telemarketers

[greggn]

This video about telemarketers is hilarious. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7OgWcwgB50

 

[rossaroni]

Ancient post, I know, but....
I'd been getting calls from ACE tool about a liquidation of one of their warehouses in Harrisburg. Day after day after day. From Chicago. Atlanta. Arkansas. Oklahoma. You name it.
Finally tore into one of the guys way past the point that I thought HE would hang up. After poking him in the chest through the phone about who he was buying his call list from, he finally conceded that there is no list...
THEY USE THE DOT NUMBERS....ITS PUBLIC INFO!
Lets see how MCE feels about me cancelling that

 

[old-iron-habit]

My favorite when in the house is to tell them, "give me 10 seconds to finish something and then take the phone into the bathroom and after 15 seconds I put the phone down close to the toilet and flush." Have only had one still on the phone after that in the last 5 years.

 

[Birken Vogt]

I don't know who calls you all but I have something that works almost foolproof for me. I have caller ID and when the phone rings and it is not local or somebody I know I pick up the phone and give about 5 seconds of silence before I answer or make any noise. If nobody responds to my voice I just hold the line and usually THEY hang up. Seems the auto dialer can't handle that. If it is a valid customer they will hold the line for 5 seconds and probably not even know anything happened.

My brother in law works for a phone company and says that telemarketers pay substantial money for phone time so it is in their interest to drop calls that go nowhere, quickly. He likes to answer and hold them on the line as long as possible with vague answers and long silences.

 

[Tones]

One time when work was real slow I was getting all these calls and because I was bored decided on a different tact. The next call was from a very nice sounding Filipino woman who ran through her speel. When she had finished I asked If she had been payed properly by her boss she said she hadn't. I informed her the company she worked for was going bust and she and her work colleagues would never see their wages and it would be great if she told them what I had said and to go home at their next meal break and find herself a better job. I can only hope the whole shift walked. I have never heard from them since.

 

[kshansen]

Well one story in this topic from me. My first wife liked playing games with these people. One time she got a call from someone trying to sell swimming pools. She let the guy go through his spiel while sounding very interested. Then she said she would really like to have a pool, but she was a bit worried about coming home and finding her drunk husband floating face down in the pool. Guy said sorry and hung up!

Another time a friend of ours was getting calls for home improvements all the time. So one time when he got a call about new windows he kept talking to the guy all about the details. He then said his landlord (he owned his home) was planning to do some major renovations in the next month or so and suggested the marketer contact him. The guy sounded excited and when he asked for the contact info our friend, who by the way was a part time fire investigator, gave him the phone number for the local "slum lord" who was being investigated for arson!

 

[wornout wrench]

We have call display and the cordless phones also have this feature that you can turn on where the phone will announce who is calling.
If you program the number into the phone book on the phone and give it a name it will say that name.
So all of our friends, family and work numbers are programmed.

So if the phone rings and it is another name other than one we know, we tend to ignore it and let it go to the voice mail.

But there are times when my wife feels like having some fun and she will pick it up and see how long she can keep the idiot on the other end on the line.

The Windows ones were the best. You know the one where the caller, with a very heavy accent, calls and tells you that you have a problem with windows on your computer.

My wife goes into little old lady mode, hard of hearing all cranky that sort of thing.

She goes on about how many windows we have in the house and will they clean them inside and out, how much do they charge what days can they come to the house and do it.

"No, no, no! Not your house windows, your computer windows"

This is where she will go in to the "I'm an old lady, I don't own a computer" mode.

Most will hang up about now.

Haven't had one of them call for a long time

Mrs Wrench had her fun!

 

[thepumpguysc]

NOT an actual call but the knock at the door..
Every so often I get a "JOE BLOW" running for something or other office and would like to know if they could count on my vote.??
I tell them, " you sound like a reasonable person and I like your stance on "such and such".. but do to THAT PESKY CONVICTED FELONY LAW.. I'm NOT ALLOWED to vote.. LOL
Naturally its a joke but it worked like magic.!!!

 

[kenh]

Well played Randy!

 

[thepumpguysc]

With caller ID on the land line, I can tell who's calling.. for the last week I've been getting call from the Cancer Charity.. I just ignored the calls.. they would call at different times of the day sometimes 2x a day..
Well, today I answered the phone for kicks.. the lady on the other end actually said, " Your harder to get ahold of than a greased pig"..!!!!!
and then proceeded with her pitch..
She started at 50.00 and got all the way down to 15.00.. when I told her I had back surgery and haven't been to work in 5 months and couldn't really afford to give any money away.. SHE hung up ON ME.!!!!!

 

[oldtanker]

OK people here is a different take on these telemarketers.

A couple of my kids have worked as telemarketers working their way through college. The people who take these jobs are people. Some are trying to support a family. Some like my kids are working their way through college. Others are elderly and trying to supplement Social Security. Often it's the best paying job they can find for an unskilled worker by 2-3 dollars an hour. The pay is that high because a lot of people can't take being yelled at or having people hang up on them all the time.

How it works is simple. They get credit for any completed call. Not a bonus but not in trouble as long as the party on the other end allows them to give the sales pitch. The computer dials the numbers. They don't have the numbers the computer does. They dial anywhere from 5-10 numbers at the same time for one caller. The first number that answers causes the computer to disconnect the other calls. They have a "goal" for so many sales a work period and do receive bonuses for exceeding sales goals.

If you have had business with a company or any of it's affiliates the do not call list doesn't apply for the company/affiliates. When they passed the "do not call" thing what a lot of people don't understand is that is a US law. So basically what the law did was move a lot of fair paying jobs off shore. US laws don't apply in India or the Philippians.

So in this case it's the company, not the worker who you should get angry with. I hate telemarketers as much as the rest of you. But when I get one of those calls I let them give me their pitch, talk a little to waste time, tell them no and ask to be removed from their list. The company gives the worker credit for a complete call and has to eat the cost of the time on the phone by the worker.

A company had a call center in a town of about 15,000 near us. Because of the do not call laws it closed down. 135 people were put out of work making on the average of over 10 dollars an hour when minimum wage was about 7 bucks an hour in MN. A lot of those people were full time with benefits. At the time there were few jobs available in the area much less full time ones that had decent pay. Many of the workers wound up working jobs that paid less and on some type of assistance.

Rick

 

[thepumpguysc]

Yeah, I learned ALONG time ago, they are just PEOPLE... doing a job... TRYING to make a dollar.. just like you and me..
GRANTED, their job sux... but lets all try to be nice..
I "normally" try to say, I'M NOT INTERESTED, THANKS FOR CALLING.. and hang up..

 

[Randy88]

The whole telemarketing scam is based on one simple fact, someone sold your name and/or number to someone willing to buy it, for the sole purpose of contacting you at home, in hopes of selling you something you never inquired about in the first place, the whole concept should be illegal, that's my opinion along with anyone who's ever had to get their name and number on a don't call list. Nobody who's name was ever sold, willingly put it out there, the only thing they did wrong was to have a phone line.

Many need to have a phone, for a lot of reasons, most involving safety and to stay in touch and get help in case of an emergency, in a lot of ways, for some of us, we have kids/grandkids, not living across town or next door, aging parents the same way, miles or state's away and the phone is a safety line to allow some to stay in their home due to their age and living on their own a whole lot longer than generations past and to remain in contact with family and friends. Plus a couple hundred more reasons it would take pages to type up but each has their own reasons.

Now the way it should be done, but apparently individuals don't have enough rights anymore, is to ask when you apply for a phone line, can your name and number be given out, if the answer is no, then if for some reason, it does get sold and out, SOMEONE should be held liable, but as of yet, that's not the case, its so normal now to let anything leak out, from personal data to credit card numbers to banking account information to your phone number to telemarketer scams, nobody is ever held liable, after all peoples jobs/income depends on this information being leaked out/sold.

Now for those doing the calling and working for those business's that are in this line of work in the first place, or forced out due to the don't call lists, I'd think it would be obvious, after all, the customers have spoken, maybe its time these individuals/business's start listening, people flat out don't want their homes and lives invaded by shady individuals attempting their scam and invading their homes and personal space taking up/wasting their time,all in the name of selling or scamming something via the phone, but maybe its just me.............no I'm thinking its hundreds of thousands up into the millions who have their name on a don't call list.

As for people making a living and jobs associated with it, there are all types of work be do, ones own personal integrity will determine what they feel is right and what's wrong and how they choose to live their lives, that is indeed a personal choice, it might be best not to attempt to justify their choice by asking those sick of being harassed to be nicer and kinder to them, after all, nobody is paying the victims/potential customers for their time and none certainly never asked to be called. Just a thought to ponder over.

 

[thepumpguysc]

Randy, YOU ARE CORRECT.. "someone" DID sell your information, and that DOES Pi** ME OFF..
I even have "unlisted" #'s on my land line and cell..!!!
I noticed a DRAMATIC increase in calls, after I had I had my surgerys.. sinus and back..!!
and the ONLY people that have those #'s are the people I WANT TO HAVE THEM.. all others get the voice mail..
I don't know how long its been sense you've been to the DR's office, but with the 15 forms you have to fill out, I THINK there;s one in there about "using your information"...??
and by the time you try to read the 1st, 2 or 3, you just start signing your name to anything they throw in front of you..

A friend of mine has a good story about "the window people"... invited the guy over for an estimate.. the guy even drank a beer with him.. after all was said and done.. the price of the NEW windows along with the labor, was going to be MORE than he paid for the house..!!! Some VERY unpleasant words were spoken and the estimator left...Lol
Speaking of "THAT"... whats with ALL the "INFO MERCIALS" on tv..?? I'v got OVER 300 channels and over 1/2 of them, are people "TRYING" to sell me something..??
I already have a NEW VACCUM CLEANER, ROCK HARD ABS, A JUICER..AND.. Not to mention, a Brazilian butt.. LOL
MY $100.00 a month is SUPPOSED TO BE GOING to entertainment..!!!! :beatsme

 

[oldtanker]

As for people making a living and jobs associated with it, there are all types of work be do, ones own personal integrity will determine what they feel is right and what's wrong and how they choose to live their lives, that is indeed a personal choice, it might be best not to attempt to justify their choice by asking those sick of being harassed to be nicer and kinder to them, after all, nobody is paying the victims/potential customers for their time and none certainly never asked to be called. Just a thought to ponder over.

Randy, here for an example those people who were put out of work had the choice of A: working for the telemarketing firm at 10 plus an hour, full time with bennies. B: Maybe getting on with Wal Mart at 7 an hour part time. C: Just being on welfare. Not a lot of options there. Because of the job market or lack thereof they really didn't have much choice IMO. Now if your OK morally with them not working and just setting back sucking up welfare I guess you have the right to feel that way. I do fault most of these people working there because they are unskilled labor because they failed to get some type of training that would make them skilled labor.

As far as who sells you number? Well that can be the phone company, electric company or any other company that has you number on file to include your credit card company/bank, doctor and mechanic. That's why you hear so many times the statement "we don't give out or sell your number".

I never said you have to be nice. I just explained why people apply to work at those places and how it works.

Rick

 

[Randy88]

Rick, then all 135 went on welfare and are still on it??, you need to clarify that a little more. Since you asked if I was morally ok with them going on welfare due to a lack of jobs after they were displaced, to be honest I can say, I'm not only not ok with it, I'm really not ok that welfare is even an option at all, but again that's just personal opinion.

Of those that did go on welfare, how many opted to better themselves and now are actually skilled? and qualified for more than a telemarketers job?

There was a telemarketer business in town near me as well but the don't call list never put them out of work, the city they were in along the people of the area did, see it seems I'm not alone thinking certain business's are not desirable, actually detrimental in the long run, once they were forced to shut down, shall we say more respected and desirable business's came along and took their place, just curious if that is how it worked in your area as well, or if everyone who applied for welfare was still on it, years or decades later

 

[Randy88]

pumpguy, some of us have been in the medical establishments far too much over the course of our lives, from kids of our own to aging parents to dealing with cancer within the family to surgeries and that list is endless, I know what you mean about the forms, but one of the main reasons you have to sign all those forms is to limit the establishment's liability who's having you sign it, to share information between doctors, hospitals, labs, billing for each and whole lot longer list than you can imagine, and yes in the transition and swapping, people get your name and information.

The sick and aged are the most vulnerable to telemarketers for several reasons, first is, they are home to answer the calls in the first place, they are recovering and which you may already know, there are so many people that call you, for things you never dreamed of involving medical care, its pretty easy to get lost in the confusion and give your information to the wrong people by accident and not even know it till its too late. Older people especially are vulnerable to this, and telemarketers know it. Computers help with emails, but the phone tag thing gets to be annoying after a while, due to the fact it does take up so much time. The comment has been made many times in the family, we need to hire a secretary to keep all the appointments straight, and answer the phone, return calls and deal with billing, ect, etc.

As for your entertainment dollars, good luck on that, I cancelled dish, cable or anything involving paid tv decades ago, just couldn't handle sitting there watching all that garbage, the little free time I did have, I certainly don't want to be bombarded with that garbage. Our family does things different, we buy movies, hundreds of them, and just keep passing them around, adding some, trading off some at video shops and anytime I have some free time, we just pop in a movie, and can shut it off or pause it at any time and come back later to finish it up. Its not ideal, but I don't have to watch commercials either and for 1200 bucks a year on dish tv or whatever it is today, times the number of households we have in the family, that buys a whole lot of movies, so over the decades of not watching paid tv, it adds up fast.

Hope your recovery is going well and your feeling better soon.

 

[oldtanker]

Randy because I knew a few people who did work there I can honestly say that most of the ones I know who were/are the primary bread winners about 7 out of ten settled for lower paying jobs and going on some type of assistance. About the only jobs available without moving to another town were and are box store jobs in that particular town for unskilled workers. 2 families left the area that I know of and both were on assistance when they left. Very few I believe opted to better themselves because again that would require moving. When you have no money it's kinda hard to move. The only schooling available in that town is a community college and the town itself can by no means come up with 135 jobs then or now that either can be filled by any of the 2 year programs offered. The major employers are an electric company that mostly needs mechanics and linemen, neither offered at the school, a dock manufacturer mostly looking for welders again not offered and 5 box stores. There are 2 farm equipment dealers and 3 car dealers, again looking mostly for mechanics. Nearest trade school is about 50 miles. Most of the workers were married and because of poor life decisions had little more than a high school diploma. People in that kind of position have few options. Sure they can sign up for CEP but then they have to move and CEP isn't paying for a move to attend school. Plus what they can take locally isn't going to help them land a local job. As far as new businesses coming in that town? Don't hold your breath. The money folks in that town don't want any type of manufacturing in the town if they can help it. Sense the telemarking place closed it's doors the only major addition to that town has been Home Depot. Most people there are part timers without bennies. The telemarketer closed in 03 or 04. So much for an undesirable business leaving and a better one coming in. Yep, great town to live in if you can survive on Wal Mart/Target/Fleet Farm/Home Depot hours/wages as an unskilled worker.

Rick