Banker Gets Late-Night Calls From California, Calls Back At 5 A.M. Sharp

Long before cell phones and video calls, business ran on landlines and courtesy. Unfortunately, not everyone respected both.

Back in the 1970s, one Midwestern banker had a persistent client who couldn’t quite grasp the concept of time zones. After enduring weeks of late-night phone calls, he decided to give the man a wake-up call he’d never forget literally.

A 1970s banker’s polite patience finally runs out after a client keeps calling at dinnertime

Time zones can make ordinary communication feel like a chess match played in slow motion. In this story, the original poster’s father-in-law, Carl, found himself dealing with a client, Brewton, who refused to recognize that “after hours” means something different across the country.

Carl politely reminded him several times that the Eastern and Pacific time zones are not interchangeable, yet Brewton persisted until Carl turned the tables and gave him a taste of his own inconsideration.

According to organizational psychologist Dr. Adam Grant, such workplace friction often stems less from ignorance and more from “egocentric bias”, the natural human tendency to assume others share our perspective and priorities.

Brewton’s behavior wasn’t just poor etiquette; it revealed a lack of emotional intelligence. Research from Harvard Business Review notes that employees who demonstrate empathy and awareness of others’ working conditions build more trust and collaboration within professional networks.

On the other hand, Carl’s reaction, retaliating with an early-morning wake-up call, was equal parts humor and boundary-setting. It’s an example of what social scientists call “restorative justice lite”, a non-harmful act that forces an offender to experience the discomfort they’ve caused.

According to Dr. Robert Sutton of Stanford University, mild social pushback can help “reset” unfair dynamics when politeness fails, preventing future misuse of professional courtesy.

This small anecdote touches on a broader modern problem: the erosion of boundaries in the age of constant connectivity. The Harris Poll found that 60% of remote workers in the U.S. struggle to “fully disconnect” after hours, with time zone confusion cited as a leading factor for burnout in global teams. What was once an isolated annoyance for Carl in the 1970s is now a worldwide issue in the digital era.

Experts recommend clear boundary communication and time-aware scheduling tools, like shared calendars that automatically convert time zones, to maintain mutual respect.

Carl’s witty retaliation worked for his time, but in today’s workplace, professionals are encouraged to use assertive but civil approaches: explicitly defining “office hours,” adding automatic email replies outside working time, or even setting company-wide norms for cross-time-zone collaboration.

See what others had to share with OP:

These folks supported giving inconsiderate callers a taste of their own medicine

This group highlighted how time zone ignorance causes unfair work expectations

These Redditors joked about regional and cultural differences across the U.S.

This user simply praised the post’s humor and cleverness with playful remarks

Carl’s clever move didn’t just end a string of annoying calls, it restored balance across three time zones. Sometimes, the best lessons aren’t spoken; they’re scheduled. By turning the client’s words into action, Carl proved that politeness and precision can make revenge feel effortless.

So next time someone ignores your working hours, remember Carl’s golden rule: “Your morning or my morning?” Would you have done the same or let the phone ring at dinner one more time?