?
Answering Hag: No, you can’t, he’s not here.
Me: Oh, alright. Could I leave him a message?
AH (instantly exasperated): This isn’t going to take long, is it?
Me: What, leaving the message?
AH: Yes, I’m walking out and I’m in a hurry.
Me: Um, do you have an answering machine, or voicemail on this line?
AH: Why?
Me: I’m just saying, why don’t you just hang up, and I’ll call right back and leave my message on voicemail, so you can go ahead and leave.
AH: I don’t have time for this.
Me: I just don’t want to hold you up, and it’s not a short message –
AH: [click]
Me: [called back 5 minutes later, got voicemail, left my message]

I guess she showed me, right?