Telemarketees...

The BBQ Pit
81

The rash of telemarketing has surely affected the reliability of polls taken by legitimate services, assuming they were ever reliable. So many people are conditioned to hang up on callers if they don’t know them, and these people are the ones whose views are never recorded in polls.

Incidentally, I wonder what the legality would be if someone were to blare a loud siren into the mouthpiece, if a telemarketer were to be unwilling to take “no” for an answer. Sure, causing physical harm, and possible hearing loss to the poor telemarketer is probably illegal, but then if you warned them to leave you alone or else, could you be prosecuted? In any event, its not like they would have a recording of the call as evidence, since it is surely illegal to record phone conversations without the permission of both parties.

Mind you, I’m not advocating sending telemarketers to the hospital, but it is surely a possible risk of the job!

Finally, at the office I work at we have had a rash of people from all sorts of businesses enter our building to make a sales pitch. This is despite having a sign prominately displayed on the door saying “No Solicitations”. I’m sure they come in anyway, because they probably find business even at places with signs like this, and of course, it’s no doubt statistically harder for people to turn down an actual person face-to-face than a phone solicitation. Nonetheless, when these unwelcome solicitations take place despite prior warning, taking away valuable “work” time, it does make me wonder what the law says, and if there is any protection…

82

Why did I answer the phone? Because once in a great while the person on the other end is someone I want to talk to. I don’t always have the luxury of running to the ID box first, and I don’t like to screen calls through the machine. Hell, I don’t like hearing the damn thing ring once. I certainly don’t want to hear it ring 3 times before the machine picks up.

What is more elemental than my being able to decide how to spend any particular second of time in my own home? Your unwanted call is an intrusion, nothing more, nothing less.

I no longer get angry with telemarketers. As soon as the caller identifies themself as a telemarketer, my response is a uniform, polite, “Thanks, I’m not interested” IMMEDIATELY followed by hanging up. I don’t wait for a break, and will readily talk over the spiel. How is that impolite? Occasionally I hear the marketer sputtering as the phone descends, but that is not my concern. Are you saying you will follow that up with a repeat call in a few days Mr2001? If so, you are an asshole and you work in an inexcusably shitty business.

And I am supposed to have to do exactly what to keep telemarketers from bothering me? And how effective will that be? Yeah, right! I will be taken off THE master list, and will never be disturbed by another telemarketer. Anyone got some swampland in Fla I can buy?

Ms D generally asks that we be taken of their list. Sometimes I express the same desire, but I question the efficacy, so I save those syllables. I’m already giving the uninvited caller 7 more than he deserves. My current approach reflects a conscious effort to minimize the intrusion of these unwanted calls. I will give them as little time as I can. I will not get mad at them, because they are not worth upsetting myself. I will, however, practice being reasonably polite in declining, because I can think of few experiences where rudeness, profanuity, etc are beneficial. (And my politeness could use more practice than my rudeness!) We have taken steps in the past to minimize junkmail/telemarketing. If the amount of both we still receive is a reduction, whoa nellie!

I don’t hate telemarketers. I don’t get mad. They are just doing their jobs. A job I am glad I don’t do. But I CAN minimize the time they take from me.

As far as why I don’t hear out the spiel, add me to the list who never has and never will buy something from a telemarketer. Maybe I’m really losing out on a whole bunch of wonderful deals, but we’ll muddle through somehow. Oh yeah, we welcome the calls from the Vietnam Vets and Perple Heart who come to our door to take away our old stuff. So I wait long enough to hear who the caller is before declining and hanging up.

Which brings me to my next point. If there is anything worse than a telemarketer, it is a telemarketer who takes his/her damn sweet time explaining his business. If they say, “Hi, I’m Bob from super windows…” I hear than much and say I’m not interested. But, if they say, “Hey, Dinsdale. How ya doing tonight. Blah, blah, blah.” That pisses me off. That may not be your style, Mr2001, but you are tarred by the brush deservedly applied to your fellows.

And, we haven’t even addressed computerized calls.

As far as surveys are concerned, you want my time and opinion, you’re gonna have to pay me for it.

83

I don’t think it takes a braniac to realize that the vast majority of people do not appreciate telemarketers. I don’t advocate being rude to them, but I do support the short and sweet “I’m not interested, good-day.” and hanging up. I don’t have much sympathy for the callers, much in the same manner that I have none for used-car salesmen and those jackals that sell jewelry and electronics at inflated prices to unsuspecting customers, and them extending them a line of credit at an absurdly high interest rate. Basically, these are people who accept a job that is preying upon those in our society who do not have the ability to make good judgement calls. Whether these victims are naive, not worldly-wise, or in some cases, mentally defficient, I find it to be appalling. Those of you who have worked in these areas and have since left and made a conscious decision not to return, I salute you. Those of you who are amongst their ranks and/or continue to defend them, well…I have no respect for you.

The thing I find most annoying about telemarketers, is that they have invited themselves into your homes, via the phone-lines, without your permission. I have a phone for friends, family, and dealing with established personal business. I do not want to be sold something over the phone, and anyone who calls me attempting to solicit ANYTHING will not have my business, unless it is absolutely neccessary. Do not invite yourself into my life, without my consent, and attempt to sell me something, because I consider the tactic itself to be rude.

The unlisted number quibble boggles my mind MR2001. Can you not understand that those of us who have unlisted numbers do it for the very purpose of NOT RECIEVING UNWANTED CALLS? It seems pretty damn simple and obvious to me.

84

Speaking of “posting like a jackass”, as Mr. C has said, I gotta wonder what’s got him braying so loudly. After all, he says he’s not a telemarketer at all. Fine, C-man, then lighten up, we’re not complaining about you, you putz.

You have complained, in insulting language, that we are not paying attention to your advice to opt out. What you in turn seem to be missing is that opting out doesn’t necessarily work, as reported by several posters. Putz.

In addition, you seem to have ignored the many examples in this thread demonstrating the extent to which telemarketing schemes attempt to defraud consumers. Once again, while your calls may be legitimate, many are not. Putz.

I’ve posted two previous messages to this thread. The main point of each was that, given the overwhelming sentiment against unsolicited sales calls directed toward consumers at home, perhaps it is time to ban the practice. I’m not calling for a ban on your B to B operation. Putz.

Lastly, how many words in this sentence: “Put me on your do not call list.”
.
.
.
.
.
hmmm…eight. Same as the number of syllables. Putz.

In future, you may find your arguments to be more persuasive if you stick to the subject and save the name-calling for the schoolyard.:wally

85

Hey everyone! I’m poorer than Mr. Cynical. Ergo, I’m stupid.

I’m not even going to ask how you know my net worth.

Pardon me. The 2 "Mr"s who were being assholes got me confused.

How in the name of Jesus Christ with an erection do you know what my “real-world experience” amounts to? Trust me, I’ve held better jobs than telemarketer.

86

That’s a good point, but we, at least, have extensive quotas on nearly every project we do to make sure we get a good cross-section. So if we ever thank you and hang up, that’s why.

Most phones have volume limiters. That little speaker can only pump out so much noise, you know? We did have one interviewer claim worker’s comp for a busted eardrum that he claimed was caused by a loud noise over the phone, but it was pretty suspicious.

There are some states that don’t require both parties to consent. Either way, listen carefully to the opening pitch. You may hear “This call could be recorded” thrown in there somewhere.

87

Zette:

Good, then I don’t have a problem with you. Now if only everyone would say what they really mean.

We make it very clear who we are, and we don’t require payment over the phone - in fact, we’ve only even had the ability to take credit cards since last week.

Yes, there are scammers who might be somewhat similar, but there are also used car dealerships that will screw customers just as much. That doesn’t mean you should never buy a used car.

No, saying “gee, I would love to contribute this year!” means they would like to contribute. If they want to get across the idea that they don’t want to, perhaps they shouldn’t say the exact opposite.

Some people here seem to want to frustrate telemarketers, in the hopes of shutting down the entire industry because everyone will quit (ignoring the fact that we take applications every day and hire new people all the time).

They seem to think that calling a telemarketer names, swearing, or blowing an air horn at the phone will achieve this goal, when in reality he’ll just laugh and tell his friends “Hey, this lady just blew a whistle at me!” “Haha, did you put her on redial?” “Of course!”

If I hung up every time I heard “I’m not interested,” I’d lose a lot of sales. Sure, there are people who disagree with telemarketing on principle - for those people, we have “take off list”.

But there are also plenty who are only uninterested because they don’t know what we’re selling. That’s why we like to let you know what it is.

I’m saying we won’t accept “no” as a turn down unless we’ve mentioned what we have. Whether that’s a good policy is debatable. It’s profitable and legal, though, so it’s what we do.

Five words: “Take me off your list.”

88

neutron star:

More like a few hundred calls a day, and most of those are answering machines, disconnects, businesses, no adults home, etc.

It’s a bit of a stretch, but not much. There are people who can sell everyone they get a chance to pitch, for hours at a time. Some of that is going to be luck, of course - some people genuinely don’t have the money, or are opposed to telemarketing on principle, or whatever.

manhattan:

Nonsense. Some of our most successful telemarketers have also been successful “real” salesmen, car or otherwise.

And success doesn’t only come from bullying. One guy makes a lot of sales because he presses on until the customers relent - another is just friendly, interesting, and confident… and he’s even more successful.

Alzarian:

First, what would the effect be? Do you think our headsets are loud enough to cause hearing damage? I work in a very loud, crowded room, so all the headsets are turned up to maximum volume, but I can still barely hear what people on the other end are saying half the time!

“Give me your wallet or I’ll kill you.”

If you don’t give me your wallet and I kill you, can I be prosecuted? I mean, I warned you!

Depends which state you live in. It’s legal here to record calls with the permission of at least one party.

monkeylucifer:

Perhaps that’s your reason. Yes, many people who have unlisted numbers do not like telemarketers. But we still make a lot of sales to unlisted numbers, so most of them must not be so opposed.

Related: I once encountered a box with a recording that said “This number does not accept solicitations. If you are a solicitor, please hang up. Otherwise, stay on the line.” I decided to stay on the line since it was a previous customer, and you know what? They were happy to get my call, and I made the sale.

89

What I object to is that I’m on any telemarketer’s list in the first place.

90

Can you tell me just how pressing on until the customer relents is different than bullying?

I was a telemarketer for 3 months while I was in college. It was a borderline shady business (as almost all of them are, in my opinion) selling magazine subscriptions for “handling fees” of about $15 a month, iirc. I was pretty damned good at it, too. The insults and abuse roll off you after awhile, and some of the more colorful ones were always good for a snicker with my coworkers.

And you know what? I STILL won’t buy anything or talk to telemarketers on the phone. As soon as I figure out it’s one of them, I hang up. I hated having people listen to my whole spiel, then say “not interested”. Why waste their time? Let them go on to some other poor schmuck who might actually be dumb enough to buy their product. I also have caller id, and usually don’t pick it up if it’s “unavailable”.

The “saying no three times” thing varies by telemarketing place. The place I worked at, we were instructed to take the FIRST no for an answer, and go on to the next name. BTW, the numbers we called came from the phone book.

–tygre
I

91

tygre:

Yes, it’s essentially bullying. My point was that you don’t have to be a bully to be successful.

Our caller ID is actually listed, presumably because enough people subscribe to “blocked call blocking” that it’s worth losing the people who look at the box and say “who is THAT? sounds like a telemarketing name!” in order to reach the ones who otherwise wouldn’t hear our calls at all.

Of course, the service is pretty worthless. We subscribe to it at home and we still get plenty of “unavailable” calls.

92

Yep, seems like we’ve got a dead horse here.

:rolleyes:

93

So now you go OUT OF YOUR WAY to be a fuck? Wow. Sad. Just sad.

94

So what if telemarketers lose their jobs?
I was one once and losing it on day two was the best thing that could have happened to me.

95

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Mr2001 *
Zette:

Good, then I don’t have a problem with you. Now if only everyone would say what they really mean.

No, saying “gee, I would love to contribute this year!” means they would like to contribute. If they want to get across the idea that they don’t want to, perhaps they shouldn’t say the exact opposite.

(end quote)

Are you really so naive that you believe someone saying, “I’d like to, but cannot right now,” is doing something other than being polite? That they are honestly expressing a true desire to prevail themselves of your services at some time in the future? If so, I suggest that, at least in a fair number of such cases, you are deluding yourself.

Salespeople and solicitors of all types depend heavily on the fact that many people are uncomfortable with having to deal with uninvited and aggressive visitors/callers. I submit that you make a certain percentage of your sales, not because the people need/want whatever you are offering, but because they have a hard time saying no, or erroneously hope acquiescing will keep you from bothering them again? Little do they know that their acceptance puts them at the top of the “Suckers to call again” list.

You repeatedly justify your tactics, and the industry as a whole, solely because they result in sales. I suggest that sales alone are not a sufficient measure of telemarketing’s merit. Telemarketers, junk mail, spam, my neighbor cranking tunes in the middle of the night, little kids playing “ding dong ditch,” are all unwelcomed intrusions. Sure, I may be able to take steps to minimize the undesirable effect of these intrusions, but that does not make the intrusions themselves any more justifiable/desirable/welcome. And it IS reasonable for me to resent the intruder who forces me to take action, however minimal, that I would not have had to take had they simply left me alone in the first place.

96

Since you have admitted to being a telemarketer, and therefore a sub-human lying scum who really ought to contract some kind of necrosis, you will excuse me if I choose not to believe you.

97

Come on manny, don’t be coy!
Enough beating around the bush.
Repressing your true feelings is not good for ya.
Tell us how you really feel.

98

Ok then telemarketors…I hate it when you call my grandfathers house asking “yes my I speak to Mr. Gorham” And you get the reply “yes you could if he was still alive” My grandfather has been dead for now going on 3 years and even though we tell you people time and again you still call and ask for him. Enough is enough stop harrassing the dead please!

99

Truly, this is a man who knows how to say “Fuck off and die” much better than I will ever be able to. Amen, brother Manny, Amen!

100

manhattan:

Why would I lie about that? Come to think of it, why would I lie on the phone? Our presentation was written by the organization we call for.

But hey, believe what you want. If you want to think a voice on a phone is more intimidating than a real live person, I won’t burst your bubble. If you want to make baseless generalizations about people you’ve never met, ignoring the experience of someone who’s actually been there, this is certainly the place to do it.