I'm on the do not call list, and before I was, I think I just got mundane offers like Credit Shield and new mortgages, but I'm betting there must be some good stories out there, so . . . what was it?
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
Icecream.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
I could refinance my mortgage 3-4 x day. Also, replace my windows, get my chimney cleaned out, put on vinyl siding, and buy meat.
I could buy a part of a time share in Florida or Pennsylvania.
I could save lots of money in a discount warehouse shopping club.
But the dumbest thing has got to be the calls I get to replace my roof. As if I were sitting around in a house with no roof, just hoping someone would call me to help.
I don't mind the telemarketers calling, though. I kind of get a kick out of it, and land up chatting with them for a little while.
Does this mean that I lead a pathetically lonesome life?
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
quote:But the dumbest thing has got to be the calls I get to replace my roof. As if I were sitting around in a house with no roof, just hoping someone would call me to help.
Sadly, my house is like this.
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
I worked as a telemarketer one summer. What a lousy job.
One of the things I had to sell was $199 telephones. Essentially office phones, with multiple lines, answering service built in, all kinds of features, but to home customers. Who needs a home phone with 20 lines?
I did manage to sell 2-3 a day though Posted by SoaPiNuReYe (Member # 9144) on :
That must have been a rough job.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Caller ID.
Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
And people wonder why I don't have a home phone, credit cards, bank account, car... I practically don't exist, at least not on paper. Hence, nobody ever calls me to sell me stuff.
Believe me, it's well worth it sometimes.
BTW: The "do not call" list is not a 100% guarantee. There are ways to still be able to call people, regardless of whether they're on the list or not, and still do telemarketing duties while not in direct violation of the law. One of my customers is a call center, and they're masters at that sort of thing.
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
Telemarketing is boring and depressing. You spend 8 hours a day giving the same basic speech over and over, to people who you know don't want to talk to you, and you have to try and convince them to buy things that they probably don't want or need.
You also have all kinds of rules like they have to say the word "no" three times before you are allowed to end the call. You have managers either walking around, listening over your shoulder, or tapping right into your phone and listening to your call from a control booth. Very Big Brother.
The only up side is that since it's such a lame job, it tends to pay well. If you've got the stomach for it, and can manage to sell a little, you can make about double minimum wage with no experience or education of any kind.
Posted by theCrowsWife (Member # 8302) on :
quote:Originally posted by MightyCow: You also have all kinds of rules like they have to say the word "no" three times before you are allowed to end the call.
Hmm, that's good to know. My general rule is that if a telemarketer won't leave me alone after one "no," I hang up on them. So if at the start of your speech, the person said, "No, no, no," in quick succession, you would be allowed to end the call?
--Mel
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
A telemarketing job is, in my experience, largely about satisfying your manager. If you have a lot of really short calls, or if they are listening in on a call and don't feel like you're putting enough effort into the sale, they give you a talking to, and possibly make you repeat your training, where you're at a lower pay grade and have no possibility of commissions.
The commission on those insane phones I was selling was something like $3. If you're working for $10/hr and you make one sale an hour, you just gave yourself a 30% raise, so you've got a pretty good incentive to try and get that person to order a phone.
Here's the trick to telemarketers: They're trained to keep talking so you don't have a chance to stop them, but they also have to be courteous. If you say, "Let me interrupt you for a second. I appreciate your time, but please put me on your do not call list. Thank you." They are legally required to stop the call and put you on the do not call list. That's the only area managers give them any slack, because the manager knows they'll be drawing the heat if someone isn't put on the DNC list and sues the company.
If you try to reason with the telemarketer, say no thank you, etc. They are taught to keep pressing you, because often the customer will give in. If you ask to be put on the DNC list, the call's over. Do remember to be polite though, the poor telemarketer is just trying to make a living at a really crappy job.
Posted by Uprooted (Member # 8353) on :
quote:Originally posted by Tante Shvester: Does this mean that I lead a pathetically lonesome life?
Well, no, but I think it does mean you are almost supernaturally nice and friendly!
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
Word.
Posted by Joldo (Member # 6991) on :
Heh, last time a telemarketer called, I interrupted him and gave him a sales pitch for a small South American nation.
Posted by Hank (Member # 8916) on :
Someone once tried to sell us burial plots. My brother maintains that it was a prank call, but my mom swears it was legit.
Posted by Hank (Member # 8916) on :
Someone once tried to sell us burial plots. My brother maintains that it was a prank call, but my mom swears it was legit.
Posted by Glenn Arnold (Member # 3192) on :
We used to get calls repeatedly from the Tilo company (a local aluminum siding company) for this house. We demanded to be taken off their list (finally one of them said they don't have a list, they just go through the phone book), and explained that you can't put aluminum siding on a Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian house.
Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
quote:Originally posted by Hank: Someone once tried to sell us burial plots. My brother maintains that it was a prank call, but my mom swears it was legit.
No, those calls are real; I've received them before. Of course, I half the age of everyone else in my building, so it's not surprising.
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
quote:Do remember to be polite though, the poor telemarketer is just trying to make a living at a really crappy job.
After working several office jobs, I've learned it is always in your best interest to be excessively polite to people over the phone. Whether they be telemarketers, utility companies or bill collectors, they don't care about you personally and will only be helpful if you're nice. My brother, among others, gets mad at people that don't do what he asks them to do and starts to yell. They never, ever bend.
When I get someone that is being difficult I always stop, take a deep breath and say "Look, I'm really sorry, and I know you're just doing your job. I respect that. But I really do need <whatever it is I need> because <whyever I need it>. If you could just help me out I would really appreciate it." It usually works out pretty well.
I've gotten out of some pretty heavy fines and my bank to reimburse me when I overdraft many times that way. I think a lot of times, the person on the other end is just happy to have someone be nice to them and is very willing to help out.
The silliest thing a telemarketer has tried to sell me was a little sticker that cost either $100 or $500. And it wast he police too! Those crazy bastards.
Posted by Artemisia Tridentata (Member # 8746) on :
The big one here is phone services of some kind. After I explain that I consider the break-up of the Bell System to be an unforgiveably bad economic decision on the part of the various branchs of government, that I believe that their organization is perpectuating the damage and I offer to give caller the backup data, they generally terminate the call themselves.
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
My brother routinely talks for hours to telemarketers. It ruins their productivity, but gives him endless amounts of entertainment. He's successfully sold them things, though never really accepted their credit cards or delivered a product.
He's evil, but hey, it runs in the family.
Strangest thing I've ever been offered over the phone? Besides 900 number introductory calls that came to my work? Politicians. Heck, I think they just wanted my vote, but the pitch sounded like I could pick up a couple dozen with little down and low monthly payments.
Posted by Katarain (Member # 6659) on :
Artemisia, What's the backup data? Is that something you really feel, or are you just trying to annoy them? I don't know why I'm interested, I just am.
Posted by Artemisia Tridentata (Member # 8746) on :
I am really just trying to return an annoyance. But, I am convinced that a public utility, well regulated, is the best way, from an economical point of view, to provide services where conectivity and/or coordination are large cost factors. The Bell System was not broken until the Government fixed it.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
Was it here that I heard about a mother just handing the phone to her three year old?
The best part of having only a cell phone is no telemarketing calls. I have gotten one or two, and I was horrified that they called me on my cell phone.
Posted by MyrddinFyre (Member # 2576) on :
I think so, kat, because I remember that too. An awesome idea.
quote:Originally posted by Glenn Arnold: We used to get calls repeatedly from the Tilo company (a local aluminum siding company) for this house. We demanded to be taken off their list (finally one of them said they don't have a list, they just go through the phone book), and explained that you can't put aluminum siding on a Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian house.
If I were to describe my Dream House in words, I think I would come out with an exact description of that house. How lovely!
Posted by maui babe (Member # 1894) on :
We used to get calls all the time from the local cable TV company trying to get us to subscribe. They were prepared for any objection, except ours. We didn't have a television. It was pretty funny to hear them hem and haw while they went through their lists of "if the customer says this, reply with that"... they'd finally just say thanks and hang up.
These days, I don't have much patience for telemarketers. I'm not rude, but I don't let them give me their spiel either. I believe that letting them know up front that I'm not interested and then hanging up (always politely, of course) is the best way to handle those calls. That way they're not wasting their time or mine.
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
For those of you that are/have been telemarketers:
Is it more rude to interrupt the caller mid-shpeil to let them know you're not interested, or let them talk for a couple of minutes, wait for them to finish, and tell them "no"?
Posted by Seatarsprayan (Member # 7634) on :
It took years, but now I just say "no thanks" and hang up. I know they won't let me hang up normally, so I look at it as them being rude by defying phone protocol.
The craziest thing that a telemarketer ever said was "Your father's life is the price you have to pay for good phone service."
I was bored and had the guy on the phone for 40 minutes, and he had finally got a little frazzled.
Posted by Avin (Member # 7751) on :
When I was growing up, people would often call for my dad, speaking in Spanish and trying to sell him lingerie or some such thing. The reason is that his first name is Ashley and his last name is Fernando, and he lives in Texas, so everyone assumes he is a Spanish speaking woman. In reality he is an English and Sinhala speaking man with a very typical name from our part of Sri Lanka.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
branching this to door to door salesman.
It broke my heart to explain to a boy (he must have been 11) that I wasnt interested in his newspaper subscription.
Boy:
"Mister, for a very reasonable price you can get the news delivered to your door 2 years for the price of 1 if you sign up now."
Me: "I agree thats very reasonable but I get my news from the internet, its free, its fast, its effective, and its nicer for the environment"
Boy "umm.....wouldnt you like to get the newspaper as well? Then you could have twice the news!"
Actually its quite possibly true I would have TWICE the news if I looked at both, but any news I didnt read on the internet but found in the newspaper would probably be local news I dont much care about, I almost gave the boy some money for his trouble but then realized I shouldnt reward his inability to sell his product.
Having said that, they have the NYT's at my college and its free, and I do grab the arts section so I can read that and do the crossword puzzles? Anybody else here love crossword puzzles?
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
No. They make me feel stupid.
-o-
quote:Originally posted by Seatarsprayan: It took years, but now I just say "no thanks" and hang up. I know they won't let me hang up normally, so I look at it as them being rude by defying phone protocol.
This described me pretty much exactly.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by Icarus: No. They make me feel stupid.
-o-
quote:Originally posted by Seatarsprayan: It took years, but now I just say "no thanks" and hang up. I know they won't let me hang up normally, so I look at it as them being rude by defying phone protocol.
This described me pretty much exactly.
You do realize that the crossword puzzles difficulty is dependant on what day of the week you attempt it right? Mon = easiest/Saturday = hardest.
I don't know how many people have said to me "They are just too hard" when chances are they just grabbed mid-late in the week. NYT is quite hard, if I complete a monday I am VERY happy with myself, but I restrict my attempts to mon/tue. One day I will be able to cover the whole week!
Posted by MyrddinFyre (Member # 2576) on :
I don't have any idea what days of the week I had attempted them, but I have never once gotten more than a few of the clues in the paper's crosswords.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by MyrddinFyre: I don't have any idea what days of the week I had attempted them, but I have never once gotten more than a few of the clues in the paper's crosswords.
I can only get a few of them on TUESDAYS. I can usually get MANY on monday, but not even MOST on some mondays. Wednesday and onwards I just dont even bother.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
Kind of a long story, but in a nutshell..
Back when my kids were young, we were on government assistance, etc. for awhile. One group was putting on a concert to benefit kids such as mine -- at least they were on the list to be given free tickets via the generousity of other people "buying tickets for deserving kids" thing.
Yeah -- a telemarketer called me trying to sell ME tickets to the event "to be given to deserving kids" etc. Guess they didn't check the list to know their call lists included those households who would be receiving the tickets.
It was all mixed up.
FG
Posted by Princesska (Member # 8954) on :
quote: Is it more rude to interrupt the caller mid-shpeil to let them know you're not interested, or let them talk for a couple of minutes, wait for them to finish, and tell them "no"?
The second one. As long as you're not telling the telemarketer to screw off, it's preferable to end the call earlier. When I was a telemarketer, I appreciated it if a customer told me he wasn't interested up front. It just saves time for everyone involved.
Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
quote:Originally posted by Farmgirl: Yeah -- a telemarketer called me trying to sell ME tickets to the event "to be given to deserving kids" etc. Guess they didn't check the list to know their call lists included those households who would be receiving the tickets.
I get calls all the time from the telemarketing company for which I wrote the primary software package. My record's the first record in the database because I entered it in during development for testing reasons, and I keep forgetting to remove it every time I'm there.
They get surprised beyond belief when I tell them, over the phone, EXACTLY what to click on the screen in order to stop bothering me.
One time I even convinced them to log out so that they can see my name on the bottom of the login screen.
"Oh, that you?"
"Yes..."
"Oh, sorry."
Exactly 42 days later, they call again. Every damn time.
Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: Caller ID.
I want to hear some of the really ironic ones:The phone is good- calling someone to sell them a phone. Then you could advertise your radios on the radio, your online service on the internet, your car dealership on the highway, your college in Boston, your icecream in winter, your A/C in Alaska. Funny thing is, those are all things that people do regularly. mehehe.
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
quote:The phone is good- calling someone to sell them a phone. Then you could advertise your radios on the radio, your online service on the internet, your car dealership on the highway,
See, these make sense, though. By advertising over these mediums, businesses are hitting only their target market. These are potentially very effectively spent advertising dollars.
They aren't suggesting "Hey, you should try this type of product!" It's "Hey, OUR product is the best, better even than the one you're using!"
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Kinda like billboards for adult literacy classes?
Radio commercials/telemarketing callsfor TDD machines?
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
I hear daily a radio commercial for eye doctors. Of couse, any expensive perfume comercial on TV is amusing.
I had a cousin who was called monthly about siding from a regional siding company. He told them "No, and take my name off your list." According to state law, if they didn't they would owe him $500.
One month later they called back. He said, "You owe me $500. Last month I asked to be removed from your list and you called again. Who can I talk to to get paid."
A manager was put on the phone.
The manager said, "Our apologies sir, but you put your request not to be called into St. XXXX Roofing. They declared bankruptcy last month. We are a new company, St. XXXX Siding."
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by Nighthawk:
quote:Originally posted by Farmgirl: Yeah -- a telemarketer called me trying to sell ME tickets to the event "to be given to deserving kids" etc. Guess they didn't check the list to know their call lists included those households who would be receiving the tickets.
I get calls all the time from the telemarketing company for which I wrote the primary software package. My record's the first record in the database because I entered it in during development for testing reasons, and I keep forgetting to remove it every time I'm there.
They get surprised beyond belief when I tell them, over the phone, EXACTLY what to click on the screen in order to stop bothering me.
One time I even convinced them to log out so that they can see my name on the bottom of the login screen.
"Oh, that you?"
"Yes..."
"Oh, sorry."
Exactly 42 days later, they call again. Every damn time.
Accept your JUST recompense!
I try to end calls as quickly and politely as I can, but when it comes to door to door salesmen, my missionary days have given me alot of empathy for them and I at least listen to what they are trying to sell, and try to imagine myself perhaps needing it. So far I never have and could always articulate why not.
Posted by Avadaru (Member # 3026) on :
A new cable TV feature, even after I insisted that I didn't own a TV. They just wouldn't give up.
Posted by theCrowsWife (Member # 8302) on :
One of the satellite tv companies has been calling with a really deceptive sales pitch. When you answer the phone, they start off with something along the lines of, "Your delivery and setup are ready! [Satellite company] will be in your neighborhood soon, and you, too, can have [blah, blah, blah]."
We just moved into this house a few months ago, so we had been getting plenty of legitimate calls regarding setting up our various utilities. The first time I heard this pitch, I nearly started to panic because I thought somehow we had signed up for something we didn't want. Scaring your potential customer is not good business practice.
--Mel
Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
Every day for the past three days I've been getting a call on my cellphone, in Spanish, stating that I've won something.
I don't know what; I don't give them a chance. "Congratulations! You've won a..." *click!*
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