Telemarketers on the ropes

CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER ^ | 8/11/2003 | Lance Williams

[xrp]

Popular do-not-call list bringing industry to its knees

Aug. 11 — In the past three months, the hallways at Groesbeck-based Tel-A-Sell Marketing Inc. have become a lot less crowded. CEO Edd O’Connor has been forced to trim his telemarketing staff from 72 to 18.

“I WAS RUNNING a full house earlier this year,” said O’Connor, who also serves as president of the American Teleservices Association’s Great Lakes Chapter, which covers Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Michigan.

One of the big reason for the cuts: the chilling effects of the National Do Not Call Registry and other similar efforts in statehouses across the country.

A month into the sign-ups for the federal Do Not Call list, nearly 30 million phone numbers across the United States have been registered for the list. That number could double by the time the list takes effect on Oct. 1.

The ATA, which is challenging the list in court, said the national list could eventually cause more than 2 million lost telemarketing jobs. The ATA estimated that telemarketers are responsible for $660 billion in sales. The combined effects of do-not-call lists and the movement of jobs overseas have left the industry ailing.

“It’s going to cause significant business problems for this industry,” said O’Connor, who said he expects a pickup in business in early fall. “We’ve got to step back and regroup.”

[Bob J]

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[nutmeg]

Well, I hope that all the freaking babies who bitched and moaned for government to save them from the threats posed to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness by telemarketers are happy. Up to 2,000,000 more Americans could be put out of work.

Too bad, ex-telemarketers can certainly find other work. Telemarketing is basically breaking into a person's home electronically, IMHO. At the very least, it is a huge annoyance, and I will be glad to see it outlawed. Thank God for Caller ID!

[nutmeg]

Telemarketing leeches the time of millions more Americans, which has a value far in excess of the total sales of all telemarketing. If anything telemarketing is a drag on the economy. These 2,000,000 people should find jobs doing productive work instead.

WELL SAID, Catphish! I agree.

[Tired of Taxes]

Again, if a person told a telemarketer not to call again, and the telemarketer or telemarketing company called again, that should be considered "harrassment".

Again obfuscation, the point isn't whether or not junkmail is annoying, is it theft? And the answer is no because you don't pay to receive it. Since 95% of junkmail is obviously junkmail without you opening it I think you're overstating things trying to appeal to emotion.

Actually, it is the pro-DNC list people who are appealing to emotion, as no one (not even I) enjoys receiving sales calls. The point is that your telephone service, though you are paying to use it, is provided to you by a company. And that company isn't providing a service that limits the calls you receive only to those people from whom you want to receive calls. No, it's providing you with an open line so that anyone can call you.

There is little difference between paying for telephone service or cable television (or internet service, for that matter). And I still see little difference between any of the above and receiving mail. It is still my private property to which it is delivered, even though I'm not "paying" for the mail service to deliver it. (We're not paying for the telephone call made by the solicitor, either).

Looks like we're not going to agree here, but that's OK. We don't all have to agree on everything. :-)

[nutmeg]

ping!

Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my infrequent ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.

[Ditter]

Oh dear, you must be out of work. Have faith, you'll find something else. Next time I hope you find a job doing something that won't annoy me when I am in my house minding my own business.

[Coleus]

I saw some blind guy on the news who will now lose his job.

[KineticKitty]

Maybe you should persue legislation against mosquitos.

I will absolutely do that... once their I.Q.'s drop to the level of a telemarketer AND if they also start calling me on my phone constantly...

But I have to say I like your comparison... Blood sucking Pests vs. telemarketers. Pretty close to reality, LOL.

[KineticKitty]

LMAO

[uglybiker]

I have and it reduces the amount of spam that gets through to a couple per day.

Like an earlier poster stated about their telephone.

It's there for my convenience. Not theirs.

[Fledermaus]

Sorry, there is no difference in unwanted mail, unwanted phone calls, unwanted faxes, or unwanted e-mail. Legally it's all the same.

The premise is the same. Business has the same rights as individuals. It's up to the individual to take care of these annoyances. Government will always be too broad and their laws will cost thousands of legitimate jobs.

There are effective spam controllers out there. Pop-up ads are more annyoing and can be stopped if you try. Radio Shack sells cheap phone zappers that weed out and block calls you don't want. It's much harder, or nearly impossible, to keep my postal mailbox from overfilling everyday with advertising.

There are so many easy ways to get around telemarketing calls or spam e-mail there is no reason to demand the government ban them or create lists. You give the government that much control and it won't be long before that power is used by others to ban or stop things they don't like. Forget the content or merits of the argument, the power has been transferred.

[uglybiker]

put a telephone in your bathroom :-)

Are you sure?

www.tommabe.com/

[KineticKitty]

Since by all these posts you've made it clear that anybody, anytime, for whatever reason they like should be able to call you and have it be their absolute RIGHT to do so...

Post your phone number. I dare ya. :-)

Still waiting for a response heh? : )

[Fledermaus]

Annoying sure. But you want telemarketers out of business? This is so un-American and sooner or later someone might come after your job.

I'm sure you have more than one phone or a cell phone. If not, do you not worry about getting those emergency calls when you are online and the line is busy?

[Ditter]

I just got your freepmail. I see no reason for you to call me "shit for brains". This is not DU where foul language is the norm. This is FR & we are a little more civilized than that, at least some of us are.

[GregoryFul]

Next up to bat are the babies who want legislation against email spam.

You can count me in! This trash is becomming unbearable!

[GregoryFul]

The spam still clogs the internet, and wastes a lot of personal time, missed e-mails, junk mail that gets through automatic filters, etc. Spam is total trash, virtual pollution that should be banned! Why should we tolerate these lying jerk freeloaders wrecking the technology for the rest of us?

Hang 'em high, I say!

[Tailback]

You're the one that posted an article claiming 2,000,000 workers will lose their jobs because of the no-call list. I guess you never paused and asked yourself, "Wow, 2,000,000 seems a bit high, I wonder where they got that number?" Maybe I should post an article claiming that the listing of the Northern Spotted Owl on the endangered species list cost the state of Oregon 800,000 logger jobs.

[uglybiker]

Do you want the drug dealers on your block? It's good for the economy, after all...

Judging from xrp's posts, they already are.