It's not particularly respectful when it's a rejection. Especially when YOU have to find time on your calendar to make the call (which you already know is a rejection) just to schedule a five minutes "we can't tell you why, but you can apply again in a year" BS

Wasting time is the feature. The fact that it wastes the caller's time as well is the reason that it works as a sign of respect.

No way man.

Being terminated by phone or in person is respectful compared to email. Being rejected by phone for something that for most times is going to not be successful, that's just twisting the knife.

At the moment I don't know how to respond to call requests when it's not successful. I fear that saying: "Hey if this is a rejection, I would prefer to just get an email. I understand."

Like it or not, a phone call is considered more respectful. Respectful doesn't mean easy, pleasant, or efficient. And the standards for respect are not set by any one person; they've evolved over a long time.