You ever get calls from computers? Lately I’ve been getting this one a lot.
Ring
Me: Hello
Phone: Just as you picked up the phone, all of our operators became busy. Please stay on the line…
I’m surprised I know that much of it, as it irritates me so much I practically slam the phone down, to hang up. Does anyone really stay on the line? How presumptuous is it to actually call someone and put him or her on hold? Messages like these irritate anyone else?
Yes they drive me batty. Next time I get one, I might stay on the line to deliver a white hot searing stream of vitriol to the unfortunate soul on the other end.
Who’s the telemarketing wizard that came up with this ploy? Has anyone ever taken the bait and stayed on the line to wait for an operator? What are they selling?
I once heard of this incredibly intelligent way to combat telemarketing schemes. I don’t know if it works or not, but here’s the scoop:
Get a business license, and an ad in the phone book which reads:
“Profesional telemarketer evaluation. We will evaluate your telemarketers and auto-dialers to determine if the pitches would work or not.” (paraphrasing)
This number will be your home phone line as well.
Annoying people call you up, you listen to their bullshit, and either take the money that’s owed to you, or take them to court.
I don’t know how well this works, but at the least, it would be funny to tell someone they’re a horrible telemarketer and get paid $20 for it
I got one of those calls one time with the ‘sorry about the recording’ thing. I actually sat there, all through their spiel about whatever bogus product they were selling. At the end, they tell you to leave your name, telephone number, and address after the beep. I couldn’t help it. I had to say something.
<BEEP>
“What? You’ve been trying to get in touch with me. You should know my name, number and address.”
<CLICK>
My sister, whose credit problems run back to the time of dinosaurs, said that some collections agencies use the same tactic. They expect you to sit there and wait until they have a free operator to talk to you. If you know that you owe people money, and they’re not happy about it, why would you sit there and listen to their hold music? Boggles the mind.
Even more annoying are the ones that don’t hang up.
You get the recorded message. You hang up the phone in disgust. A minute later you pick up the phone to call your shrink because the telemarketing recording has driven you over the brink— and the stupid message is still playing.
Are these related to the Morons that get your answering machine and say “Hello? Hello?” Perhaps they have a device that dials and indicates when someone answers.
One day, I’m not going to invent a machine. A little black box with a red buttn on it, and it sits next to your phone. A telemarketeer calls, you hit the red button, there’s an explosion at the other end.
One day I would love to just pick up the phone and go “Hello” and when I hear “Hello sir, I’m calling you to sell you…” or something of those lines - I want to just scream maniacally right into the phone. And then hang up. Just to imagine the telemarketer jumping out of his desk chair and throwing that crummy headset to the ground. Just the mental image is enough to cause me hysterics.