Moral imperative.
Moral imperative.
This is from Beliefnet, which is christianity based, right? So the answer is simple: preach the gospel to the telemarketers. It may be the only time they come into contact with a professing christian. If they claim to be christian already, tell them you’ll pray that God will find them a better job. The ones whom I’ve told that to all seem to appreciate it, and I pray with them on the phone right there.
When they get around to saying, “What’s this got to do with aluminum siding (or whatever they’re trying to sell)?” I answer with, “well, siding is important to you, right? And you want it to be important to me. So let’s talk about what is important to me and should be important to you, the disposition of your eternal soul.
Myself, I prefer the Tom Mabe approach:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv_JtNhUePg&feature=related
muahahaah!
The author was nicer than I would have been. And I wouldn’t be in the least interested in arguing the ethics of the situation either.
would just hanging up be considered rude?
Unfortunately, what they’re getting paid for is invasive. I’ll keep hanging up.
Get on the Do-Not-Call List. It’s an 800 number. It takes about 15 seconds to register. Dial 0, and the operator will give it to you. They all have it memorized.
When an unwanted caller calls, just quietly hang up. They expect much worse than that. There’s no obligation to answer questions, engage in niceties, etc.
What I don’t get is that the auto warranty folks are committing fraud, the owners have been charged with crimes, and most of the call centers have been shut down as the money dried up - how can it be a terrorist threat if there’s no call center to burn down, or any employees left to kill?
And was there any evidence of the guy actually trying to do anything?
These thought crimes really bother me, especially carrying the felony tag, which means it’s a great weapon to disarm law abiding citizens for exercising their freedom of speech.
Since I haven’t been working for a year and a half (due to a disability), I have received a whole slew of telemarketing calls. when I first became ill, it took a while to get to the phone and it was frustrating and sometimes dangerous for me to rush to the phone. Once I stumbled over a chair and fell. Fortuntely, I was not hurt, but you can imagine how I felt when I answered the phone and it was a sales call.
Yes, I too am on the do not call list, but what I get most are credit card solicitations. Since I have the credit cards in question, this constitutes a prior or existing relationship with the business; therefore, they can get around the do not call list.
I’ve come to the point where I no longer answer the telephone. I let the calls go into voice mail. Usually, these telemarketers will not leave a message.
It’s terrible to not want to answer your home telephone, but these calls are getting ridiculous. And apparently, there is no way legally to stop them.
I'm pretty sure that when you go to hell, Satan makes you become a telemarketer.
I am in sales -—
And I HATE unsolicited telemarketing.
I spend thousands of dollars a year on advertising, which gives me the RIGHT to call people back, who respond.
I resent it when other people do not respect my time, or the law!
They don't argue for very long after that.
I deal with telemarketers and unwanted calls in an even and measured tone.
For musicians on the thread, it is the tone of G#, in the key of E. (for those in Rio Linda and Port St. Lucie, yes, it is a dial tone.)
“I’m glad you called! Does your product remove blood stains?”
My favorite reply to a telemarketer...trying to induce me to go to see a time share in a tonw in my state which she could not pronounce was that “ther restraining order prohibited me from going there”...after I pumped her up to think I was going to be going
“Charles W. Papenfus...allegedly told a sales representative...that he would burn down the building and kill the employees and their families.”
LOL! I once told an AOL rep that they were the worst group since the slave traders.
She hung up on me.
Oh, tell me about it. I've asked multiple times to be taken off their lists, I've inquired as to how much it would cost to extend the warranty on MY `62 CHEVY TRUCK... or my 26 yr old car.
Oh, wait, you don't support vehicles that far back? THEN STOP CALLING ME! [/frustrated][/cynic]
First of all, I don’t answer un-identifiable numbers.
If they in any way block their number, I simply don’t answer.
Now... the smart ones will use an odd area code (I’m learning them) besides 800, or 866... and sometimes it comes in as “private”. Those are the ones that usually get through... sometimes.
Once I determine that its an unsolicited call, I explain to them that I don’t do business over the phone due to the high volume of those types of calls that I receive... I suggest to them that they should try a different marketing strategy.
If this doesn’t work, and they persist, and I have a little time to burn, I start acting interested. As the call progresses, and they are sure they have a sale, they start going for a commitment... that’s when I start asking questions.... Lots of questions... and the more persistent they are, the more repetitive and unintelligible I get. I especially like catching them in a marketing representation that they make which cannot be backed up. Yeah... I play those for all they are worth.
Eventually they get frustrated and hang up.
You see, these people have quotas... they have to contact so many people in a certain period of time... and they have to make a certain number of sales daily. And if they are not willing to respect my wishes to not waste my time, I really don’t have a problem wasting a little of theirs.
If they cant take a hint, they are flipping fair game... HAVE FUN with them!