Name annoying things to do to tela-marketers when they bug you for Stuff

leeland

Diamond Member
Dec 12, 2000
3,659
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well i am getting bombarded by tela-marketers lately for credit cards, insurance, magazines, donations....so i have started doing some irritating things back to them

1.) i like to say i am too busy at the moment, and would like to call them back at there home..."sorry i am busy, can i get your home number and we can talk about this later tonight ? "

Them: "Ahhhh.....we can't give out that info "

Me: " why because you don't like being bothered at home by dumb asses ?......click "

2.) playing the role of the person who is bad at english....and speaking in sentence fragments.

3.) Telling them to wait and then set the phone down next to the speaker...when i am playing America Army Online


as fun as these couple are to me since i am easily amused does anyone one else do some funny stuff to tela-marketers when they bother you at home ?


please feel free to add to the list

leeland
 

I scream at the top of my lungs into the reciever, Honestly this works pretty damn well.

 

Dragnov

Diamond Member
Apr 24, 2001
6,878
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0
Just let them give their LONG speech and put them on speakerphone. Have em waste their time and energy. Since they are commision based, wasting their time is great.
 

GroundZero

Diamond Member
Oct 17, 2002
3,669
1
0
break in to their sales pitch and start your own. tell them that you were just going to call them and that it was nice of them to save you the trouble of dialing their number. then start in trying to sell them anything that comes to mind. hopefully you have caller id and they have a number that comes up. if not ask them for the number to where they are. call them back every 5 minutes for an hour with phoney sales pitches. then ask for their supervisor, and do the same thing with them. continue this till you reach the big boss.
 

Kevin

Diamond Member
Jan 1, 2002
3,995
1
0
Originally posted by: leeland
well i am getting bombarded by tela-marketers lately for credit cards, insurance, magazines, donations....so i have started doing some irritating things back to them

1.) i like to say i am too busy at the moment, and would like to call them back at there home..."sorry i am busy, can i get your home number and we can talk about this later tonight ? "

Them: "Ahhhh.....we can't give out that info "

Me: " why because you don't like being bothered at home by dumb asses ?......click "

2.) playing the role of the person who is bad at english....and speaking in sentence fragments.

3.) Telling them to wait and then set the phone down next to the speaker...when i am playing America Army Online


as fun as these couple are to me since i am easily amused does anyone one else do some funny stuff to tela-marketers when they bother you at home ?


please feel free to add to the list

leeland

Seinfeld Ripoff ;)

Some states have laws against telemarketers - New York has a "Do Not Call List" that works.

When we used to get calls, (and I had a lot of time) I would sound very interested and go "Tell me more" and "Really!!!". Then after a good 5 minutes I'd say "Nah, not interested" and hung up. A few times I'd sign up with fake names and non-exitent addresses. I'd usually give "958 Chelsea Street" which would probably be a few hundred feet in the Atlantic Ocean...

 

leeland

Diamond Member
Dec 12, 2000
3,659
0
76
Originally posted by: kevin000
Originally posted by: leeland
well i am getting bombarded by tela-marketers lately for credit cards, insurance, magazines, donations....so i have started doing some irritating things back to them

1.) i like to say i am too busy at the moment, and would like to call them back at there home..."sorry i am busy, can i get your home number and we can talk about this later tonight ? "

Them: "Ahhhh.....we can't give out that info "

Me: " why because you don't like being bothered at home by dumb asses ?......click "

2.) playing the role of the person who is bad at english....and speaking in sentence fragments.

3.) Telling them to wait and then set the phone down next to the speaker...when i am playing America Army Online


as fun as these couple are to me since i am easily amused does anyone one else do some funny stuff to tela-marketers when they bother you at home ?


please feel free to add to the list

leeland

Seinfeld Ripoff ;)

Some states have laws against telemarketers - New York has a "Do Not Call List" that works.

When we used to get calls, (and I had a lot of time) I would sound very interested and go "Tell me more" and "Really!!!". Then after a good 5 minutes I'd say "Nah, not interested" and hung up. A few times I'd sign up with fake names and non-exitent addresses. I'd usually give "958 Chelsea Street" which would probably be a few hundred feet in the Atlantic Ocean...

he he he i know....but it is still a funny one when they have to answer why they don't want you to call them....


i like to yanni music for the hold...although i dont think i could bring myself to listen myself
 

ATLien247

Diamond Member
Feb 1, 2000
4,597
0
0
Originally posted by: Jzero
COTTON CANDY YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

I GOT MAIL! I GOT MAIL! I GOT MAIL! I GOT MAIL! I GOT MAIL! I GOT MAIL! I GOT MAIL! I GOT MAIL! I GOT MAIL!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!
 

SWScorch

Diamond Member
May 13, 2001
9,520
1
76
I dont like to do anything that might cause them pain (like yell really loud or blow na airhorn) because, after all, they're probbaly broke college students looking for some cash to get by, and they're just doing their job. I like the America's Army suggestion though :)
 

nord1899

Platinum Member
Jun 18, 2001
2,444
0
0
Originally posted by: kevin000
Some states have laws against telemarketers - New York has a "Do Not Call List" that works.

Yup. I'm in NY and put my number on the list. Haven't gotten a single telemarketer. Also could be due to the fact that I have a cellphone as my only phone.
 

conjur

No Lifer
Jun 7, 2001
58,686
3
0
My grandfather uses:

"I can't talk right now, I'm trying to kill Grandma. By the way, do you know what gets blood out of carpet?"
 

brtspears2

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2000
8,659
1
81
I could never put myself on the no call list. I would start to miss the fun of making fun of them. Yesterday, someone called about garage doors. I let them waste time on speakerphone while I was cooking a meal on how great their garage doors are. I asked about openers, wasted another 10 min of his time. Then finally I went, "this sounds great, but I live in an apartment complex...."
 

Woodchuck2000

Golden Member
Jan 20, 2002
1,632
1
0
I've always wanted to get a phone that plays annoying music when it puts people on hold. Then just ask them to hold for a minute. And see how long they'll sit there on hold for without hanging up...
 

MrBond

Diamond Member
Feb 5, 2000
9,911
0
76
For those of you with a state Do Not Call list, I saw this today on one of the local news stations.

Apparently a company is calling people and telling them that Indiana law has changed, and that in order to be put back on the state's do not call list, they have to pay $299 to be readded. This is NOT true, the call list is free. No one is being removed without asking to be removed.

I figure the average AT'er is smart enough to not fall for this. However, you may want to call and warn friends/relatives who may be duped into this scam. As far as I know, this is only an Indiana scam right now, but I expect it to crop up in other states.
 

bleckywelcky

Senior member
Sep 16, 2002
276
0
0
This happened to me by accident once, but I told some people later about it and they got a kick out of it.

I was trying to leave once and was brushing my teeth just before I was about to head at the door. Phone rings, it's some poor sap trying to get a hold of my sister (who didn't even live there then). I answered the phone and began communicating with the person through a series of grunts and mmphs (didn't wanna spew toothpaste all over the place). The lady even gave me a number for my sister to call them back and it went something like this:

TM Person: Ready?
Me: Mmmph!
TM Person: 1 800
Me: Mm mmph mmphh.
TM Person: 555
Me: Mm mmph.
TM Person: 5555
Me: Mmmphh.

The lady was about to crack up at the end. Otherwise, I normally just hang up, even before they begin talking sometimes. You can tell when it's a computer calling you because someone will normally respond with a "Hello" immediately after you. When the computer calls and you say "Hello" there is a pause (anywhere from something like 1/2 a second to a couple seconds) before you hear background noise and a "Hello" from the person. Usually by this point in time I have already hung up, heh.

-
 

kt

Diamond Member
Apr 1, 2000
6,032
1,348
136
Start moaning and breathe loudly into the phone, if they try to interrupt you just tell them to hold on for a second. If they are still on the phone after that, let out a loud "Ahhhhhhhhh". At this point if they still haven't hung up, proceed to ask them if it was good for them as it was for you.