posted
A new low in corporate telephone discourtesy. I got a call from a recording, "This is Marsha from Alliance One. It is very important that I talk to you about your account. Please press 0 to speak to an operator."
Yesterday when they called, I pressed 0 many times and nothing happened. I hung up, but the call wouldn't disconnect.
Today, I pressed 0 and GOT PUT ON HOLD. You do not call my house and put me on hold for two minutes. Especially when the lead in recording is hinting at something to do with my finances. I was almost sure this was a BS call, but I couldn't take the risk.
Lady: "How may I help you." Me: "I don't know, you called me." Lady: "Oh, I see. Is James there." Me: "Who are you?" Lady: "We're Alliance One, a financial institution." Me: "And what do you want?" Lady: "May I leave a number for James to call back?" Me: "There is no James here." Lady: "OK, thank you, have..." Me: "Before you go, I need some information for the complaint." Lady: "What complaint?" Me: "The one I'll be filing with the FCC. What address should I forward it to at your company?"
posted
I would have, but on the off chance it really was about my "account" I didn't want to miss early notification about possible identity theft.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Alliance One is a legitimate collections company that works with Providian National Bank and Washington Mutual, among others. It sounds like they had a wrong number, but I just thought I'd let you know that they ARE a legitimate business.
Posts: 4313 | Registered: Sep 2004
| IP: Logged |
quote:Good. Then my complaint will be meaningful. [Smile]
Recordings that prevent breaking the connection are illegal.
Not to mention annoying! Bleah!
Edit to add: And as I write this, I'm sitting on hold with someone who called, began an inquiry and then placed me on hold. I'm in a CS position, so the rules and etiquette are slightly different, but I feel your pain anyway.
Posts: 4313 | Registered: Sep 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
What I hate is that whenever they call, the caller ID comes up as "Unknown" or "Anonymous," and then when I answer, I inevitably have to repeat "Hello? Hello?! HELLO?!" a few times before the recording starts.
posted
I get those recordings all day long at work. Somehow our number was put on a residential list. I say hello twice and hang up if I don't hear anything yet.
Posts: 3134 | Registered: Mar 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
I always thought automated calling was illegal... you can't call someone with a machine and have it talk to them with a recording.
But I guess it isn't because I've been getting more and more of them. Not to mention the CONSTANT calls I get on my cell phone that begin with "This is an important announcement from your child's school." (I don't have a child, thanks.)
And I really hate the ones that call with a machine and tell me to call them back. If they can't talk to me with a human right then and there then whatever they have to talk to me about can't be important.
quote:Originally posted by katharina: I have recently been recordings of this type on my cell phone. In Spanish.
Whoa Kat...you to????
Those were freaking me out. I had no idea what they were about. I had my wife translate for me and it was something like, "The service you requested has no more options" or something to that effect. Often my phone wouldn't even ring, a voicemail would just appear there.
Posts: 1412 | Registered: Oct 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
The thread title reminded me of an incident several months ago. I got a call at work on a particularly stressful day. My sister was experiencing vertigo - she couldn't drive and needed medicine. Her younger daughter, who drives and has her own car, didn't want to get it "right now" - she was planning to get it after her drill team practice. Which would be over around 8 p.m. - about an hour after the pharmacy closes. So, I had to leave work and run over to my sister's house to get my other niece - the one who cared if her mom was ill, go to Wal-Mart, get the medicine and then back to my sister's house.
(apparently it was Jan 28, 2005 - more than "a few months ago" - but the memory still sticks with me)
Posts: 2034 | Registered: Apr 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
I get these calls from collection agencies all the time. Apparently some person who owes someone a lot of money has repeatedly given out my home phone number as her contact information.
Every time they call and I'm home, I tell them that person doesn't live in my house, nor was that person either of the two previous owners. This stops them for about two months.
Then I get another call for the same name. I swear this person is out there somewhere, randomly chose my number out of thin air, and gives it whenever she needs to put down contact information.
Posts: 3960 | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
"Hello, I'm Mr. Q with Argh Inc., how are you doing today?"
"Well, up until my day was interrupted by a call from a machine and I was hit up for money, things were going great."
(Why do they always ask how you're doing? Hasn't anyone who trains these people realized how insincere it sounds?!)
I would think if a company leaves responsibility for relaying important information to a machine incapable of leaving a callback number on voicemail, it's setting itself up for a world of hurt.
Posts: 3826 | Registered: May 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Depends...a lot of the time those are "courtesy call" to you to let YOU know something is wrong with an account...like Dag said, possible fraud is one example.
If you DON'T reply, it is no sweat off their back. Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
quote:(Why do they always ask how you're doing? Hasn't anyone who trains these people realized how insincere it sounds?!)
Studies show that people are much more likely to contribute money and contribute a higher amount to something after saying they're doing good/well/fine in response to "How are you doing?"
Posts: 10177 | Registered: Apr 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
Cruel as it was, one day I got my revenge. I was sitting at home after a hard day at the office, and just wanted a little peace and quiet while I slowly wound down and recovered from my day. When suddenly the phone rang. (cue spooky organ music here) It was somebody selling something, so I put the phone down leaving it off the hook, turned up the TV and laid back and relaxed on the sofa. Twenty minutes later I picked up the phone line and it was dead. So, I hung it up.
If you don't hang up on the caller, the line remains open, which means that the caller can not continue to make calls, which I thought was a nice revenge.
I think after some period of inactivety, the phone company will assume it is a mistake and break the connection, but until then...sweet revenge.
Also, both your state and the Federal government have a 'Do not call' list. I signed up for both, so while my call rate is very low, I still get some. Some callers will claim you solicited the call, though the tend to use the scantest criteria for 'soliticting' the call.
posted
They undoubtedly have a multi-line phone, so your sweet revenge wasn't really effective. Except for making you feel better, of course. Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
I work with 2 men at different companies that have their secretary call first.
Me : Hello, this is Zan.
Them : This is Miss X from XYZ Engineering. Mr. Y would like to speak with you. Please hold.
What is that about? Does it give them some sense of power to have someone else pick up the phone and dial the numbers?
Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
My brother has cooler, harsher revenge. He is the king.
He anticipates the calls and eagerly grabs the phone.
He then talks to them.
and talks to them.
Now, my brother could talk to a wall for a week or until the wall excused itself to find something else to do, so these poor telemarkters are easy prey to his wicked, wicked games.
One time he spent 30 minutes talking to a Time/Life magazine caller. He learned all the most interesting details of their call center, including specifics of the other callers like Elaine who always put her feet up on the desk while she called. Then he didn't order anything.
An hour later he got another call from the same call center.
It was Elaine.
Whether it was coincidence, or whether Elaine was set up, we don't know. All we do know is that when my brother found out who it was he said, "Elaine? At desk number 12? Get your feet off that desk right now!" She freaked and hung up on him.
Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
My husband was getting those spanish calls on his cell phone from a number in Florida. He did some research on the web, and he found out that he was by far not the only one. Some group down there is building English and Spanish calling lists for cell phones. If you put the number that they're calling from in google in quotation marks, with the dashes, you should be able to read about it. (i.e. "1-800-555-1111") I guess they're classifying you as an English or a Spanish speaker depending on how you answer the call.
posted
Most that I get calls from are real people, and they talk way too fast. They'll ask something, and I'll say, "excuse me?" and they ask again, but don't change their pace at all. I then say, "uhhh...... hold on one seco-."
*slips phone out of hand and turns it off*
Posts: 879 | Registered: Apr 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
zgator, my boss can't figure out how to do international calls at all, so he has me start all of those. He also can't figure out our conferencing function. So sometimes it's just ineptitude rather than a power trip.
Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004
| IP: Logged |
quote:Whether it was coincidence, or whether Elaine was set up, we don't know. All we do know is that when my brother found out who it was he said, "Elaine? At desk number 12? Get your feet off that desk right now!" She freaked and hung up on him.
posted
A lot of collection agencies are the scum of the earth. It sounds like these ones fit into that category.
There really needs to be something done about these places intimidating and harassing people out of money.
I filed papers with my state attorney general when one messed with me. I hope you manage to make an impression as well.
Posts: 3950 | Registered: Mar 2006
| IP: Logged |
quote:(Why do they always ask how you're doing? Hasn't anyone who trains these people realized how insincere it sounds?!)
Studies show that people are much more likely to contribute money and contribute a higher amount to something after saying they're doing good/well/fine in response to "How are you doing?"
...Studies show that commercials are effective for being memorable, even if the reason they're memorable is that they're annoying...
I keep hearing about studies like this. Clearly, I wasn't part of the study group. My reaction to that insincere "how are you doing" is one of grinding teeth while simultaneous voices in my head say "they're about to make a persistant, irritating pitch for money to which you're going to have to say no at least three times" and "why are they wasting even more of my time in asking how I'm doing when honestly they couldn't care less?!"
ADDENDUM:
One of my revenge fantasies around being fabulously wealthy involves sending a significant amount of money to a few charities along with a letter saying: if you contact me in any way other than to acknowledge receipt of this money, or if I discover that other groups have received my address from you as a "mark" for similar causes, you will never receive any contribution from me of any form ever again.
And see which charities actually read their mail, rather than just tallying the check. Posts: 3826 | Registered: May 2005
| IP: Logged |
quote:zgator, my boss can't figure out how to do international calls at all, so he has me start all of those. He also can't figure out our conferencing function. So sometimes it's just ineptitude rather than a power trip.
That must be it! The central Florida area went to 10 digit dialing a few years ago. These gentlemen must not be able to handle those 3 extra digits. That concerns me a little since their both engineers.
Actually, I question whether one of them is really an engineer already.
Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[ROFL]](graemlins/rofl.gif)
![[Evil]](graemlins/evil.gif)
![[Confused]](confused.gif)
