# Oh noes! I offended a telemarketer!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noes-i-offended-a-telemarketer/362235
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [June 26, 2006, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noes-i-offended-a-telemarketer/362235 "2006-06-26T17:40:22Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2006, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noes-i-offended-a-telemarketer/362235/21 "2006-06-26T19:45:35Z")
> [@Lissa](#):
>
> You’d rather people lived a life of poverty and dependence on charity than doing honest work?
Of course not! But we’re talking about telemarketing, here. What does “honest work” have to do with it?
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2006, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noes-i-offended-a-telemarketer/362235/22 "2006-06-26T19:52:32Z")
> [@Lissa](#):
>
> It’s not their _choice_ to persist.
But it is their choice (limited as their choices may be) to be in an incredibly annoying line of work. Sorry, they get little sympathy from me. Not no sympathy, but very little.
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2006, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noes-i-offended-a-telemarketer/362235/23 "2006-06-26T19:54:59Z")
[This sounds familiar.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=51270) 😃
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### Author:  [@George\_Kaplin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/George_Kaplin)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2006, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noes-i-offended-a-telemarketer/362235/24 "2006-06-26T19:58:28Z")
> [@pinkfreud](#):
>
> One of the telemarketers that I hung up on was so infuriated that he called back and demanded to speak to “the manager.” I hung up on him again. He called back a third time and screamed “I fucked your daughter!”
Yeah, sorry about that. I was having kind of a bad day.
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### Author:  [@Green\_Means\_Go](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Means_Go)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2006, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noes-i-offended-a-telemarketer/362235/25 "2006-06-26T20:04:27Z")
In my youth, I was desperate for a job and answered an ad looking for people to deliver coupon books.
It didnt sound too bad… driving around all day with the AC and the radio on, handing off coupon books to folks who had already ordered them. Sure, we were instructed to lie to the customer to get them to let us use their telephone (Ma’am I need to ‘activate your coupon book’ was the excuse but actually I was supposed to be calling to get my next delivery) but this was in the days before everyone and their dog had a cell phone so it was at least slightly understandable. (Although still wrong)
I showed up for my first day and was walked into a room with 8 desks with telephones.
The manager said, “Hey, we don’t have any orders to be delivered right now, so if you wouldn’t mind making some calls to sell some maybe we’ll have some runs for you later this afternoon.” (DANGER! Will Robinson! DANGER!)
With no training I was given a phone, a list of numbers, and a script to read off if some poor schmuck answered.
I sat down.
I looked at my list.
I looked at the clock. It was 8:45am.
I looked back down at my list.
Sanity won out over economics. I picked up the list, walked to the manager sitting at his desk at the front of the room, handed it to him, and said:
“It’s early. I still have time to go find a real job.”
And with that, I beat feet the hell outta there! Best decision I ever made.
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### Author:  [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2006, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noes-i-offended-a-telemarketer/362235/26 "2006-06-26T20:04:32Z")
> [@George Kaplin](#):
>
> Yeah, sorry about that. I was having kind of a bad day.
I would probably die laughing if someone came back with something like that. The most confusing (and probably worst) that I’ve so far gotten is:
Her: I need to talk to the President, sweetie.
Me: Yeah, he’s not here right now. How can I help you, sweetie?
Her: Don’t call me sweetie, miss.
😕
Here I was thinking she and I were close like that. ☹
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### Author:  [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2006, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noes-i-offended-a-telemarketer/362235/27 "2006-06-26T20:12:19Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#):
>
> Calling “Diasa’s House of Whores” and soliciting is redundant.
Well, she is a **vice** president.
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### Author:  [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2006, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noes-i-offended-a-telemarketer/362235/28 "2006-06-26T20:15:54Z")
When telemarketers actually manage to catch me answering the phone, this is usually my response to them:
“You are attempting to use _my_ time to make _you_ money. My time is not free. I make $80,000 per year. For _you_, I will only charge $40 per hour for my time. I’ll accept PayPal or a cashier’s check. Once I’ve received payment in advance, call me back.”
Oddly, no takers so far. 😕
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### Author:  [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2006, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noes-i-offended-a-telemarketer/362235/29 "2006-06-26T20:22:21Z")
> [@Cervaise](#):
>
> Well, she is a **vice** president.
I’m just glad she didn’t say, “Hey! I’m not just a vice president…I’m a Client…!” :eek:
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### Author:  [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2006, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noes-i-offended-a-telemarketer/362235/30 "2006-06-26T20:24:17Z")
> [@Lissa](#):
>
> It’s not their _choice_ to persist. They’re given a list of “rebuttals” and if they don’t recite them, they can get in trouble. (The managers often monitor the calls.)
It is their choice not to take the job.
Why does this ‘industry’ demand that you recite a script?
> [@Lissa](#):
>
> I once worked as a telemarketer for four days. We were only supposed to call places of business, not residences. We didn’t like it any more than the recipients of the call, but it was the rules of the telemarketing center.
And why are the rules of the telemarketers so important? Why did I regularly get called at home? Why have various Governments had to set up arrangements so these pests won’t call you?
> [@Lissa](#):
>
> Look, I’m not saying you have to sit there and listen to them. Simply saying, “No thank you. Please remove me from your calling list,” and hanging up is sufficient. (The telemarketer will probably be grateful not to have to repeat the rebuttals for the twentieth time that day.) My objection is to people who take out their frustration on the telemarketer by being nasty to them. There’s no reason to do that.
Why do I have to answer the phone to these people?
Why should I do anything to make a telemarketer grateful?
When I was waiting to hear if my father’s serious medical operation had gone successfully, I was curt with a telemarketer who rang (and of course launched into a script). There certainly **was** a reason to do that.
Many centers are computerized. If the call is ended before the telemarketer hangs up, it’s automatically bounced back to the dialer. (Which is why the magic words “remove me from your calling list” are so important.) Some centers actually instruct the telemarketers to call back manually if the call is “disconnected.”
> [@Lissa](#):
>
> Guys, they’re not doing this for shits and giggles, nor do they get jollies out of the idea they’re annoying people. All they want is a paycheck.
Oh, so they know they’re annoying people?
And they just want the money.
Sounds like an ethical problem to me.
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### Author:  [@JustAnotherGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustAnotherGeek)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2006, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noes-i-offended-a-telemarketer/362235/31 "2006-06-26T20:31:54Z")
> [@Lissa](#):
>
> Christ almighty, man. Getting a call from a telemarketer is at most a minor annoyance which doesn’t merit such hostility.
You try running a business where these “minor annoyences”" actually mean a loss of productivity. (I.e. because time is spent answering these calls as opposed to working.)
> [@](#):
>
> You’d rather people lived a life of poverty and dependence on charity than doing honest work?
As someone else said: how does the phrase “honest work” apply here? They produce nothing. They sit in an office mindlessly following a script doing something they understand is an intrusive nuisence. The companies they work for are often some of the dodgiest around. They use tactics a used car dealer would be ashamed of.
> [@](#):
>
> Don’t be such a snob. Telemarketing centers are often located in areas where there aren’t a lot of jobs. For a person who never had a chance to get a higher education, it may be their only choice.
Interesting claim. I wonder if you have any actual evidence to back that up. Or are you just pulling this statisitc out of you hat to make us feel bad for the poor, poor telemarketers?
And to head off some of the standard replies: Yes, I understand that the truly obnoxious people are the managers and directors who set up this system; the ones making the calls are merely pawns. On the other hand, I don’t have much sympathy for the people who let themselves be pawns of these obnoxious leaches.
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### Author:  [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2006, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noes-i-offended-a-telemarketer/362235/32 "2006-06-26T20:35:05Z")
> [@Cervaise](#):
>
> Well, she is a **vice** president.
\< Stewie Griffin \>
Ask my about my sexy party!
\< SG \>
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### Author:  [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2006, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noes-i-offended-a-telemarketer/362235/33 "2006-06-26T20:52:58Z")
> [@pinkfreud](#):
>
> One of the telemarketers that I hung up on was so infuriated that he called back and demanded to speak to “the manager.” I hung up on him again. He called back a third time and screamed “I fucked your daughter!”
> [@George Kaplin](#):
>
> Yeah, sorry about that. I was having kind of a bad day.
Poor excuse for fucking her daughter, man. :mad: 😉
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### Author:  [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2006, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noes-i-offended-a-telemarketer/362235/34 "2006-06-26T21:31:49Z")
> [@Lissa](#):
>
> I don’t believe that other people’s bad behavior justifies bad behavior of my own.
I didn’t see any bad behavior. I saw a snarky comment in response to unbelievably rude and obnoxious behavior (even by telemarketing standards). And letting rude people know they are being rude is doing a favor to all of us. Including the person it’s directed at.
And I note you didn’t address the fact that often it is NOT honest work.
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### Author:  [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2006, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noes-i-offended-a-telemarketer/362235/35 "2006-06-26T21:34:15Z")
Was she good, at least?
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### Author:  [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2006, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noes-i-offended-a-telemarketer/362235/36 "2006-06-26T21:35:58Z")
This would be just another thread about telemarketing except for the egregious and offensive sexism. “Let me speak to the _man_ in charge”!!!
There’s no way I could let something like that go. I’m hopping mad just thinking about it!
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### Author:  [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2006, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noes-i-offended-a-telemarketer/362235/37 "2006-06-26T21:42:12Z")
> [@bluethree](#):
>
> “Let me speak to the _man_ in charge”!!!
Hey, what else is going to be in charge, a dog?
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### Author:  [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2006, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noes-i-offended-a-telemarketer/362235/38 "2006-06-27T01:05:17Z")
> [@JustAnotherGeek](#):
>
> You try running a business where these “minor annoyences”" actually mean a loss of productivity. (I.e. because time is spent answering these calls as opposed to working.)
That still doesn’t justify being rude.
> [@](#):
>
> As someone else said: how does the phrase “honest work” apply here? They produce nothing. They sit in an office mindlessly following a script doing something they understand is an intrusive nuisence.
They’re sales-people. It’s little different than selling other products-- they’re just doing it over the phone.
> [@](#):
>
> The companies they work for are often some of the dodgiest around. They use tactics a used car dealer would be ashamed of.
Some yes, some no. Not all companies who use telemarketing for sales are crooked. It’s unfair to color them all this way.
> [@](#):
>
> Interesting claim. I wonder if you have any actual evidence to back that up. Or are you just pulling this statisitc out of you hat to make us feel bad for the poor, poor telemarketers?
[Here.](http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A45989-2002Oct18?language=printer)
> [@](#):
>
> “We have handicapped people, we have elderly people, we have young people working their way through high school, and we have potential entrepreneurs out there,” he says. “We have people in big cities and in small communities as well. And they appreciate that if that job wasn’t available to them, there isn’t a whole lot of other things they could do.”
>
> According to a study by the Direct Marketing Association, the face of outbound telemarketers – those people calling to sell – looks something like this: 60 percent are women, 40 percent men. Twenty-six percent are full-time students, 70 percent are high school grads, 5 percent are college grads. About 65 percent are racial minorities, and 5 percent are handicapped. Sixty-two percent of the women are mothers, 26 percent are single mothers. Their mean annual wage is $20,285 (or $9.67 per hour; commissions can up that to about $12 an hour).
> [@betenoir](#):
>
> I didn’t see any bad behavior. I saw a snarky comment in response to unbelievably rude and obnoxious behavior (even by telemarketing standards).
I was speaking in general, not directed any specific poster.
> [@](#):
>
> And letting rude people know they are being rude is doing a favor to all of us. Including the person it’s directed at.
Miss Manners disagrees with you, but I’m sure it’s satisfying. Returning rudeness with rudeness simply lowers you to the level of the offender.
> [@](#):
>
> And I note you didn’t address the fact that often it is NOT honest work.
If their business practices are dishonest, they’ll be shut down by the appropriate authorities. If they are selling a product within legal standards, it is honest work.
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### Author:  [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2006, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noes-i-offended-a-telemarketer/362235/39 "2006-06-27T02:08:17Z")
Anymore, I get VERY short with telemarketers, because we’re on the state (or county, I forget which one) DNC list, and lately, we’ve had a few creep up. Next time, I’m going to point that out. Stupid fuckers.
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### Author:  [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2006, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noes-i-offended-a-telemarketer/362235/40 "2006-06-27T02:47:05Z")
Due to the unusual structure of our company, the only people who have a legitimate need to speak with our president or chairman already know what their names are. As a result, anyone who asks to speak to the president has pretty much outed himself as a telemarketer. We take turns now pretending to be the boss and giving a new BS story about why we have no interest in their products.
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