Does anyone else besides me feel guilty when hanging up on the dork who calls to sell some credit card or whatever at the most inconvenient (of course, for that crap, any time is inconvenient…) time they can muster?
I feel guilty rushing them off the phone only because I know it is just another job that someone is doing- yet it seems like such an INVASIVE job… Still, i feel guilty as it must SUCK to do that for a living:)
How about you?
Guilt? Not at all. (And it does ‘suck’ to have to do phone solicitations.) I try to take a zen-ish approach to it. It is their choice to work in such a position; it is my choice to ignore their supplications. Getting angry does nothing but raise my blood pressure.
If they are calling me at home, I am polite in the beginning of the conversation, stating that I do not respond to solicitations over the phone unless I have initiated the call, then hang up quietly. (Slamming the phone down only ends up breaking the phone - did that once.) If they persist, then I just hang up the phone in the middle of my sentence. (Oops, power outage!)
At work, telephone solicitations are a norm and the answer is much easier: “All decisions regarding: copier maintenance agreements/supply purchasing/phone service changes/aluminum siding is done by our main office and our board of directors.”
[Don’t know why I am feeling so peaceful today. Must be the cold medication.]
Not at all. I say “I’m not interested” as soon as I realize it’s a telemarketer, and hang up.
I don’t feel guilty because they are not going to get any sales out of me. Hence, the quicker they are off the phone with me, the quicker they can get another sucker on the line they might get some commission out of. I’m saving the both of us time.
It does piss me off that they’re trying to get me in credit card debt (I’m a college student, and they know this, since they don’t ask for Mr. Schendier, they ask for Scott), but I don’t blame the guy on the phone, I blame the corporation.
Having done a few boiler room cold calls I can tell you it’s one of the most humiliating and degrading things I’ve ever done for money.
That said I have zero sympathy for phone solicitors. They are taking up my valuable time. I cut them off quickly and tell them to mail anything they want to sell me and to make certain I am not called again. I hang up.
I maintain that I don’t have a phone until they give up. Trust me, it works. And, no, I don’t feel guilty.
I feel guilty and I never know what to say to them. I try and be nice. Heck I’m only 19 so I don’t have much experience with them besides saying “I’m sorry, my parents aren’t home right now.” but now they’re calling for me!
All you have to say is: Please put me on your DO NOT CALL list. Goodbye.
I’ve also pretended not to NEED what they’re selling:
Mortage refinancing: We rent our house
Newspaper-we already get a whole bunch
A food service-I talked in a fake voice, pretending to be my mom with a really ditzy attitude…I won’t try it again, though, because it took forever!
I would prefer having to work at KrapMart than try to be a telemarketer. I do feel sorry for them, but I don’t like these calls. It’s so rude.
Not especially, since when I say, “I’m sorry, but I’m not interested,” they lapse into save-the-call mode (“But this is an important opportunity to get better credit, lower interest on your loan, 350 lb. of USDA choice beef…”) They’re usually still talking as the phone clicks.
That said, I got a telemarketer to hang up on ME for a change yesterday. For some reason I answered the phone in an unnecessarily cheery voice.
“Good evening, is Mr. James R________ available?”
Glee overtook my body. I was as happy as a little girl. Somebody was trying to sell me something I didn’t need! Rapture! I could barely restrain my joy as I answered, “Yes, indeed I am!”
“Sir, we at XYZ Company are pleased to offer you a chance to…”
My giddiness increased exponentially! I almost giggled out loud! I gushed in my best morning show voice, “I’m sorry, but I’m really not interested at this time! Thank you for…!”
CLICK!
I’m going to have to try this again.
And telemarketing is not something I’ve done. What I did was call up students in a college dorm and dun them for late rent. For five months. Five months of sheer hell. Thank God I left.