Damn telemearketers!

[notfred]

How in the hell do you say "car-in-ski" after reading "karaszewski"

fcking people are retarded. That one was an instant hang-up.

 

[Keego]

should have told him that the car -in-ski guy was in the freezer

 

[ttn1]

Oh yeah, let's have everyone pronounce karaoke.

How is that care-ee-oh-kee??

I just let all the telemarketers hang up on my answering machine.
Isn't that why answering machines were made?

 

[pyonir]

<< Oh yeah, let's have everyone pronounce karaoke.

How is that care-ee-oh-kee??

I just let all the telemarketers hang up on my answering machine.
Isn't that why answering machines were made? >>


that is why MY answering machine was made. but it is sometimes fun to screw with them. I've had people calling to sell light bulbs, told them "no, ours aren't burnt out" someone selling windows, "no we boarded those up years ago" credit card people, "well i have about 10 grand in cc debt, but this sounds like a good deal!" at&t (which i hate, i tell them to take me off their list every time andi get a call four hours later), before the start the speech right after they say " hi am ...... from at&t" i say "i don't want any, take me off your list" they come back with, "but i havent even said what i am offering yet!" and i say, "well you said you were from at&t, so i already know it will be ripping me off and the customer service will suck. so i dont need to hear it." click.

 

[Fausto]

Just tell each caller that you would like to be added to their "no-call" list. They are required by law to maintain this list for ten years and you can sue for $500 each time they call you after you've been added to the no-call list. You can also hit them up for $500 each time they call you before 8am or after 9pm. The amount of telemarketing calls will really drop off quickly if you do the no-call request thing each time.

Just my 0.02

Fausto

 

[AUMM]

wen i was a telemarketer, well not really, i worked for teh Gallup Poll. if someone was rude to me i would just set the computer to have them called back in an hour or so. the way they do it is that the only time you put someone on the no call list is wen you're absolutely positive there is no chance they will talk to you.

 

[PsychoAndy]

my favorite thing to say to telemarketers:

If its a guy: Are you the stockborker having the affair with my wife?
If its a woman: Are you the lesbian stockbroker having the affair with my wife? If so, could the 3 of us get together sometime......

That usually takes care of them

 

[ttn1]

I have been bored a few times myself and listened to a telemarketers speach. After a 20 minute speech about how
great their product was, I said no thanks. They were pretty ticked off. I'm guessing they were on commission. Haha...

Had a male representative from my undergraduate univ. call me asking for money. I said no.
The next night a bubbly girl called being very friendly. After about 2 minutes of small talk, with
me trying to figure out who the hell she was, she started the we're raising money crap.
Now about once a year a bubbly little co-ed calls begging for money. Talk about profiling.
Of course, I have yet to donate.

I like the Jerry Seinfeld response. "I'm busy right now, why don't you give me your home number
and I'll call you back." "Oh, you can't give out your home number because you don't like being
called at home." "Now you know how I feel." click...

 

[bunker]

CALLER-ID

If it says unavailable or private, it doesn't get answered. If it's important, they'll leave a message on the machine.

 

[Fausto]

<< the only time you put someone on the no call list is wen you're absolutely positive there is no chance they will talk to you >>



Wrong. If you request that a telemarketer add you to their no-call list, they are required by federal law to do so.....no ifs, ands or buts. It's all in the Telecommunications Consumer Protection Act.

Info here

and here.

Fausto

 

[Kev]

I like having fun with telemarketers, like this from a few weeks ago:

Me: Hello
Telemarketer: Hello sir, is the head of the houselhold there?
M: This is he [lying]. Are you selling something?
T: We're offering a way for you to save on your monthly phone bills!
M: Does it require me to switch plans?
T: Well, you'll save a lot on your monthly phone bills!
M: Yes, but do I have to do anything to save this money?
T: I can tell you about our plan...
M: No thanks, not interested.
T: But don't you want to save extra money?
M: No, not really.
T: You mean you would rather pay extra?
M: Yes.
T: That's silly!
M: Yes, we [saying my last name the way this idiot butchered it] love to waste money! We're a silly family!
T: ........
M: Well, thanks!
T: .........
M: Bye!!


And this is my favorite......

T: Hello, sir. Would you be interested in switching long distance plans and saving over 50% a month on your phone bills?
M: Phone bills? But I don't have a phone.
T: *click*

 

[Ns1]

<< Wrong. If you request that a telemarketer add you to their no-call list, they are required by federal law to do so.....no ifs, ands or buts. It's all in the Telecommunications Consumer Protection Act. >>




WORK for a telemarketing company

I did it for a day as a temp assignment. Just because we're supposed to (kinda like how you're supposed to buy all your songs) doesn't mean we will.

 

[imported_BeeVo]

I know where I used to work at a telephone survey company we aren't required to take you off the list. We aren't selling anything so we aren't required by federal law.

 

[crypticlogin]

This works for me but I just say I got this call an hour earlier and I said I wasn't interested the first time. If they think they're wasting their time, they'll hang up fast.

 

[Kanalua]

According to the FCC site, would the PERSON making the phone call also have to be sure not to call you for ten years? I mean if he moved to a different company, he still couldn't call you, according to the wording of the FCC site:


<< The FCC's Do-Not-Call Rules require a person or entity placing live telephone solicitations to your home to maintain a record of your request not to receive future telephone solicitations from that person or entity.

You can avoid future "live" telephone solicitation calls to your home telephone number by clearly stating when you receive such calls that you want to be added to the caller's do-not-call list and do not want to receive any further solicitations from that person or entity.

The person or entity making the call must keep a record of your do-not-call request for ten years from the time of your request and may not make further telephone solicitations to your home. Tax-exempt nonprofit organizations are not required to keep do-not-call lists.

Your do-not-call request should stop all calls from the person or entity placing the call. It should also stop calls from affiliated entities where, due to the identification of the caller and the product being advertised, you would reasonably expect that the request applies to affiliated entities.

Your do-not-call request applies only to the person or entity placing the call.
>>

 

[Shudder]

If you do ask to be taken off, get the person's name, not that they'll give you a real one, ask where they work, and WRITE DOWN all that crap, like the date, when they called, etc. It'll help out later if you want to press charges.

Personally, the phone should be free. Tv's free, you put up with ads. Radio, same thing. Yet, I PAY for the phone and they abuse it.

Ditched my phone, only use a cell now and I don't know what telemarketers are anymore.

I had a nice incident with those a-holes who drop that bag o' crap on your doorstep each week. Eventually it got to the point of my filing a complaint with the police, better business bureau, and illegal dumping commission before they finally stopped delivering the crap (I called them 3 times and nicely asked to stop getting it)

 

[MrBond]

<< I've had people calling to sell light bulbs >>

Got that SAME ONE yesterday morning. The "Guaranteed for 7 years" bulbs. Damn guy woke me up.

 

[SonicFlux]

Texas No Call

 

[Fausto]

<< I did it for a day as a temp assignment. Just because we're supposed to (kinda like how you're supposed to buy all your songs) doesn't mean we will >>



You sure as hell will when people start dropping a multitude of $500 lawsuits in your lap. My experience has been that a no-call request sobers up the tele real quick. If they jerk you around, you get the supervisor on the phone and repeat the request. IIRC, they are no longer able to screen themselves from Caller-ID either so if they hang up on you in response to your request, you can nail them to the wall anyway. I used to get like 6-8 calls every night and now I rarely get one after a month or so of no-call requests. A good friend of mine in Portland nailed Chase Manhattan for $1500 in response to three sales calls placed to his house at 6:00am local time (not smart to use an auto-dialer without making sure what time zone you're calling, eh?)

Beevo: you are correct, does not apply to non-profit organizations.

Kanalua: no, it applies to whatever company called you, not the poor sod whose job it is to call you on their behalf.

Fausto

 

[Illusio]

Here is a neat little program i found to help you deal with telemarketers. I keeps logs of the calls, helps you quote teh law to them, etc... might be useful..


http://www.pcworld.com/resource/article.asp?aid=9055

 

[swayinOtis]

lol, yeah, they butcher my name all the time, too.

they have these dialers that dial the phone for them. when you pick up and say hello only then does it switch to the poor operator. that's why it always takes the fools about 2-4 seconds to answer after you say "hello!" they have about a nanosecond to figure out your name.

you can fool many dialers into removing your name from their call list automatically. the dialers will recognize a SIT tone. that's the tone you get when you call a number that has been disconnected. as soon as they hear that SIT tone the dialer will remove your number so as not to waste time on a "disconnected number." i did a websearch on the net, found a SIT tone .wav, recorded it, then added it to my answering machine. it works. i don't get very many telemarketing scum calling me any more. it doesn't totally stop them, but it has worked quite well.

 

[swayinOtis]

<< Just tell each caller that you would like to be added to their "no-call" list. They are required by law to maintain this list for ten years and you can sue for $500 each time they call you after you've been added to the no-call list. You can also hit them up for $500 each time they call you before 8am or after 9pm. The amount of telemarketing calls will really drop off quickly if you do the no-call request thing each time.
>>



That is a totally bogus and unrealistic proposition. For one it puts most of the burden on the person being called. How do they prove a company called them after being told not to? They have to keep logs, and then it's still a matter of he said/she said. It's total crap. And it rarely works.

 

[Fausto]

How is it bogus and unrealistic? I mean, sure you have to know the basics of the law and what to say to the telemarketer, but it totally works believe me. Try it sometime....ask for the person's full name who is calling you, the address of the company, inform them of the federal laws regarding unsolicited calls.....they will rattle off a quick "we acknowledge your request and will add you to our no-call list, sir" message and then hang the hell up.

Also, it's a $10,000 fine if they don't maintain the list...even better. They even have to mail you a copy of their list policy upon request. They really don't want to talk to you any more after you start asking them all these questions. Just keep a log of calls and your requests and then start nailing them if they are stupid enough to call back. It's not a perfect law, I admit (a perfect law would outlaw telemarketers completely), but it's better than nothing. Plus it's actually kind of fun to listen to them squirm on the other end of the phone when you start reciting the laws and fines to them.

Fausto

 

[uclaxman]

screw them all

 

[AreaCode707]

I feel sorry for telemarketers - that's gotta be just the worst job. I generally stop them as early as possible and tell them I'm not interested (after correcting their pronunciation of my name), they usually say okay, thanks anyway, and hang up. I mean think about it, no matter what job you do, people probably don't spend their spare time getting together online trying to figure out ways to tick you off.