Actually, Angel, that was the point I was making to tlw, that it’s not the same thing. Like I said, I just hang up. I hate telemarketing as much as anyone, but I do think you’re a pretty cool person even though I don’t respect the job you hold. It’s obvious you don’t like it, however, which is worthy of my respect (strange statement, huh?). And not selling to the guy who didn’t speak English? Very cool.
Southwestern Bell called me this afternoon. Since they are my phone company, I had to at least start to listen. When I found out they were trying to sell me SWB DSL, I said, “No, thanks. I already have DSL and it’s better than what Southwestern Bell offers.” Then I hung up.
I completely agree with Max Torque. If telemarketing weren’t profitable, it wouldn’t be around. Yelling obscenities might make it unprofitable (people quitting, etc.), but not buying is the best way to kill it in the long run. I honestly have no clue how they make money off this stuff. I know, it is annoying as hell and the ‘long run’ will seem like forever to get there. I feel for everyone having to go through that hell. Don’t ask me how, but I have avoided it here. Maybe it has to do with Oregon law, I don’t know. I have a listed number and no caller ID. I get about 3 calls a month, and never during dinner. I do have to pay $0.75 to QWEST to have my name tagged for not calling, so maybe that is it.
The telemarketers in the forum seem to have said, “don’t be rude” because the telemarketer is just doing a job and is a person. But on the flip side, the telemarketer is doing something they MUST realize is unwanted and is considered rude to the people they are calling. Isn’t that a bit hypocritical? I mean, the person that is rude to you obviously considers being called by you a rude act. You knew when the call was placed it would be considered rude (or there was a fair chance it would be thought of that way). So if you are rude first, why isn’t it fair for them to be rude back?
My personal response to telemarketers is, “My wife and I charge $500 to listen to sales pitches. This call is being recorded. If your next words are anything but goodbye, your company will be charged for my listening services.” And yes, I do record the calls. NOT ONCE has anyone ever stayed on the line. Ever. In 5 years.
As an ex-telemarketer, I say this to you not-yet-ex-telemarketers who complain about rude customers: Grow some fucking balls.
I realized that I had a job that pissed a lot of people off, and I delighted in it. Sure, making sales was less stressful and more rewarding, but after smoking a bowl before work and two at lunch, drinking 10 sodas, and popping three caffeine pills, I was ready to butt heads with any self-righteous prick who wanted to swear at me, make death threats, or feed me tired old “how to fuck with a telemarketer” lines he got from internet message boards. The day I got to say Fuck you too, sir! was the best time I had at that place!
You’ve probably been told that every call ends up in a sale - either you sell them your product, or they sell you an excuse. Well, if you let them bully you into feeling like shit or hating your job, they’re selling you a double dose. And you should be working in a petting zoo, where the customers aren’t going to take advantage of you.
And if this post pisses you off, you really don’t belong in telemarketing.
Some on this thread have said that, rather than be rude, they hang up on the TM. My problem is that I feel rude if I do that! I usually don’t have it in me to be verbally abusive, and I feel rude by hanging up, so what should I do when the person WON’T TAKE NO for an answer? I have even had one guy act as if I were some sort of moron for not wanting the service he was hawking.
The fact is that I am having to learn to be firm with my NO and I have even started letting my irritation show (if you knew how nonconfrontational a person I am, this would AMAZE you). But the best thing that has ever happened to me is Caller ID. Now I no longer answer any call without ID. If I can just figure out how to use the Call Block now, it’ll be perfect!!!
So that means that the telemarketer imposes upon you to be rude enough to hang up, but not so rude as to voice your opinion. What a pile of twaddle. It’s a disgraceful business.
Legal Remedy: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/tcpa.html
"You have recourse against entities or persons who continue to call you after you have requested to be placed on a “do not call” list. Some states permit you to file law suits against the violators; you may be awarded $500 in damages or actual monetary loss, whichever is greater. This amount may be tripled if you are able to show that the caller willfully and knowingly violated do-not-call requirements. "
Lazy remedy:
“Please hold”.
Put down phone. Do dishes, laundry etc. Hang up after they do.
No, go ahead and voice your opinion. If he’s a pushover, he’ll break down and get a job in a petting zoo or teaching yoga classes, and you’ll have one less telemarketer to deal with. Otherwise, hang up and stop wasting your time and his.
Look, if you have a phone for your own convenience, what’s so hard about hanging up when it becomes inconvenient?
I invite you to publish your phone number, and somehow you infer that I think you don’t have a home phone?
Obviously you don’t get enough telemarketing calls, which is why I am offering to give your number to a company, so that a computer can phone you and tell you about a scheme (of course it’s not a pyramid scheme ) which will let you make money from your home!
You’re not scared to publish your number are you?
After all, these phone calls don’t bother you…
I am not a telemarketer by any means, however, I work in a business that sometimes requires me to make outgoing phone calls.
Sometimes, we’ll receive an application without all the necessary information, or I’ll have to call a customer back in regard to correspondence they sent in.
You would not believe how many people don’t let me get past “Hello, this is Wicky from XYZ Company, may I please speak with Mr. Smith?”
I’ve been cursed at, screamed at, and hung up on. I log each and every call on the customers account, and note if they were rude or unreasonable.
Obviously, those people hate telemarketers. That’s fine and dandy. What they don’t realize is that not every call is a telemarketer. When they call back a month later wondering why they never received what they wanted, I get great joy out of telling them that they did indeed receive a call, but they either hung up on and/or cursed at the representative.
Why is answering the phone such a traumatic experience? How about plain old common courtesy? I don’t like being telemarketed either, but really, how hard is it to listen for a second and say “no thanks” and hang up? What if it is your credit card company calling to inquire about unusual (or potentially fraudulent) activity on your account? I’ve gotten calls like that before. What if I just screamed obscenities at someone because a) I didn’t recognize their voice, and b) they asked for me by my full name? Would I then call in and demand an explanation as to why I was never notified when I got my bill? What if I mailed in a student loan application and forgot to include something important on the form and the company called for the information, but all I did when I answered the phone was scream? Wouldn’t I be sorry when school starts and I haven’t paid and can’t attend class?
I’d like to be angry with telemarketing companies for making people like that, but really, the companies can’t ‘make’ anyone behave badly. If answering the phone makes you that insane, invest in an answering machine and screen your calls. If that’s not feasible, just listen for a second before you go berserk.
Thanks.
Something I’d like to ask the telemarketers about.
That’s what I always do. But I heartily resent the intrusion.
All these “what ifs” are good reasons to not scream at someone right as soon as you answer the phone, I agree.
But repeated abuses of MY phone line will result in the rather predictable and understandable feeling of intense irritation and rage. That won’t make me be rude, but it will prompt me to be easily impatient, and quick to hang up.
Do you get a 8-10 (or so) telemarketer calls a day? I do, on some days. I was stupid a few years ago and gave out my phone number when I bought things (or signed up for things) on the Internet. The result now is that I get TONS of calls, every day. Sometimes they come every 15 minutes. What do you expect me to do? Jump up and answer every call? Do you think this amount of telemarketing is within reason? Do you not think I have a REASON to be mightily annoyed? Could you understand that perhaps, after this barrage of telemarketing calls, the sound of the phone ringing has taken on a new dynamic for me? That perhaps my attitude about the phone is forever altered?
I am NEVER abusive on the phone, but I have taken to using caller ID, and ignoring all calls that do not identify themselves. The rare times I do take a call from a telemarketer, I hang up almost immediately. This may mean that I’ll miss that important call telling me that I have some error on an application, or that perhaps someone has charged against my account, without my consent. So – what do you propose I do? Answer the phone every FRICKING 15 MINUTES “just in case” someone like you is trying to reach me, to try to inform me of something important? If I happen to miss an “important” call, (intermingled amidst the sea of telemarketing trash calls I get EACH AND EVERY DAY) who do you think is to blame? Is it reasonable that I hop to answer the phone EVERY FRICKING TIME it rings? (And no, I don’t want an answering machine. They’ve always been unreliable for me.)
Fortunately for me, I am in the process of moving, and have a new phone number at my new house. It will be given out to NO ONE, and I am slow to even hook up a phone to it. (I am using it for the Internet only right now.) As far as I am concerned, I don’t need a regular phone. Everyone I care about can reach me on my cell phone, or via email.
