:Glares at BlinkingDuck:
Just as Cervaise invites running jigsaws by having a butthole.
pldennison, it takes just as much time and effort to say “Sorry, you’ve got the wrong number” as it does to say “I’m not interested, thanks.” Thus, if you’re talking about people “Stealing your time,” then the two instances are exactly alike. Telemarketers don’t focus on “Let’s make sure we call John Doe today,” they just go down a list of phone numbers. And you know what? Some people actually DO invest or buy what they’re selling. It’s a completely valid business practice, just like those people who push perfume samples at the entrances to malls. Sure, they’re a nussance, but the amount of time it takes to say “No thanks, not interested” is hardly worth getting bent out of shape about.
And I still don’t get this whole “invasion of privacy” bullshit you all are tossing about. On the few days I get to sleep in, if a telemarketer calls and wakes me up, I have no qualms telling them I’m not interested, hanging up, and getting back to sleep without feeling violated or intruded upon. Peeved I got woken up? Sure, but I don’t loose any sleep over it.
Man I love this thread. 
Hey, In Conceivable, next time someone does that, ask to speak to their supervisor. Then tell the supervisor to take you off the list. I have a sneaking suspicion that when the company gets desperate, they start calling people dispositioned as “not interested,” and I also think that a lot of the reps are really reluctant to disposition a “do not call” (I’m not, but I know a few of the people that have been working there for a long time are). You speak to a supervisor, though, and you’re definately taken off the list.
This is, of course, assuming that Citibank doesn’t contract out to multiple companies–it’s just how the place I work for goes.
I used to do telemarketing in college.
I understand your pain.
I go out of my way to be nice to telemarketers. I make sure to be firm and tell them I’m not interested but I always tell them to have a nice day.
Do I get a gold star?
Whoops! Sorry about that.
AOL, stop letting people make you feel guilty over stuff you can’t change. You did something bad to someone? That sucks, but all you can really do is apologize and try to do better in the future. People who continually beat you over the head with the past are destructive influences, so cut them out of your life. You hate your job? Again, that sucks, but I really get the feeling you thought you’d hate the job when you took it, so I’m afraid I’ve got pretty limited sympathy there.
As for the whole boyfriend thing, what were you thinking? This guy is pretty obviously a loser, so what exactly did you see in him? Again, destructive influence on your life, see above.
Still, even though I feel kind of bad for you, I understand perfectly well why people treat telemarketers the way they do. When I was living in the dorms those people drove my straight up the fucking wall. Asking them not to call back was about as effective as pissing into the wind. My roomie and I finally started telling them “I’m sorry, she moved,” or else “She dropped out.” With some companies that didn’t work either. One company called a record breaking 10 times in one day (5 times for each of us, and those are just the calls we were in the room to take) even when we told them repeatedly not only that this person no longer lived there, but that someone from that same company had already called that day. Jenn finally told them if they called again she was filing harassment charges, and they finally took the hint. That, my friends, is why there is such venom towards telemarketers.
I’ve actually lucked into a pretty good way of not dealing with them, though. We just moved, and our phone is in Dr. J’s name, so all the telemarketers ask to speak to him. When I tell them he’s not available, they ask if I’m Mrs. DrJ. I truthfully tell them no, and giggle to myself as they flounder around. The next step of course, is asking if Mrs. DrJ is around, and again I truthfully say she’s not. I then ask if I can take a message or help them with anything, and they never have any interest in speaking to me. It sucks for Dr.J, but I have a terribly good time with it. 
Another fun approach is to try to sell the telemarketer something they have no earthly use for. When they say they’re not interested, give them a huge list of arguments in favor of your product. Keep interrupting them if necessary to get your pitch in. You can also try to convert them to the obscure religion of your choice. It usually pisses them off so much they don’t call again for a while, but you’ve never been rude or abusive to them.
::tilts head:: Meh?
Oh…this thing…I thought it died.
BTW, as long as it’s here…I quit my job, I have a new boyfriend, and the ex-friend-of-a-friend stopped bothering me. So yays.
Congratulations on quitting. You’ve done the right thing.