Telemarketing Trick

[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/show...36&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]

Originally Posted by wendybeth

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.

[Motorboat Cruiser]

Originally Posted by SacTown Chronic

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.

Spoiler:

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.