I welcome those phone calls, cause i enjoy just harassing them back. it’s fun.
I hope you have something wittier to use than, say, antitelemarketer.com’s “tormenting techniques”. Most of those aren’t even funny on paper.
What should definately be illegal is “Hi. You’ve been called by such and such. One of our sales reps will be on the line in a minute…” God DAMN. Any automated call should be illegal.
And Mr2001…this, “He hung up, so he must want me to call back tomorrow” stuff is really lame. Do you really think you can get a sale out of someone who hangs up on you? I understand you don’t care how many people you bother, but I can’t understand why you would continue to hound someone who HANGS UP ON YOU.
Like Lynn Bodoni , i work nights as well, at a nursing home. During the day, i will answer the phone, if i am awake to hear it ring. Often it is a telemaketer, only rarely is it somebody i want to talk to, like my grandma, my parents or my siblings.
I have a phone to call people that i want to talk to. I have a phone so that i can call 911 if i need to.
I have a phone so i can call and inquire about services and goods that i want or need, i have a phone so i can have an internet connection.
Commercial on televisoon do not wake me when i am asleep, or disturb me when i am sick. Magazine ads can be ripped out or drawn on. Banner ads do not make noise.
I do NOT have a phone so that telemarketers can bother me!
I have ovaries and a uterus but this does not mean that i want to have a dozen babies!
i want the practice of telemarketing to curl up and die!
Lemur866:
Maybe he hung up because he was expecting an important call. Who knows? In any case, if I haven’t even mentioned the product or service I’m providing, that’s not a turn down. The person is not saying no to the product, he’s saying no to the time of the call, the sound of my voice, or his current state of mind.
Do you think we do it to bother people? Money comes from making sales, not pissing people off. The owner is experienced (and cheap) enough that if it were profitable to call that a turn down, we’d be doing it.
I don’t have anything against telemarketing itself. If someone calls me, I’ll listen to what they have to say. Who knows, perhaps they may be offering something I need? If not, I’ll politely say that I’m not interested, ask them not to call me again, and then put the phone down. I know that, if I was in their position, I wouldn’t want to be insulted or have someone blow a whistle down the phone at me.
I do object to some of the tactics telemarketers use from time to time, though. People who call and use my first name really piss me off. Another thing I don’t like is when they make an offer under false pretences, to get your interest and then try to sell you something else.
An example: I got a call offering me a free carpet shampoo, carefully worded so it sounded like a carpet cleaning company offering a free no-obligation trial. I said yes, and the next day, a girl comes to my house carrying several large boxes. It turns out that those boxes contain a Kirby vacuum, which she then demonstrates for three hours. Not what I was expecting. The free carpet shampoo actually turned out to be the two square feet she did to show me how it worked. Again, not what I was expecting. I did buy the Kirby, but I also told her that, even though I was happy to buy what she was selling, I thought the tactics they used to get into my house were dishonest and blatantly misleading. She left without the names and addresses of any of my acquaintances (for referral purposes) and strict instructions to tell her boss that I think their telemarketing tactics stink. I felt sorry for her, too - it wasn’t exactly fair of these guys to put this girl in such an awkward position.
So, to sum things up - telemarketers can call me safe in the knowledge that they won’t get any abuse from me. But if they try to mislead me, as these people did, I won’t take too kindly to it, even if I do buy what they REALLY are trying to sell. It’s unnecessary - if they told the truth, I would still have let them visit me at home to do their demo.
kirk280980- Your objection sent via the sales girl will go down in her boss’s notes as:
“sale” (translation: “do more of the same”)
Bad move. Obviously you didn’t object to their tactics very much–you wouldn’t have bought the thing if you did.
Or it could be that this person refuses to buy ANYTHING that’s marketed to him over the phone. Period. That IS a turn down.
I note, with glee, that Texas might have a statewide “do not call” list soon. The Texas House of Representatives is doing an interim study on the business.
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlo/billsrch/subject/76r/S0079.HTM
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlo/76R/billtext/SB00120I.HTM
Sorry, I was watching the thread in the Pit. Cervaise sure seems to know what he’s doing.
Don’t talk to me about charity. I’ve been a member and even president of my Kiwanis organizations (Circle K in college and the Kiwanis Club afterwards) for over six years now.
I’ve given hundreds, if not thousands, of my own dollars to help the poor and the needy, worked long hours at Texas Rangers baseball games to raise money for the Key Club we sponsor at a local high school, and sacrificed my time to help those less fortunate - and not just during Christmas and Thanksgiving, either.
We have never solicited anything over the phone, and quite frankly, I’ve never had any problem finding people and worthy organizations that need our help. I’ve certainly never been cold-called by a charity organization that was any more in need than the others I’ve encountered as part of Kiwanis.
So what you’re saying is that the guys who called you might coincidentally have been the ones that fixed your windshield in a totally unrelated incident? That’s weak.
I gotta say if my windshield needed fixing, I could find plenty of places around here in Dallas to do it without having to wait for somebody to call me on the phone. Right now, since my windshield is in perfect shape, that’s a call I neither want nor need!
It is, in fact, a call that you need to deal with. I would have to say that anybody who calls me “buddy” and invites me over to watch the game is a friend. What’s the point of having friends if you don’t communicate with them?
To build on your “game” scenario, let’s suppose I’m not home when Buddy calls. He leaves the question you posed to me on my answering machine. I get home from wherever it is that I’ve gone about halfway through the game.
My friend might be a little upset that he didn’t hear from me before the game began. I probably owe him and explanation and/or an apology, depending on whether or not we enjoy watching the teams involved in whatever game this is.
I need, in other words, to deal with this call.
I meant that while I occasionally get a call (especially at work where all of our extensions are four digits) that was misdialed, I never accidentally get called every day by the same company until I answer them.
Yes, that happens quite frequently. There are periods where I’ll come home, and every single day there will be an “out of area” call at around 11:00 AM or noon. I doubt this is a friend calling me ever day at around the same time, especially since they never leave messages. That sounds like a telemarketer to me.
Pete
Long time RGMWer and ardent AOLer
Lynn Bodoni:
He can go ahead and say “I don’t buy anything over the phone.” That’s a turn down. Or he can hang up and leave us guessing, in which case it isn’t.
psiekier:
You asked for opportunities that have been presented by telemarketing. I provided.
I’m saying that when my windshield gets broken, I think “Hmm, who can fix this? Brand X Auto Glass called a while ago, I think they had a special. I’ll call them back and ask about it.”
Now, it wasn’t my car so I didn’t deal with it myself. But if it happens to me, I know which company will come to mind first.
Going back to RoboDude’s original post and what I said after the line above, I have never encountered a tele-charity (for lack of a better term) that deserved my time/money/effort more than the ones I have met through Kiwanis.
I get calls occasionally from someone claiming to respresent some kind of fireman’s or policeman’s charity. I suggest they send me their information in the mail. It never arrives.
By contrast, I’ve had folks from the Red Cross, ARC, Boys and Girls Clubs, ChildSpree, Children’s Miracle Network, Salvation Army, Old Bedford School Historical Society, and other groups come to speak at my club’s meetings; the results were positive for all parties concerned, and none of them involved telemarketing-style calls.
Most of the people posting to this thread (including me) feel that their telephones are for personal communication, and not another advertising medium.
Your example of the windshield repair seems to indicate that your phone was used to advertise to you.
Incredulity doesn’t even begin to describe what I’m feeling here. I can’t believe you think it makes more sense for the Teeming Millions to have to endure the inconvenience and irritation of receiving unsolicited advertisements in the privacy of their own home from telemarketers who routinely refuse to identify themselves as such prior to connection (caller ID - you know what I’m talking about), just for the benefit of a select few who might, by complete chance, receive an unwarranted solicitation that fits their needs.
I guarantee you that at any given moment, the number of citizens who own vehicles with intact windshields (potential Brand X customers) far outstrips the number of folks in desperate need of windshield repair (people who would directly benefit from a call by Brand X).
Isn’t that why we have yellow pages?
It shouldn’t be a “do not call” list; it should be a “call list.” If I had a choice, my default answer would be “do not call” - why should I have to take time out of my day to explain that to some stranger who calls me on my telephone?!?
True, there are commercials on radio and television - but they subsidize the media in which they appear (we’ve been over this). My telephone number uniquely identifies my household, and it is not for the public broadcasting of advertisements into my daily life.
I have caller ID. It infuriates me that telemarketers never show up. I suspect - no, I know - they are deliberately blocking their identification via this method.
I have friends and family that live outside my caller ID area. They don’t show up either, but if I’m home, I’m going to answer the phone. They are my friends and they are my family - people I know that have important things to tell me, whether I want to hear it or not.
They deserve the dignity of a live response on the other end - telemarketers do not.
Pete
Long time RGMWer and ardent AOLer
And when I need auto insurance, for instance, I know that I WON’T be doing business with a certain insurance company in this town, because I used to get telemarketing recordings from that company. So yes, I know which company will come to my mind first…as a company to avoid. It works both ways, and I daresay that it is more negative than positive.
psiekier:
Yes… if they’re anything like the one I have experience with, they’re in the business of telemarketing, not direct mailing. All the information is available over the phone and they’d be happy to read it to you, or show it to you in person.
I know that at least the Red Cross, ARC, and Boys & Girls Clubs use telemarketing. Perhaps they’ve just never called you, or they don’t do it in your state.
I’ve never found it to be much of an inconvenience. Listen to what they have to say, then say yes or no.
I know what you think you’re talking about. Caller ID “blocking” was covered in the Pit thread…
don’t ever give to these telemarketing scams. i worked for a couple of these about 10 or 11 years ago. they send a runner to pick up your check and about 98% of the proceeds go to the telemarketers. don’t give money to them no matter how hard they press or misrepresent themselves as cops or firemen. they like to prey on small businesses with the implication that buying their sticker will get them increased protection (or any protection).
And if they’re anything like the ones zwaldd has experience with, they’re in the business of telemarketing, not collecting for charity 
They seem to think it’s OK that I request a hardcopy of the information to make sure they’re legitimate. It strikes me as odd that I never seem to get the hardcopy I ask for.
The point I was trying to make is that we (the agencies and my club, collectively) have accomplished enough to, in my mind at least, indicate that no telemarketing is necessary to make the world a better place to live - and isn’t that the point of this thread?
How about, “wait until I need you, then I’ll call.” I like the sound of that.
It must be pretty nice to conveniently pick a method of communication that can’t be identified using normal caller ID technology. I submit to you this is neither accident nor coincidence.
Pete
Long time RGMWer and ardent AOLer
psiekier:
I wouldn’t trust a company that sent someone out to pick up the check either.
Sure, you can do it other ways.
You can get business by putting up billboards. You can also get business by running TV ads, radio ads, magazine ads, and so on. Telemarketing is just one more way to do it. Of course it’s not “necessary”, but neither is any other form of advertising.
OK, so which part of my explanation do you disagree with?
Do you believe that blocking caller ID results in higher profits? If so, how? If not, do you believe the telemarketers are motivated by something other than profit?
Digital lines are cheaper and easier to add in the quantities used by telemarketers. That’s why they’re used.
The more people they can reach, the more likely they are to sell something. If people with caller ID could tell they were receiving calls from telemarketers, some wouldn’t answer the phone. This will reduce the number of people they can reach.
YES, there are people who have trouble saying no or who are easily confused and pressured into bad deals who would not answer the phone if it was obviously a telemarketer.
BTW, call centers often have headsets which can be used to adjust the volume. I leave mine set at around 3 or 4 because it can get very loud if you crank it up. If you get a telemarketer, try speaking extremely softly for a while, until they crank it up all the way, then yell or blow a whistle in the phone, if you want to piss someone off. A loud noise with my headset cranked all the way up can be painful.
It isn’t “just one more way to do it”, it’s a way that causes extreme irritation and makes it easier to get away with being dishonest. There are numerous good reasons to outlaw it, and no good reasons to allow it.
I finally finished reading this discussion thread and finally, near the end someone finally mentioned about the police and fireman’s associations-they are bogus organizations that deserve nothing but your contempt. Here is what we have going on locally:
Telemarketers cop out on decency
Say No to the Phone Badgers
Goof-up or mail fraud; that’s the query (did someone here say they solicited for someone selling concert tickets for a “charity”, here? hmmm 
)