Telemarketing Trick

[Gemini Cricket]

blueerica's thread made me think about this trick:

I forget where I read this but here's a good way to get back at those telemarketing companies.

You get a call. It's clearly a telemarketer. If they know someone in the house by name and you're positive it's no one you know, tell them to hold on and you'll get whomever they're looking for. Then put the phone down and go about your business. They'll wait and wait. This waiting costs their company money. Make 'em pay.

Sometimes they'll start with a long spiel and won't let you talk. If they do, just put the phone down on the counter and walk away.

I've done this several times and they do eventually hang up, but those minutes add up, baby!

It's evil yet fun for the whole family. :evil:

[blueerica]

I'll have to actually try that..

I hate those dialers that dial like 5 numbers, and they talk to the first one. If you're not that one, you get a dial tone when you pick up the phone, so in either case, it's totally annoying...

[wendybeth]

I like the way you think, GC.:evil:

[Tramspotter]

I've done much worse and there's a crank call duo who almost exclusively get back at them called telemarketer revenge something or other...

I'll elaborate and add link if I remember (on my PDA and at work so can't ATM)

[Gemini Cricket]

If I'm not mistaken, I believe the person who told me about this trick was HBTiggerFan from MP.
I could be wrong.
:)

[Ghoulish Delight]

Caller ID, haven't talked to one in a while.

[CoasterMatt]

hehehe... I used to run a dialer for a major telemarketer (there's all SORTS of fun ways to get back at them)

[Jazzman]

I'll have to try that one. The only thing I've ever done was on a particular day when I was bored and decided to have some fun with a guy who called selling siding. (Classic on two fronts. 1. Don't all salesmen seem to sell siding? And 2. I lived in an apartment. Good background checking, big guy.) I acted really interested, asked detailed questions; kept him busy for almost an hour. Then, I said, "Cool! Well, that all sounds good. Why don't you sign me up for..." and unplugged the phone, for the rest of the day. I'm sure he called back again and again, and I admit that it was a kind of a dick thing to do, but it felt good.

[mhrc4]

blueerica's thread made me think about this trick:

I forget where I read this but here's a good way to get back at those telemarketing companies.


http://www.loungeoftomorrow.com/LoT/showpost.php?p=13898&postcount=16

;) :snap: :D :p

[Gemini Cricket]

http://www.loungeoftomorrow.com/LoT/showpost.php?p=13898&postcount=16
D'oh! :D

[Morrigoon]

As someone who has to call people for a living, it would really be nice to just say "not interested, thanks". I know that doesn't work with people who are purely telemarketers, but for individuals who call you to try and transact business, they'd really rather NOT waste their time on people who aren't buying. Then again, it's hard to tell the difference, I know. This is why I'm glad I get my phone numbers from the phone's owners at trade shows. HATE calling people I haven't met. But I also hate people who drag all the info they can out of you, then screw you for all the hours you've put into helping them by going with someone else. If you know you're going to buy term insurance with some fly-by-night internet company, PLEASE don't make me drive to BFE twice and do a financial plan for you.

Sorry, had to get that off my chest.

[wendybeth]

I always try and remember that they are just trying to make a living, and so am very nice when dealing with telemarketers. However, when the mistake my being kind as an opening to push things, I get snarky. Politely snarky, of course.;)

[Gemini Cricket]

[Originally posted by justagrrl on MP 4/1/2003 1:39pm] If you really want to fight the fight with the telemarketers it is so easy and so gratifying to do. When they call, simply say "hold on please" and set the phone down and walk away. When you hear the loud "EHHH EHHH EHHH" noise you know you can hang up. It costs the company money for the phone bill and to pay the employee and you get to know you actively doing something each and every time.

http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showpost.php?p=210136&postcount=4
I found the original post I was thinking of which is the same idea mhrc4 had (which I initially missed...)
So it was a post by justagrrl in a thread started by HBTiggerFan.

Anyway, you get the idea...
:)

And, by the way, I am at a job where I telemarket members of the aquarium for fund raising purposes. I have no qualms whatsoever with this trick. However, these members sign up to be called (and some hate it), imagine not signing up for anything and getting someone calling you ad naseum.

[SacTown Chronic]

I always try and remember that they are just trying to make a living, and so am very nice when dealing with telemarketers.

Same here. I try to treat them with dignity and respect. I figure they probably hate calling people more than people hate getting calls from them. After all, nobody says they're gonna be a telemarketer when they grow up. It's only after they try to run roughshod over my polite "no thanks, I'm not interested" that I turn into my grumpy self.

[Tramspotter]

It's called the tele-marketer avenger and is on a CD couldn't find the free sample versions on the net anymore...

Anyway I've ran IMO more humorous gags on em of course not recording now that there is the national do not call list i get far fewer calls anyhow.

[Motorboat Cruiser]

Same here. I try to treat them with dignity and respect. I figure they probably hate calling people more than people hate getting calls from them. After all, nobody says they're gonna be a telemarketer when they grow up.

At a desperate point in my life many years ago, I took a job as a telemarketer. It was one of the worst jobs I've ever had and I only lasted 3 weeks. I was trying to get people to go to a timeshare seminar and the deceptions were plentiful. For example, we would tell people that it was a lot of fun and usually lasted about an hour. The truth was it was about 2 1/2 hours of high-pressure sales.

The best part though was that whoever attented the seminar was guaranteed one of 4 prizes. These were either; a 27" color tv, a $1000 gift certificate to Nordstroms, a new truck, or a vacation to Hawaii. Take a guess which one 99.9% of the people won.

Most people think it is the TV but it was actually the trip to Hawaii. It did not include airfare and was simply accomidations at a low budget motel.

Anyway, I just didn't like having a job that required that I deceive people. I also was a little leery of the fact that we changed our address twice in the two weeks I was there. ;)

So when I do get a telemarketer on the phone, I'm always polite because I remember what it was like when someone was rude to me. As Sac points out, I didn't want to call them anymore than they wanted to be called. I will usually tell them that I appreciate their call but I'm just not interested at the moment. If they persist at that point, I simply hang up.

[Jazzman]

I just see telemarketing as a rude enterprise in and of itself, and usually react to it as such. I do, of course, treat the caller with kindness and courtesy if I had signed up for or requested the call, as Morrigoon's clients do. But “cold calls” are different. I see my telephone as my own private means of communication. I bought the phone, pay for the service, pay a lot of fees and taxes for the service, etc. Therefore, I honestly believe that I have a right to have my phone kept private, for my own use and the use of those whom I give my number to. When an unsolicited caller uses it to try and bring their business into my home, I consider it a violation of my privacy, albeit a relatively minor one, and treat it as such. I do have sympathy for the people working the job and trying to pay their own bills, but I'm not going to justify their company's actions because of it. I usually, aside from the one ornery instance I cited, just say, "No thank you," and hang up. But I honestly do not feel any need to be overly tolerant of it.

[MouseWife]

I think that Morri, you are not an 'official' telemarketer.

I also try to be polite and respectful. I know they are doing their job {yes, I agree, a job that is quite questionable but they are only the worker bees, I can't even imagine what the companies get....}.

What kills me is when I answer, they give me their spiel without me being able to get a word in and then I calmly tell them 'No thanks' as polite as can be and they HANG UP ON ME. WTF? Can't they be polite in return? I agree with you, SacTown, this is when I get mad. They are calling me out of the blue, calling me away from whatever it is I am doing in my own personal life, and what are the times/dates that are illegal for them to call???

Another thing~now I have caller i.d. So, I don't have to answer but I do. To tell them to quit calling and remove me from their list. The problem is, some callers hang up when I pick up. What is up with that? I have a number that is coming up a bunch of times and twice when I've tried to answer it quickly to tell them to quit calling they hang up. Without saying a word.

Has anyone ever called one of these numbers back? Some do not even look like real phone numbers which really makes me wonder who they are.

And, what is sad, I know if it is a long distance call, which is what these calls usually are, by its' ring. So, in that p.o.'d mode I answer a long distance call...it was my niecie.

Anywho, anyone call? I have been toying with calling back some of these numbers.

[DisneyDaniel]

Here's another method that's non-confrontational for everyone:

If your answering machine has a speaker that lets you hear what's being said as the person is leaving a message, then just have your answering machine turned "on" 24 hours a day. Simply inform your closest friends or relatives that your answering macine is on 24/7 and they simply have to say, "Hello, this is [insert name], pick up if you're home."

Otherwise, if it's not someone you know, just ignore it. If it's important, then someone will leave a message--or maybe your close friends/family already have your cell phone number. Best of all, you don't have to speak with any telemarketers. It seems about bout 99% of telemarketers just hang up and do not leave messages--they want to talk to an actual person.

[MouseWife]

DisneyDaniel~ This is actually something our family has done for many years.
Recently, though, our machine was out. So, we got back into answering the phone. I guess it will just take some time getting back into not answering the phone.

[Prudence]

My problem isn't the calls from live people, it's the automated, computer dialed calls and the evil, nasty, no-good, very rotten junk faxes. At various points in my life I've had sick relatives. Very sick relatives. Near death relatives. And yes, if they die at 3am I need to know at 3am so I can get a plane ticket ASAP because I'm near Seattle, the funeral is in Adel, IA, it's Christmas time, and the first big blizzard of the year is expected to hit and disrupt air travel in about 8 hours. I don't appreciate the continual flood of fax calls waking me up all night long as I wait for "the call."

Not to mention the emotional toll of every ring wondering if it's the one.

I know there are ways to combat junk faxes, but they're fairly labor intensive and I don't have enough free time at the moment. I don't understand why live people can't call after certain hours, but it's okay for machines to call and disrupt people whenever the operators choose.

[Gemini Cricket]

I hate those weird telemarketing calls where they call you, you pick up and they tell you to hold.

I don't mind holding when it's a call I'm making, but when someone calls me just to put me on hold - now that's annoying...

:D

[MouseWife]

Prudence~ that is a very good point. We went through that recently with many relatives with relevant calls. It can fluster some people in difficult times to deal with machines, etc. So, we tried to answer calls, worried what the call was for.

Oh my gosh. Yes, it totally GRRRRS me to get a call off hours because in MY day, those calls were 'important'.

[alphabassettgrrl]

Yeah, I took a (very) short job as a telemarketer once. It sucked. Nothing good about that except that it was short.

Caller ID helps a lot. It's usually not a real number, but at least I can just ignore the phone. They're easy to identify. I hate them calling- what a horrific invasion of my privacy. If I wanted your product, I would call you. I didn't. Go away. I'm usually polite, mostly, but my goal is to get them off my phone as quickly as possible. I just don't want to waste my time.

I'd leave them sitting on the table and go away, but they pay so little for the phone lines I don't even think it's worth the effort.

Fax lines- they're set up with a calling list, and it calls all night, in part because its' supposed to be calling fax machines that don't actually sleep, and they're in offices, where the people aren't. So supposedly they're not disturbing anyone. We had quite a problem with it for a while but we haven't gotten anything lately. We don't have a fax machine, which is why it's so annoying. Also, we got the phone line set up so it stops any call that doesn't identify itself. If your number is blocked or missing, it asks you who you are that is calling. If the fax machine doesn't say anything, it doesn't let the call through, though sometimes if the machine beeps at the right time the phone line thinks it's an answer and lets it through. The telemarketers don't have the access to say anything so some of those are blocked.