My next rant, telemarketers. Grr....

Disclaimer: Some foul language.

Are these people paid to be annoying and abrasive? If they are the ones that call my place need to be given a raise, they're really good. They are the cream of the crop. To start with, why do they call at supper time? I'm busy with cooking, homework, cleaning, etc.

Now after listening for a minute to what they're pushing I say "No, I don't need that." NOW I get this #, "I understand what you're saying but you aren't listening to me." WTF? I've finally had enough of this tool. "No, I WAS listening to you and YOU aren't understanding me. # OFF!"

CLICK!!!

NOW, it's time for some creative thinking. These bastards aren't going to leave me alone. When they call now I'm going to ask, "Do I know you"? No? CLICK. If they're telling me about their product I'll interupt, "But what is your opinion of My Lord Satan? Can I sign you up for Hell?" Or, try to sell them something, like Mary Kay if it's a dude. Or better yet, "Can you hold on for a minute?" And then go on to fix supper. That should take about an hour. If ANYONE is still holding after that, I gotta listen to what they have to say.

Bottom line, these pricks have to be put in their place. I'm through with them screwing with me. I'm going on the offensive. Beware..........

I hate them to, but its always a giveaway over here because no one from a call center can properly say my last name.

"hello can I speak to Mr McFrac'dUpYourName?"

"no!"

/hangs up

The other option is to get there supervisor on the phone and threaten to kill his dog and burn down his house unless he takes your number off his list. I've never had to resort to that yet as i only get a call or two here a week.

I used to work for Ipsos-Reid, the market research firm. And yeah, I was one of those who had to call people to do surveys over the phone.

The people doing the job don't want to call you any more than you want to be called by them... so don't be too harsh on them. It's a job, and until they find something better, they are stuck doing it.

If you simply tell them to take you off of their calling list they will do it instantly... but you have to say the words "calling list" otherwise the agent is not permitted to take you off the list. Retarted rules, but the agent isn't allowed to change them, and if you stray from them, well, there goes your job.

Alot of people make the mistake of thinking its all one company... quite a few times someone would say "you just called me yesterday" when in fact it wasnt myself that called, it was a totally different company. As I said, as soon as you tell them to take you off of the calling list, that company will never call again.

It's done through an automatic switchboard. The computer generates numbers, verifies that they are not on the 'DNC' (do not call list), then dials them. If you pick up, the moment you say hello, the computer then connects that line with an agent. The agent didnt call you, the computer did, and the computer then forces the agent onto the line with you.

It's a horrible job, but sometimes when you are short on work, you have to resort to working for these bastards.

You'd be suprised at how many daily attempts are made to try to crash the call router at these offices. The agents would give anything for a break between the calls.

The average employment time for these agents is about half a week. At which point they either become too agitated to get back on the phone, or are simply fired for messing up the rules.

So give the guys a break, the person calling you didnt want to call you, they just need the money, and chances are, they'll be done with the job in a few days anyhow.

This is what you do to telemarketers. Please watch. I promise it'll be worth your while.

Telemarketers are the BEST people to prank call. You will feel no guilt whatsoever, it's fun because they don't hang up for a long time and they called you first, so they asked for it!

Telemarketers are annoying and the market research firms are the ones feeding the total surveillance awareness network cropping up around us. Gathering information has become a booming business since 911, with many of the research firms signing onto pentagon surveillance contracts.

However, I find the obsession with hating telemarketers a little bit of a telephone diversion. Cell phones are a completely unregulated business with charges soaring into blatant theft standards and no legislation to protect the consumer. Not to mention the recent disclosure about the surveillance chips being built into phones and whistle blowers winding up dead.

Or the credit card industry, and they're prerogative to alter the conditions of a contract on an arbitrary basis, I find that much more of a threat to national security than a phalanx of minimum wage telemarketers.

I put them on speaker phone and let them do their spiel. Then I say thank you very much for calling but I'm not interested, goodbye, and I hang up without bothering to argue. I think it's been almost encouraged to use these minimum wage hostages as scapegoats for consumer frustration.

Yeah, lemonparty.org. Thats a classic one. I saw that vid a couple of years ago, and its CLASSIC!!

But back on the topic....I havent been called by telemarketers for over 3 years now. I also havent had an actual house phone for over 3 years now either. I think the two facts are correlated, but Im not sure. I dont even know anyone who has a home phone anymore.

I havent even heard someone complaining about telemarketers for a long long time.....I hope the menace is dying. Or maybe its just the service I have for my cellphone is what keeps them from calling, Im not sure.

Oh, btw..........Im not actually suggesting anybody visit lemonparty.org......I dont know what the site is for, but the front page was enough to disgust me into oblivion....ugh....
Do NOT go to that site, it has nothing at all to do with the video, it is a joke. Do so at your own risk....

Originally posted by johnsky
I used to work for Ipsos-Reid, the market research firm. And yeah, I was one of those who had to call people to do surveys over the phone.

The people doing the job don't want to call you any more than you want to be called by them... so don't be too harsh on them. It's a job, and until they find something better, they are stuck doing it.

Most people think the tele marketers themselves are the evil ones when they are just making a check. My philosophy is to just hang up when I hear them without saying a word. No harm, no foul. They can call me back if they like and I will do the same. If I want to buy something, I will go looking for it, I really don't need to be told what I might need...there is enough information out there for me to find anything I could possibly want anyway.

Staying on the phone is just asking for trouble, loss of money, or aggrevation.

I used to get really annoyed with telepeople until I realized that they are poor folks just trying to make it one day at a time, just like me.

But if you really wanna have some fun; ask the female telemarketers if they are wearing any panties.

Originally posted by whaaa

But if you really wanna have some fun; ask the female telemarketers if they are wearing any panties.

It wouldn't matter. All their call centers are in India and that is a long walk just for a booty-call. LOL.

Sorry, back to the topic.

If you have a credit card and list a home number on your statement, you will likely get telemarketer calls. I have a second line that I use for faxing purposes only, and list that as my "home" number (it is in my home). Whenever they call it, I let the fax handle everything and they will get the connection sound and hang up. If there is a legitimate issue with my cards, I can be sent official, written correspondance.

If you live in the US, you can put your number on the "do not call list", which helps, but doesn't eliminate them entirely.

I also have the "Telezapper", which supposedly traces back to the calling nerve-center and "zaps" your number off their computer when you pick up the phone after being called from an automated caller.

My last name is always mispronounced. Whenever I hear it said wrong, I typically say, "Sorry, I do not accept phone solicitations, please remove this number from your records." and immediately hang up. They get clever and sometimes use my first name, or the diminutive of my first name like, "Hey (name)!", and I think its some friend or long-lost college buddy. When I discover their real purpose, I give them the same line above.

Also, I've found that these calls are often voice activated to when you say "Hello". If I say hello twice and there is a delay and a click or buzz sound with the caller coming on, I hang up before they get a chance to speak.

On your voice-mail message, DO NOT say this is (name) - it will only confirm to the caller that they do have the right person they are trying to reach and keep trying. I have my message saying, "You have reached (phone number)...", so its ambiguous as to whom they are trying to reach.

Sometimes I get caught with them if I click over on call waiting (my phones don't have caller ID for call waiting). When they ask, "Is this (mispronounced last name)?", I say "no". If they further ask for verificaton of the number I tell them, "You tell me, you dialed the number!", or if they get persistent about the name, I tell them that I will not divulge my name to any unknown person over the phone.

Lastly, I have caller ID set up to appear on my TV screen (through my satellite TV provider). If the name is anonymous or blocked, I don't answer it. If it is any number I don't recognize, I don't answer and let my ambiguous voice mail take over, and they don't leave messages. If its is truly some legitimate call for family or business, then they can leave a message and I will call them back promptly. Eventually, the telemarketers give up. I have not spoken to a telemarketer in maybe a year or more, and haven't received any "suspicious" calls in perhaps months.

I hope you have success in avoiding these often inconvenient, and annoying calls.