I will not mention my particular phone companies name, and I do not particularly like them. But one service that they offer has reduced my Telemarketer calls to zero. Since we know that Caller ID is bogus to the extent it will not identify telemarketers, I subscribed to a service availible on my local phone company(name of service witheld to avoid accusations of soliciting, I do not work for them anyway) The service allows me to set my phone to not even ring if the caller is not known to me. If my phone does not recognize the caller they are given the option of stating their name or business, then it rings through to me with them off line, lets me hear who is calling, and gives me the option of accepting, sending to answering machine, or sending a message to be taken off their list. I resent having to pay extra but it is a great service. Since I got it I havn’t had my dinner interrupted once. Telemarketers never waste time to state their name or business, so their calls never ring through.
As to the hatred directed directed to telemarketers as individual employees, anyone who does it is an inconsiderate ass. Everybody has to earn a living, we cannot all choose our dream job. Give them a break, just say “NO THANK YOU, BYE” Then either write your congressman or your phone company.
I am not Jewish, and I was offended, that is until I got your joke. I am just ashamed it took me so long to get it. I am damn glad I did not spout off in a non gentile manner.
I think the point is to make these jobs so unattractive that no one will take them, or only for eye-popping wages. It’s a drain on society, and it should be discouraged at every opportunity, which includes giving telemarketers a hard time (or wasting their time, etc.). If enough people hassle those uninvited telephone sales reps, then perhaps it will become unprofitable and companies will choose to spend their marketing/sales dollars elsewhere.
You are merely contributing to the tendency of our society to be impolite. Increasing the tension between the haves and the have nots. I would ask you to consider your job whatever it is, do you appreciate rudeness?
I agree that telemarketing calls are crass and undesireable, I would support a bill to ban them, but that does not mean that I believe that less than civil behavior should be acceptable.
One person brought in only $600? Of that amount, how much of it actually ends up directly funding a charitable act, as opposed to paying for all the overhead required to put you in a cubicle (e.g., the salary and benefits–if any–of yourself and the corporate pyramid above you, the profits paid to the owners of whatever marketing firm you work for, etc.)?
Well, you caught me. The only reason I object to telemarketers is that their calls drag me away from grooming my polo ponies.
I would wager that many Dopers who object to being called are on the same socioeconomic level as the telemarketers so please leave keep your class warfare crap to yourself. The only way class enters in to this is that calling me at dinner time doesn’t have any.
Fenris: I do :rolleyes: sir.
askeptic: Do you roll your eyes at me, sir?
Fenris: No sir, I do not :rolleyes: at you sir, but I :rolleyes:, sir.
askeptic: Do you quarrell sir?
Fenris: Quarrell sir? No sir.
Why should he? It doesn’t seem like the paltry wage you make is driving you anywhere more profitable; your soul was bought/leased at a bargain basement price.
Also, of the 600 clams that you brought in to the Sierra Club, how much of that goes to them? How much to you? Precious little, I suspect.
I have lived in the US and have been appalled by the number of calls that came through but here in oz telemarketing is not nearly as prevalent as it is across the puddle so I am usually sucked in enough by the “Hi, how are you” to wonder which friend is arrogant enough to expect me to recognise his or her voice when clearly we haven’t spoken on the phone often if at all. Making me feel foolish is not a good way to start a business relationship with me.
Once I get past the chit chat I usually say no thanks and hang up, sometimes if I am in a playful mood I will get silly with them, once I argued with a bloke who was very upset that I called the product he was shilling a scam and raised his voice first. Telemarketing here is annoying as all get out but not actually harming me in any way.
A no soliciting sign on my doorbell has cut out door to door shenannigans.
Spam though costs me money. Most of the world outside the US has to buy internet bandwidth. I have a monthly limit and exceeding it costs me money. I do not understand how this advertising that costs me money can be allowed. Sure I use mailwasher and do not download it to my computer but it costs me by landing in my mailbox and each day there seems to be more and more of it (I own a mailing list and the owner address is forwarded to me, that is available on the web by necessity and that cannot be changed).
I also have a serious objection to the child porn spammer who used my personal address as his from address but that is in the hands of AOL and various law enforcement agencies now after I received a bounce. He deserves death.
It’s my phone. I bought it, I pay for the priveledge of using it, I’ll say whatever the hell I want into it. Anyone has a problem with that, I got a real simple solution for them: don’t call me.
Yea it is your phone and yea you pay for it and yea you should not have to be bothered by unwanted solicitations. But christ all mighty, you cannot think anything you say to a telemarketer is going to make them stop calling. You cannot really think they have not heard it all many times before. Nothing you can say to the INDIVIDUAL telemarketers, not even death threats, is going to stop the calls. While you may get results from you Congressmen. I am all for laws that curb this annoying practice.
All I am suggesting is do we really need to contribute to the level on incivility in our society? I know you may think you just let them have it with a real zinger, but I promise you they have heard worse, and even more creative, and more scary. They are not going to quit their jobs over it. That being the case what is wrong with just being decent and saying “No Thank You, Please do not call again, and take me off your list” You will accomplish more than you will by berrating them.
In case you are tempted to think me one of “THEM” I have never been associated in any way with any type of telemarketer. I just think it is desirable to try to increase the level of civility in our society.
Believe me, askeptic, the last thing I care about in the world is the opinions or feelings of a telemarketer. I make fun of them purely for my own enjoyment. This is entirely seperate from my efforts to put a permanent end to their sordid little careers. I can be rude to telemarketers and also support anti-telemarketing legislation at the same time.
It’s a moot point, anyway, since thanks to the DNC list, I haven’t had a call from a telemarketer in months. I assume that means there’s been a comensurate decrease in the number of people being employed by telemarketers. I only hope those people have found a more productive role in American society, such as crack whore or welfare cheat.
Did you not get my point? I realize that my suggestion of a response may not be effective. Do you suggest that telling them off is any more effective? If you are presented with two possible courses of action, is it not better, though to some less satisfying, to choose the civil option. You will certainly gain nothing by being rude. In fact I would be willing to bet the telemarketers have contests to see who can piss somebody off the most. Do you like thinking of yourself as the butt of their jokes?
