# Telemarketer haters should suck it up **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 13, 2005, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telemarketer-haters-should-suck-it-up/335334 "2005-12-13T00:05:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telemarketer-haters-should-suck-it-up/335334/1 "2005-12-13T00:05:24Z")
Continued from [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=348902). This thread is directed at people who like to “torment” telemarketers, or think they’re “worms” and “parasites.” In that thread, the offenders were **Miller** and **Stranger on a Train** , but I’m sure there’s more of you out there. To all of you self-important lazybones: just SUCK IT UP. From what I read on the infamous “The Telemarketer Speaks” thread, you’d think these wage slaves were on the level with serial rapists or puppy molesters. Oh, boo-hoo, I had to get up from stuffing my face with Cheetos to answer a fucking phone call, my life is so hard. I had to get out of the shower, oh dearie me, even though I could have just let it ring and check my messages after I get out, if my luxury is so important to me. Have you people ever heard of a little place called Ethiopia? Your life ain’t that fuckin’ hard. I’ve never bought anything from a telemarketer. I don’t plan to. I don’t let them get thirty seconds into their spiel before closing the call with a polite yet firm “no thank you.” Why is that so hard to do? Are you so lazy that you can’t roll your flab out of the Barcalounger for half a minute? If so, may I suggest a cell phone which you can store under your man-breasts for easy access? And no, I’ve never been a telemarketer, though I know people who’ve done time as one. It’s a thankless job, one which nobody with any degree of education would do for more than a half hour without hanging up their headset and going home. (The telemarketers I knew were either in high school or college and did it because you could schedule part-time hours outside of the 9-to-5 shift.) What good does it do to lambast people who work in shitty jobs because they have to? That telemarketer may be earning money for college, or trying to support his kids. Many of the older ones are disabled since it’s one of the few jobs a disabled person with limited education can do. Would you rather they lived off government funds? Me, I’d rather take thirty seconds out of my day to take the call. As for the kids doing it, earning money for college is an admirable thing to do, and telemarketing is one of the things open to high school kids who couldn’t get a job at the local fast food place. Telemarketers are not the scum of the earth. They’re just people trying to make a few bucks. If anyone here is the parasite, it’s you people who are too lazy to say “no thanks” or press the silent button on your phone or let the machine get it. Do you also torment wage slaves at McDonald’s? Because from where I sit, it is the exact same fucking thing. Just three simple words: “no thank you.” How fucking hard is that? ---
**Author:** ![NailBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@NailBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NailBunny)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telemarketer-haters-should-suck-it-up/335334/2 "2005-12-13T00:20:31Z")
I agree wholeheartedly. Never done it, known folks who have, haven’t found a single one of them to be the anti-christ. I find the “The Telemarketer Speaks” rant amusing because the girl trying to defend her profession was, indeed, a rude and obnoxious asshole, but it does make me cringe to see so much vitrol is so happily thrown around, directed at every telemarketer walking the earth, when that particular young lady certainly represented the exception and not the norm. However, I’ve argued this point of view (how hard is it to hang up, do not they also deserve to work, just don’t answer the phone, etc.) IRL until blue in the face and have received nothing but insults and accusations of siding with THEM for it. So, good luck with that. I just try to do my part by being polite but firm when I receive these calls, and oddly, I hardly receive them at all anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telemarketer-haters-should-suck-it-up/335334/3 "2005-12-13T00:26:38Z")
> [@davenportavenger](#): > > This thread is directed at people who like to “torment” telemarketers, or think they’re “worms” and “parasites.” In that thread, the offenders were **Miller** and **Stranger on a Train** , but I’m sure there’s more of you out there. To all of you self-important lazybones: just SUCK IT UP. From what I read on the infamous “The Telemarketer Speaks” thread, you’d think these wage slaves were on the level with serial rapists or puppy molesters. Oh, boo-hoo, I had to get up from stuffing my face with Cheetos to answer a fucking phone call, my life is so hard. I had to get out of the shower, oh dearie me, even though I could have just let it ring and check my messages after I get out, if my luxury is so important to me. Have you people ever heard of a little place called Ethiopia? Your life ain’t that fuckin’ hard. Okay, I don’t really see how you get “lazy” out of this. If I were lazy, I would, as you suggest, just let the phone ring, even though it might be someone I actually want to talk to, or someone who genuinely _needs_ to talk to me. > [@](#): > > I’ve never bought anything from a telemarketer. I don’t plan to. I don’t let them get thirty seconds into their spiel before closing the call with a polite yet firm “no thank you.” Why is that so hard to do? Actually, I usually don’t even bother with the “no thank you,” and go straight to the hanging up. But that’s just expediency, and has nothing to do with how I actually feel about these shameless freeloaders. > [@](#): > > Are you so lazy that you can’t roll your flab out of the Barcalounger for half a minute? Um, weren’t you just suggesting that we _not_ roll our flab out of our Barcaloungers? I know that, having the intellect of a goldfish, you have trouble holding onto one thought for more than three seconds, but please try to make the effort, won’t you? > [@](#): > > If so, may I suggest a cell phone which you can store under your man-breasts for easy access? Right. Because telemarketers don’t call cellphones. > [@](#): > > And no, I’ve never been a telemarketer, though I know people who’ve done time as one. I’m surprised. You display the sort of lack of intellectual and moral fiber that’s normally a prerequisite for the job. > [@](#): > > It’s a thankless job, one which nobody with any degree of education would do for more than a half hour without hanging up their headset and going home. (The telemarketers I knew were either in high school or college and did it because you could schedule part-time hours outside of the 9-to-5 shift.) What good does it do to lambast people who work in shitty jobs because they have to? You could say the same thing about any petty thief. Your inability to get a real job does not constitute a right to take anything from me that I’m not willing to give, including my spare time. > [@](#): > > That telemarketer may be earning money for college, or trying to support his kids. Many of the older ones are disabled since it’s one of the few jobs a disabled person with limited education can do. Would you rather they lived off government funds? Fuck, yes! Hell, if they’re old and disabled, they should be doing that already. > [@](#): > > Me, I’d rather take thirty seconds out of my day to take the call. That’s lovely, but unlike you, some of us have things we’d rather be doing than fobbing off sub-literate morons on our phone all fucking day. > [@](#): > > Telemarketers are not the scum of the earth. I agree. Scum fills an important ecological niche. Telemarketers are fucking useless. > [@](#): > > They’re just people trying to make a few bucks. And the desire to earn money trumps all other considerations, of course. > [@](#): > > If anyone here is the parasite, it’s you people who are too lazy to say “no thanks” or press the silent button on your phone or let the machine get it. Do you also torment wage slaves at McDonald’s? Because from where I sit, it is the exact same fucking thing. Apparently, you’re sitting in the stupid seats, then, because the McDonalds wage slaves aren’t showing up at my front door six times a day asking if I want fries with that. > [@](#): > > Just three simple words: “no thank you.” How fucking hard is that? “Don’t fucking call me to sell your useless shit,” strikes me as the easier proposition. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telemarketer-haters-should-suck-it-up/335334/4 "2005-12-13T00:29:04Z")
It isn’t the one phone call that is so annoying, it is the one after that, and after that, and after that, and after that, and after that, and after that, and after that, and after that. ---
**Author:** ![HeelB4Zod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e19adc/32.png) [@HeelB4Zod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeelB4Zod)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telemarketer-haters-should-suck-it-up/335334/5 "2005-12-13T00:31:00Z")
> [@davenportavenger](#): > > Continued from [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=348902). > > This thread is directed at people who like to “torment” telemarketers, or think they’re “worms” and “parasites.” In that thread, the offenders were **Miller** and **Stranger on a Train** , but I’m sure there’s more of you out there. To all of you self-important lazybones: just SUCK IT UP. From what I read on the infamous “The Telemarketer Speaks” thread, you’d think these wage slaves were on the level with serial rapists or puppy molesters. Oh, boo-hoo, I had to get up from stuffing my face with Cheetos to answer a fucking phone call, my life is so hard. I had to get out of the shower, oh dearie me, even though I could have just let it ring and check my messages after I get out, if my luxury is so important to me. Have you people ever heard of a little place called Ethiopia? Your life ain’t that fuckin’ hard. > > I’ve never bought anything from a telemarketer. I don’t plan to. I don’t let them get thirty seconds into their spiel before closing the call with a polite yet firm “no thank you.” Why is that so hard to do? Are you so lazy that you can’t roll your flab out of the Barcalounger for half a minute? If so, may I suggest a cell phone which you can store under your man-breasts for easy access? > > And no, I’ve never been a telemarketer, though I know people who’ve done time as one. It’s a thankless job, one which nobody with any degree of education would do for more than a half hour without hanging up their headset and going home. (The telemarketers I knew were either in high school or college and did it because you could schedule part-time hours outside of the 9-to-5 shift.) What good does it do to lambast people who work in shitty jobs because they have to? That telemarketer may be earning money for college, or trying to support his kids. Many of the older ones are disabled since it’s one of the few jobs a disabled person with limited education can do. Would you rather they lived off government funds? Me, I’d rather take thirty seconds out of my day to take the call. As for the kids doing it, earning money for college is an admirable thing to do, and telemarketing is one of the things open to high school kids who couldn’t get a job at the local fast food place. > > Telemarketers are not the scum of the earth. They’re just people trying to make a few bucks. If anyone here is the parasite, it’s you people who are too lazy to say “no thanks” or press the silent button on your phone or let the machine get it. Do you also torment wage slaves at McDonald’s? Because from where I sit, it is the exact same fucking thing. > > Just three simple words: “no thank you.” How fucking hard is that? Pfftt. It’s fun to loathe them. Besides, telemarketers serve a valuable function in society by taking those blissful streams of random invective from strangers on the receiving end of their calls. Telemarketers absorb the shit those people would usually dish out to their wife or kids. Think of telemarketers as emotional hookers. An honorable vocation. ---
**Author:** ![George\_Kaplin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3e96dc/32.png) [@George\_Kaplin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/George_Kaplin)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telemarketer-haters-should-suck-it-up/335334/6 "2005-12-13T00:33:12Z")
Just out of curiosity **Miller** , how many calls do you get from Telemarketers in an average day? ---
**Author:** ![Renob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8c91f0/32.png) [@Renob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renob)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telemarketer-haters-should-suck-it-up/335334/7 "2005-12-13T00:39:01Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > You could say the same thing about any petty thief. Your inability to get a real job does not constitute a right to take anything from me that I’m not willing to give, including my spare time. Sorry, but to compare a telemarketer to a thief stretches the definition of the word beyond any reasonable sense. A telemarketer doesn’t steal anything from you. When you answer a phone you are consenting to spend your time talking to whomever is on the other end. No one stole anything from you. > [@](#): > > Fuck, yes! Hell, if they’re old and disabled, they should be doing that already. So people with disabilities shouldn’t be working? They should be sucking off the government teat? I’m sorry you don’t feel people with disabilities have anything to offer to society and you’d rather shut them away where they won’t interact with others and will instead rot in their homes living off welfare. Really enlightened view you have there. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telemarketer-haters-should-suck-it-up/335334/8 "2005-12-13T00:39:29Z")
> [@davenportavenger](#): > > Telemarketers are not the scum of the earth. True. Not **all** of them are. > [@](#): > > Do you also torment wage slaves at McDonald’s? Because from where I sit, it is the exact same fucking thing. You must be sitting on your head, because that is possibly the stupidest analogy I have ever heard. > [@](#): > > Just three simple words: “no thank you.” How fucking hard is that? It’s real fucking easy. The first couple hundred times you say it. “I’m not interested in your product/service. Please do not call me anymore.” How fucking hard is it for the telescum to repsect my request? If you are looking for some love for telemarketers, you are in the wrong place. While telemarketers themselves may not be scum individually, the industry is scummy. The workers are scummy by association. [Previous Pit thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=201079&highlight=popular+science) ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telemarketer-haters-should-suck-it-up/335334/9 "2005-12-13T00:39:50Z")
I hate it when telemarketers call me. But I’m not rude to them, because I know they are probably in that job because they don’t have a lot of other choices. Now, if I got a chance to tell off one of the people who employ telemarketers, or one of the people who came up with the idea of telemarketing in the first place, I don’t guarantee that I wouldn’t abuse them. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telemarketer-haters-should-suck-it-up/335334/10 "2005-12-13T00:45:32Z")
> [@davenportavenger](#): > > This thread is directed at people who like to “torment” telemarketers, or think they’re “worms” and “parasites.” In that thread, the offenders were **Miller** and **Stranger on a Train** , but I’m sure there’s more of you out there. To all of you self-important lazybones: just SUCK IT UP. From what I read on the infamous “The Telemarketer Speaks” thread, you’d think these wage slaves were on the level with serial rapists or puppy molesters. Oh, boo-hoo, I had to get up from stuffing my face with Cheetos to answer a fucking phone call, my life is so hard. I had to get out of the shower, oh dearie me, even though I could have just let it ring and check my messages after I get out, if my luxury is so important to me. Have you people ever heard of a little place called Ethiopia? Your life ain’t that fuckin’ hard. Pardon me? You’re the only one making the strawman comparison to “serial rapists” and “puppy molesters”; an argumentation method disingenous to the extreme, yet it is the only way you can possibly justify your defense of this practice. No, it’s not an offense on the scale of genocide and mass murder; neither is petty vandalism, harassment, or mail theft; nonetheless, you’ll have to pardon those persnickety basdards who decry those practices. The phone exists, and is paid for, by me, for my convenience, not for the use by some half-wit indigent who can’t be bothered to get a job that actually produces something of value or provides a needed service. For the record, I haven’t “torment[ed]” any telemarketers. I _have_ been subject to the kind of verbal abuse, on occasion, of a type I refused to accept from parents after ineffectually invoking your cantrip of “No thank you…no thank you…no thank you…no, I’m not interested…”; I’ll be double-dipped in shit if I’m going to accepted that kind of attitude from a complete stranger whose only reason for contact me was so that he could push some unsolicited, bottom tier product or service on the hapless and unwary. And color me unimpressed with the “It’s a job–they have to make money” defense. Nobody “has” to be a telemarketer. I worked my way through high school and college doing everything from being a line cook to a roofer. I’ve chased cattle, moved tons of plumbing supplies in a day, coded last minute desperate patches to other people’s spaghetti code, set fence, shelved books, barbacked, stocked shelves, and any of another half a dozen jobs in order to clear living expenses and make tuition. I did not do this so some half-wit freeloader could, at my expense, interrupt my evening with an undesired solicitation. On the off-hand I require some need for a timeshare condo in North Carolina I’ll contact a relator. If I need vinyl siding I’ll call up Sears. If I wanted a magazine subscription I’ll check out the publisher on-line. > [@davenportavenger](#): > > Just three simple words: “no thank you.” How fucking hard is that? How about these words: **it** , **ass** , **up** , **shove** , **your**. Put them in whatever order seems most appropriate to you. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Taber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@Taber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taber)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telemarketer-haters-should-suck-it-up/335334/11 "2005-12-13T00:55:33Z")
> [@Renob](#): > > Sorry, but to compare a telemarketer to a thief stretches the definition of the word beyond any reasonable sense. A telemarketer doesn’t steal anything from you. When you answer a phone you are consenting to spend your time talking to whomever is on the other end. No one stole anything from you. If I knew it was a telemarketer I would not consent to spend my time my time with them. unfortunately, I occaisonally get calls that I want to take, so I have to get up to check caller ID whether or not it’s a telemarketer. I consent to spend time on telemarketers in the same sense scam victems consent to give their money to the scammer. I would not go so far as to call them thieves, but to blame the victems and claim they should just not answer the phones is ignoring the inherent dishonesty in the practice. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telemarketer-haters-should-suck-it-up/335334/12 "2005-12-13T01:01:44Z")
Telemarketers deserve every bit of abuse they get. I am in total agreement with **Miller** and **Stranger** on this one. They aren’t like any other wage slave. They _actively_ seek me out and invade my personal domain. That makes them fair game for loathing and torment. I used to use an air-horn,hoping I could temporarily deafen one, but it scares the cats, so I’ve been forced to be more creative. **Davenportavenger** , you are totally off-base with this one. So far off-base, in fact, that even the Dodgers could pick you off. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telemarketer-haters-should-suck-it-up/335334/13 "2005-12-13T01:02:54Z")
> [@Renob](#): > > Sorry, but to compare a telemarketer to a thief stretches the definition of the word beyond any reasonable sense. A telemarketer doesn’t steal anything from you. When you answer a phone you are consenting to spend your time talking to whomever is on the other end. No one stole anything from you. How can you consent when you don’t know who is on the other end? Do you consent to spending time with a heavy breather? Just because one puts a pool in the backyard and invites some neighbors over to use it doesn’t mean they give license to the whole neighborhood to jump in too. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telemarketer-haters-should-suck-it-up/335334/14 "2005-12-13T01:07:57Z")
If you don’t want telemarketers calling you then have your phone block out unknown callers, it’s a feature that’s been available with my local phone company for years and since I’ve had it enabled I’ve almost never had a telemarketer call me. It’s not illegal for someone to call your phone to make a sales pitch, if it becomes harassment, then something can be done. But it’s not theft, and it’s no more immoral than any other type of sales. Unless you’re just completely anti-capitalist I don’t see the justification in telemarketer hate. Anyways, typically on the rare occasions that I do get a call from a telemarketer I listen for long enough to see what’s going on (the only type of mass calling I’ll participate in are political polling and thats mainly just because its fun for me.) And then I politely but firmly say, “No thank you, goodbye.” I do that the second I realize they’re a telemarketer I have no interest in listening to, and don’t mind interrupting them mid-sentence. And ignore anything they say to try and extend the call. It’s easy enough and takes mere seconds out of my day. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telemarketer-haters-should-suck-it-up/335334/15 "2005-12-13T01:09:39Z")
> [@George Kaplin](#): > > Just out of curiosity **Miller** , how many calls do you get from Telemarketers in an average day? Since they instituted the National Do Not Call list, almost none on my land line. Maybe one or two a week, tops. I also get about one a month on my cell phone. Before that, I’d average four to six every day at home. On bad days, I might get more than twenty. Also, in all honesty, I never really abused telemarketers. Usually I’d just hang up on them without a word as soon as I figured out what they were up to. Quicker and easier, that way, although on occasion they would immediately call me back just to swear at me. What I’m disagreeing with here is that these people _deserve_ any courtesy. They don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telemarketer-haters-should-suck-it-up/335334/16 "2005-12-13T01:10:07Z")
> [@Hentor the Barbarian](#): > > How can you consent when you don’t know who is on the other end? Do you consent to spending time with a heavy breather? > > Just because one puts a pool in the backyard and invites some neighbors over to use it doesn’t mean they give license to the whole neighborhood to jump in too. Well, your example is tresspassing. Legally speaking there’s nothing against the law about making a phone call (except for the Do Not Call List.) And until there is people need to quit bitching. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telemarketer-haters-should-suck-it-up/335334/17 "2005-12-13T01:11:35Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > What I’m disagreeing with here is that these people _deserve_ any courtesy. They don’t. Yep, no reason to use common courtesy. The fact is, when you decide to be break the rules of common courtesy, it only reflects badly on you and more than likely doesn’t affect the person you’re being rude to at all. :wally ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telemarketer-haters-should-suck-it-up/335334/18 "2005-12-13T01:21:33Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#): > > Yep, no reason to use common courtesy. > > The fact is, when you decide to be break the rules of common courtesy, it only reflects badly on you and more than likely doesn’t affect the person you’re being rude to at all. :wally I always get confused with these threads. Who is being discourteous? The person making the unwanted phone call or the person receiving the unwanted phone call? Anyway since the do not call list was started I have a hard time working up rage about this subject any more. ---
**Author:** ![Obsidian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/51bf81/32.png) [@Obsidian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obsidian)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telemarketer-haters-should-suck-it-up/335334/19 "2005-12-13T01:23:25Z")
> [@davenportavenger](#): > > Me, I’d rather take thirty seconds out of my day to take the call. Because it’s not fucking 30 seconds and you damn well know that. It’s just more fun to be self-righteous and obtuse. My Dad once kept count on a random day-- 11 calls in one evening. By call number 5, no one’s polite any more. After weeks of this, he did exactly what you so helpfully suggest, and from the hours of 5PM and 9PM, the ringer stayed off. The punchline is predictable and cliche and still pisses me off. By the time we turned the ringer back on, my uncle had been calling for hours, and my grandmother was already dead. This was sudden, we’d have never turned it off if we knew there was an important call coming, but the point is 1) that you never know and 2) people who not only can’t turn off their phone, but because of things happening in their life (their father has cancer or their daughter is in her 9th month) every ring has them crashing down the stairs and across the house, only to hear, “How are you today, ma’am?” a dozen times a night. Don’t you care about that person? They’re people too, you know. They don’t deserve to have their hearts yanked into their throats. It’s one thing to say “It’s not the telemarketers fault their company is paying them to harass people by phone”. I don’t agree, but you do have a valid point on behalf of politeness, civilized behavior, empathy for the downtrodden, whatever. However, when you start acting like telemarketing itself is something we need to learn to live with, and alter our lives and our use of a service we pay for so as not to interfere with someone’s right to sell us things, you become an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Denis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5e9695/32.png) [@Denis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Denis)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telemarketer-haters-should-suck-it-up/335334/20 "2005-12-13T01:28:40Z")
When I moved here from the Seattle area, I got a job with a temp agency. My first assignment was to poll local residents by phone :eek: about some local road construction. Luckily I only had to do it for 4 hours in the evening. Everyone was very polite to me, probably because I was very polite to them, you know, calling _them_ in _their_ homes on _their_ phones and all inspired me to treat them with courtesy. Those who didn’t want to participate were thanked for their time and placed on the Do Not Call list if requested. I did have one memorable dude lead me on and pull the old ::shrieking::For the love of God put the hammer down! ::phone clatters into cradle:: I laughed long and hard at that one since I’d pulled it on one or two 'marketers myself. 🆒 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telemarketer-haters-should-suck-it-up/335334.md?page=2)