Call you later

‘I’ll give you a call later’

Waiting for a call like this can be anxiety inducing because ‘later’ is a huge period of time.  

There’s no certainty to it.

The casual nature of this comment can evoke feelings of being tied to your desk or paranoid about your phone reception.

It works for the caller because the comment shows intent without making any promises. They can call whenever they want to with a commitment like this.

The contrast of the experiences leads me to believe this is about status.

The caller decides when the call happens and the receiver just has to be on standby until their phone rings.

I think the solution to this scenario is for the caller to commit to a time & earn trust by showing up and for the receiver to prioritise their time. If they have nothing better to do and are happy to wait, then wait. But if they can think of a more productive use of their time then go do that.

If you miss the call then it was the caller’s fault for not specifying a time.