[Fledermaus]

Don't let the knee jerkers dis the entire business because some are annoying. But it's more the responsibility of the individual answering the phone.

1) If you are tired of calls from the local newspaper trying to get you to subscribe, call their business office.

2) If your credit card company calls too often, cancel that account.

3) Here's a novel approach: don't answer the phone. If you salivate like Pavlov's dog every time it rings that's your problem. Try caller ID, it's cheap. Try an answering machine. If grandma is dead, you'll know when you check the message in the next 5 minutes and there wasn't anything you could have done about it anyway.

4) Legitimate and wonderful charities raise a lot of their money over the phone. They don't have the knowledge, equipment or resources to do that themselves and thus hire agencies to do the work. These agencies do indeed have millions of workers.

5) This same stupid argument has been going on for decades. It used to be, and still is, junk mail in your box. These same siding companies that call you on the phone also send out flyers in the coupon magazine you get once a month. Are you going to ban that too?

6) Now comes computer Spam. As is usual with our new whiney society, they don't set up different (and free) e-mail accounts for family and friends and other groups, they demand ALL "Spam" be blocked. These whiney morons are those you know that are too lazy or stupid to even keep their own e-mail account tidy. They still have 6 month old e-mail jokes in their inbox, never clear out their send list, etc.

7) So now everyone wants the government to solve the problem of the technological convienience the consumer demands and pays for. What's next? Outlawing door to door salesmen? Outlawing billboards? Outlawing ads on the back of your shopping cart? Sooner or later someone is going to want to ban the business you work for from advertising for customers.

Two words for the whiners: Personal Responsibility.

[Cvengr]

Latest tactic is to telemarket from overseas using Internet and a bank of Indian telemarketers. Since call is originating from overseas, they claim they aren't bound by the telemarketing laws here in the US.

Only problem is that nobody understands what the hell they're marketing.

[BlazingArizona]

3) Here's a novel approach: don't answer the phone. If you salivate like Pavlov's dog every time it rings that's your problem. Try caller ID, it's cheap. Try an answering machine. If grandma is dead, you'll know when you check the message in the next 5 minutes and there wasn't anything you could have done about it anyway.

Telemarketers actually PREFER you don't answer the phone. When they leave a message on your machine, you have no choice but to hear it. When I come home after having been out for a while, I usually get several of these leeches on my machine.

[MattAMiller]

How about if the people who want to sell stuff go to the trouble not to bother people who don't want to do business with them? Why is it my responsibility to inconvienence myself for their harassment based business?

If they can't stay in business dealing purely with people who want to deal them then they belong on the trash heap.

[Cronos]

1) If you are tired of calls from the local newspaper trying to get you to subscribe, call their business office. 2) If your credit card company calls too often, cancel that account. 3) Here's a novel approach: don't answer the phone. If you salivate like Pavlov's dog every time it rings that's your problem. Try caller ID, it's cheap. Try an answering machine. If grandma is dead, you'll know when you check the message in the next 5 minutes and there wasn't anything you could have done about it anyway. 4) Legitimate and wonderful charities raise a lot of their money over the phone. They don't have the knowledge, equipment or resources to do that themselves and thus hire agencies to do the work. These agencies do indeed have millions of workers. 5) This same stupid argument has been going on for decades. It used to be, and still is, junk mail in your box. These same siding companies that call you on the phone also send out flyers in the coupon magazine you get once a month. Are you going to ban that too? 6) Now comes computer Spam. As is usual with our new whiney society, they don't set up different (and free) e-mail accounts for family and friends and other groups, they demand ALL "Spam" be blocked. These whiney morons are those you know that are too lazy or stupid to even keep their own e-mail account tidy. They still have 6 month old e-mail jokes in their inbox, never clear out their send list, etc. 7) So now everyone wants the government to solve the problem of the technological convienience the consumer demands and pays for. What's next? Outlawing door to door salesmen? Outlawing billboards? Outlawing ads on the back of your shopping cart? Sooner or later someone is going to want to ban the business you work for from advertising for customers. Two words for the whiners: Personal Responsibility. </>

1.So, I have got to spend my money on a call to tell the telemarketers to stop wasting MY time?
2.Yeah right, then they'll call asking me to reconsider, then buy another card etc. etc.
3.Don't answer the phone? What about an urgent call from someone using a number I don't recognise? Should I give up my right to use the phone because of these teleloons?
If something urgent comes up? Your example doesn't make any sense.
4.I would rather get a flyer from those charities. If they irritate me over the phone I'll never give them a cent, no matter how worthy.
Plus, you're also trying to excuse all the 99.99% of slimy teleloons by holding up the 'few' 'charities' that do call over the phone.
5. Junk mail doesn't waste my time as much as the phone, but yes, if I could I would ask for it to be stopped.
6.Junk all unknown email accounts? What if I get an account I haven't recognised as a friend's account? It goes straight to the junk box. duuuh, again a nonsensical argument.
7.The govt is there to protect the citizenry from outside aggression and internal crime and spam, teleloons are a crime.

[jimt]

Two words for the whiners: Personal Responsibility.

Three words for those who'd have us cry for telemarketers: THEFT OF SERVICE.

[tracer]

"Legitimate and wonderful charities raise a lot of their money over the phone. They don't have the knowledge, equipment or resources to do that themselves and thus hire agencies to do the work. These agencies do indeed have millions of workers."

Perhaps you are unaware that this long-overdue measure exempts charities....