“…If they get so many calls about it, they’ll install it.”
LOL… made myself giggle. Here I am, suggesting to people who hate getting service calls that they make incessant phone calls. Well, turnabout’s fair play, isn’t it??
Seems like you haven’t read what’s come before. Eight calls in four hours in one day takes more than “five minutes.” “Do Not Call” lists do not except for that one specific company. And I don’t think I should have to pay extra for the “privilege” of not getting such calls.
Sorry, if you invade my space uninvited you deserve what you get.
-Melin
What i do is let them talk their heads off for a while, then say “no thanks”. Strangely we rarely get called back after that. But i guess we’re an exception. Unfortunately even if i say i’m not interested they’ll keep up on their pitch. Then i curtly tell them no thanks and hang up. My family and I have gotten so tired of telemarketers, we just dont answer the phone anymore. We let the machine pick it up, and then call back whoever called us that is a friend, or we pick it up if its urgent we talk to that friend or family member. Other times we just say that so and so isn’t home, or we’re too busy to talk. My personal line is ALWAYS connected to my computer. I don’t have a phone connected to it, so even if they try to call, either it’s always busy, or they dont get an answer.
I have found that the “request to be removed from your list” tatic works, however, depending on my mood, I have developed more intensive ways of dealing with the problem. Some of my tatics are a bit time intensive, but are very satisfying.
First, if I don’t recognize the voice in a couple of seconds, then I interrupt whatever they are saying with, “Who is this?”. If it is a telemarketer then, I use a couple of different approaches depending how mad I am and how much time I feel I can spend on the project.
Tatic A:
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Stop them in mid-sales pitch with “Let me speak with your supervisor!”
1a)If there is no supervisor around(so they say)then continue with step 3 -
Tell the supervisor to turn on their recording equipment (this I do only to make them start guessing at what is next and usually gets and keeps their attention thru the rest)
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Tell them that I’m recording this phone call to be used at a later date if needed.(actually, I don’t even have a phone recorder)
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Request to be removed from all call lists and explain that if I’m called back I will make sure that they will be fined for breaking the law and I’ll file a compliant with the BBB.
Tatic B:
(this is the really time consuming one, but kinda fun to do.)
Use as much of Tatic A as time allows, then later on.
Using the name of the Company who called, research for the names of one or more of the following.
CEO/Owner
VP(or equavilant) of marketing
A major stockholder
usually, one or more of these people will be mentioned somewhere in an article or list in trade publications or magazines/newsletters.
then, using the Internet(Gawd, I love it!) you look up a home phone number (you can find unlisted numbers if you dig in the right spots)
then, call said person or persons at a very inconvient time(dinner time or anytime after midnight) and explain who you are and the reasons why you are calling and that you will never, ever do business with the company due to the telemarketing.
Only make the one phone call so that is harder for them to say that you were harrassing them.
I have only had to resort to Tatic B a couple of times, but when I’ve done it, I have never been called by that company again.
Tatic B sometimes also works for;
Spam email
Door to Door Scum
and those that insist on cluttering up my porch with their flyers telling me about anything and everything I could careless about(however pizza coupons are always welcome and encourage at my door.)
It is too bad that my wife won’t let me tell those Blue-haired ladys with the bibles that we are Satanist, but usually a few choice words sends them scampering away.
If you haven’t noticed by my rant, Anyone who phones, emails, or comes to my house uninvited is going to get major anti-social behaviour. They’ll do it once but, not twice.
And, yes we probably have the reputation of being the nieghbor A-Holes, but hey, I don’t care what my nieghborhood thinks of me as long as they leave me alone.
wduty
I think you should have to register your number with the phone company, when you get it, to accept telemarketing calls. Any telemarketer that uses computerized dialing to bypass that list of approved numbers would be in violation of phone company regulations and have their lines removed.
Are you listening phone company people!!!
We are paying for a service. These telemarketers are abusing that service… and computerized spread dialing makes it worse. At least once a day at dinner time, there is a call with no one there. Their computer has dialed several numbers and picked up the first that has answered- hanging up the others. If you have young children or ageing parents out and about that may need to call from an “unauthorized” number, you can’t use the nifty ( costing extra ) whistles and bells the phone company sells. Besides, I resent having to pay extra to prevent phone invasion- why is their right to call me with a spiel greater than my right to privacy.
Back to the point. I think you should have to actively register your number with the phone company in order to receive telemarketing calls. Any calls to other numbers would be a violation of terms of service and have their service disconnected.
If the phone companies won’t do this on their own, then there “otta be a law”.
Randy:
Teacher of Extraordinary Students
Tragically, pathetically, I had to take a job as a telemarketer. I endured it for four weeks before I gave up in disgust. I feel my sin was mitigated by the fact that I was calling people at work rather than at home, selling a product (business directories) that people conceivably might be interested in. Be that as it may.
Telemarketing is rude, it is true. But it is rude to be rude back to rude people. Read that sentence a few times. People who are rude to you do not forfeit their right to be treated politely. They do forfeit their right to be treated happily. There is nothing rude with “No, thank you.” or “No, thank you. I’m noting the date and time” etc…
From News of the Weird:
I would’ve thought New York City would have been ideal. “Whadayamean youse not intrested–HEY, I’m breakin my balls here! What?! Fuck you too!!”
First off, sorry for all the spelling errors, I was up late while typing the previous post.
Second, I am intentionally rude to telemarketers. Not just to enjoy it, which I freely admit I do, but also, I am hoping to let the offending companies know my feelings about telemarketing. I am not naive enough to think that I am going to change a whole industry, but at least I am letting my feelings be known. If EVERYONE who hates telemarketing responded to the companies’ calls in a manner that attracted the attention of the Executives of the offending companies, then possibly a few of those companies would re-examine their marketing practices. Corporations will only adjust their policies if they recieve overwhelming negative feedback.
Until then, I will continue with my methods because telemarketing companies don’t seem to care how rude their sales methods are.
wduty
Anti-telemarketing E-Terrrorist
The best thing to do is waste the teletmarketer’s time!!!
If you get them started on their sales pitch and just let them talk for as long as they’ll go (you don’t have to listen), it reduces their profit margin and makes the whole thing less efficient. I’ve had them going for several minutes before! It’s fun. You can make a game of it, trying to better your old records.
BTW, I agree FULLY - telemarketing is just flat out RUDE.
So far I haven’t done this, but I’ve given some thought to asking telemarketers for their name and the company they work for, and if they give me their name (like a dumbass, but i’m sure a few would!), finding their home phone number (there’s always a way!) and…well… turnabout is fair play, no? I’m sure they’d be thrilled to get a large number of phone calls at dinner time or while they were sleeping asking for information on the products they hawk. If it’s good for the goose, it’s good for the gander, after all.
–
peas on earth
…which, I’m sure, definitely works its way all the way to the top from some schmoe manning a phone who just had some asshole yell at.
Gee, I wonder why society is so uncivil these days?
The most important words on this topic so far are from zyada about the rudeness pollution being created. You who are so angry: Why don’t you just say no and hang up, or take the steps to get your names off the lists? I suspect the answer is that it feels so good to have a person you can really vent at; nobody likes telemarketers so if you treat them badly no one cares and some people even cheer. But beware; expressing your anger does not in fact “release” you from it; it makes you angrier.
Try this tactic:
The next time AT&T, sprint, or some other phone company calls to ask you to switch long distance carriers, tell them you don’t want the service because you never use long distance.
They will ask how or why.
You respond “its against my religion.”
They will be confused.
You will reassure them that making or receiving long distance calls violates the core tenets of your belief system. In fact, using the telephone at all violates all your religious principles.
They will then point out to you that you are talking on the phone now.
You then drop the phone, screaming "NOOOO! LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO! I’VE VIOLATED THE PRIME DIRECTIVE! I’M DAMNED FOR ALL TIME! I’M GOING STRAIGHT TO HELL! AND ITS ALL YOUR FAULT! NOOOO!
Odds are they will hang up.
SoxFan59
“Its fiction, but all the facts are true!”
Direct marketeers & telephone marketeers - BEWARE! Try this site: www.thedma.org Click on the Consumers tab.
“Quoth the Raven, ‘Nevermore.’”
E A Poe
I found an amusing concept in a book titled “How to Cope With,” written by Merrill Pollack in 1962. In a chapter dealing with what was called at that time “telephone solicitors,” he introduced the “Overwhelming Unanswerable,” to throw the telemarketer off balance and end the call. One called from a local department store, inviting him to come in to look at new TV sets. He said he let the pitchman continue, and after a little while, Pollack interrupted with, “Yeah, yeah, Jack, I get the pitch. But, tell me, do you have a set that runs on gasoline? We sure do want a teevee, but there’s no electricity out here.”
And he got a call from a new-car dealer, to which he replied, “I’m really hot to buy something from you. Only I can’t give you my good old Hupmobile [an ancient make] in trade. The louses who sold it to me are about to repossess it because I’ve been a little slow on the payments…”
What can modern telemarketers do about the Overwhelming Unanswerable?
My Uncle is in jail, yet we still get telemarketers for credit cards, phone bills, etc. These people have been told to stop calling, but they persist. Quite a few want to know what he’s in for, and we respond “none of your business.” Finally, when one asked what he was in for, I responded, “for eating a telemarketer.” It didn’t make them stop calling, but the frequency dropped (dramatically.) 
Eldest Son
I used to try to be polite (having worked at jobs which required making cold calls), but now I’m direct and to the point:
“I don’t accept phone soliciations. Please remove me from your list. Good-bye.”
It’s to the point. It’s polite.
Oh, and BTW, I always put a phony number whenever I must fill out a registration card.
One suggestion for the daytime sleepers that I haven’t seen mentioned thus far:
Turn off the ringer on the phone in your bedroom. Have a second phone on the other side of the house/apt with a fairly quiet ringer. If you’re awake you’ll hear it and can look at the caller ID to decide if you want to answer it. If you’re asleep, you likely won’t wake up.
I’ve had roommates for years, and between them and telemarketers only about 5-10% of calls to my house are for me. So I’ve trained myself not to jump for the phone when it rings.
Between the quiet ringer and screening calls I almost never talk to telemarketers anymore. Usually only when my roomie answers the phone and wants to annoy me by giving me the phone when they mention my name. Then I say quickly, “I’mNotInterestedPleaseTakeMeOffThisList” and hang up.
I do like “I don’t live here anymore”
Before this thread gets sealed up for good, check out this link. It’s what the NY Attorney General recommends you do about telemarketers.
http://www.oag.state.ny.us/consumer/tips/telemarketing.html
Nothing about rape whistles, surprisingly enough…
I basically side with Nickrz, and I think the hole being dug by pldennison is getting deeper, but the grief-causing stimulus is the
UNWANTED TELEPHONE SOLICITATION.
If you answer the call, the best method of reducing calls is to demand that your number be put on the “do not call” list, but if your number is a business number this typically does not apply because it is then a business-to business call. In this case the “do not call” aspect does not apply in most states. If you would rather not answer the calls, caller ID is great except that it is often an inconvenience to get to the caller ID display to see that it is an undesired caller. Another idea is to include on your answering machine’s outgoing message a statement like “Please add this number to your do not call list if you are a telemarketer.” By using these methods, the average number of unwanted calls I get per weekday has dropped from 12 to 2.
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Why do we allow telemarketing? I mean, we got a law passed to block unsolicited commercial faxes (because enough businesses complained), but not unsolicited voice calls. What if somebody with a national reach and a LOT of readers/listeners (Ann Landers, Paul Harvey, sorry Cecil) took this up as a crusade and got a Network-esque groundswell of grass-roots support behind a friendly representative’s bill? Wouldn’t our society be better without telemarketing?
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I agree with previous posters. I avoid giving my phone number to anyone. When I get a sales call, I ask “Who’s this?”, I say “Put me on your list of numbers not to call again,” and I hang up. It minimizes my interruption, and it’s reduced my calls by 2/3.
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I’m never mean to telemarketers (unless you count hanging up), but I have no respect for them either. This I’m just trying to make a living garbage just doesn’t cut it. If you go into a job knowing that you’re going to interrupt so many happy moments, stealing so many people’s time, all for nothing nobler than your employer’s profit, then karma-wise you might as well club baby seals for a living.