| Telephone Solicitation (aka Phone Whoring)
Posted: 3/14/2009 9:22:24 AM | With call display, I usually don't answer my phone when any "unknown name and/or number" flashes on the screen. If I do feel like playing the game here, I will answer, press my "speakerphone" button and then place the phone reciever down on the kitchen counter. The solicitor will merrily go through his/her spiel without taking a breath (I've long admired this ability ...) and finally pause to ask "Doesn't that sound great?!?!?"
Without hearing an answer, the solicitor will repeat the question ... my game is to see how quickly the solicitor will get frustrated and hang up. One guy actually swore at me ... excuse me? What's wrong with that picture? | |
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| Telephone Solicitation (aka Phone Whoring)
Posted: 3/14/2009 10:17:02 AM |
Why we have to tease, insult those innocent callers?
When someone makes it their business to disturb me with unwanted sales pitches on my free time in my home, I make it my business to make their intrusion into my life a complete waste of time. If I do that often enough the repeat calls from a phone room sweat shop will stop. Being polite doesn't work with most of them, wasting their 'precious' time does. They chose to not respect my time so I'm simply returning the favor.
If I am looking for a product or service I'll find it in the yellow pages or at a retail outlet. | |
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| Telephone Solicitation (aka Phone Whoring)
Posted: 3/14/2009 11:45:48 AM | well these cheap creeps dont even pay people to do it anymore. they have a computer call you and blabber on non stop
that really got me mad ,. at least before, someone was being paid to do this job, now in a recession they arent even paying people anymore, its all automated
i really have never been too rude to the human callers, however the computer ones that tell you to push a number to talk to a human get me going
if you dont tell them , they wont change
and if you tell them and they dont change......... then tell them off
when the humans call me i tell them my dad isnt home or im just a visitor etcthat works sometimes
either way tho , these people arent picking to call you, they are given a phn book and a letter to call
they start at the front n work their way thru it
when they finish, they start again from the start | |
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| Telephone Solicitation (aka Phone Whoring)
Posted: 3/14/2009 12:05:42 PM | have some fun with them....
- learn a few phrases in an obscure eastern-european language... and repeat them over and over. or hire a person from an obscure eastern european country to answer your phone.
- try to get them to talk dirty to you.
- whatever they are selling ask for half off. or try to order a pizza. or tell them you can guess where they are calling from by their accent. here's a hint: its either india, kentucky or sydney, nova scotia.
- if they are from a credit card company, tell them stores cut up both of your other cards the day before and you would simply die for another one.
- ask them how they got the number and tell them you are a phone solicitor too and this is soooo bizarre. then try to sell them something. like knives. or sham-wows!
bradley | |
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| Telephone Solicitation (aka Phone Whoring)
Posted: 3/14/2009 1:23:47 PM |
ask them how they got the number and tell them you are a phone solicitor too and this is soooo bizarre. then try to sell them something. like knives. or sham-wows!
I did something like that before. I interrupted the lady in the middle of her spiel and asked her her home number. There was dead air for a second and then she started to tell me before stopping and asking why I needed that. When I said to call her at home and see if she would be interested in some of my products, she said that she didn't understand. I told her that it was only fair and then she got it. And hung up. I still wonder if she was actually giing me her home number or the number of the company before she stopped.
Why are we mean with telemarketers? Sometimes, as in the experience I related earlier, the telemarketer may get rude. Other times it is because of the frustration that you get when a company doesn't understand that when you ask not to be contacted, you really mean it. The person interrupting your dinner represents that company and unfortunately sometimes you do kill the messenger.
The computer ones are very annoying too. What is even worse is those damned scam car insurance calls to my cellphone. I have to pay for those unwanted scam calls and the phone company says there is nothing that can be done to stop them.  | |
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| Telephone Solicitation (aka Phone Whoring)
Posted: 3/14/2009 2:18:38 PM | | Another thing a lot of people did not realize and is coming to light. That "Do Not Call" registry the government backed and had so much hoop-lah, well, they only enforce it withing Canada. The list itself can and has been sold to out-of-country telemarketers where Canadian law does not apply to them for their use in telemarketing to you. A nice list of confirmed phone numbers provided to them by our friendly neighborhood PC government endorsements! How lovely. | |
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| Telephone Solicitation (aka Phone Whoring)
Posted: 3/14/2009 10:49:54 PM | Just for kicks I think I'm going to ask the next phone solicitor (regardless of sex) "Whatcha wearin?" then start breathing heavy and play it along until they hang up. | |
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| Telephone Solicitation (aka Phone Whoring)
Posted: 4/1/2009 5:46:48 PM | I try to be polite but frankly after about 40 phone calls over the last few months I have lost my patience. Now I just mutter something about not interested and hang up. Unless it is the Calgary Police. Once I bought tickets to the seniors hockey game and now every year they call me. So I get nervous saying no to them.
Some of the times I honestly can't tell what the person is saying to me. Their accident is so strong. Why would they phone a house in Canada and have such a heavy accent that they can't be understood. He must have a low success rate. I simply said. I am sorry I can't understand you.
The last one asked if I would do some canvessing for Diabetes. Which I did about 10 years ago for about 5 years. But now I don't have time. I have asked them to stop calling. I have been very polite every time. This time around after I said I was too busy they asked if my wife was available. I said. I am not married. She paused... and said.. oh.. okay . thank you. Bye.
So, yes. They are human beings on the other side of the phone. But I am sorry I am not going to give you anything if you call during dinner time. Not am I going to give you anything if you try to mislead me with that credit card rate thing. etc etc etc | |
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| Telephone Solicitation (aka Phone Whoring)
Posted: 4/1/2009 9:04:43 PM | I've had a bunch of calls from Ontario lately, which I don't pick up for, because I know they are soliciting. But they called every day, for about a month, so finally on Saturday morning I got impatient and picked up the phone so I could find out who was bugging me. A recording came on and said, Our office is closed, please call during business hours, Monday to Friday. They didn't even say what company they were! They asked me to leave them a message so they could call me back. I choked, no kidding, I was speechless... well, almost. I told them on their answering service, WTF, you called ME and STOP CALLING.
sheesh.
I still don't know who the company WAS. But they have stopped calling, woo hoo.  | |
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| Telephone Solicitation (aka Phone Whoring)
Posted: 4/2/2009 6:34:14 AM | I love that approach!!!
It is better than mine which is to say that I am really interested in their product but could you just wait a sec while I take something off the stove...I then just put down the receiver and about 5 mins later they hang up....I like your approach better.
I also use an answering machine to screen my calls. I find that they are pretty consistent in their timing of the call so I just avoid picking up the phone at certain hours of the day as 90% of the time it is TM.
One of my friends tried this on a new naive telmarketer. He told him that he was just leaving his house but that he was really interested in the product that he was promoting. He wondered if he could have his home phone number so he could talk to him later that evening. He was young and new at the job and actually gave him a number. My friend phoned it at 2:00am...
I know being a TM is a hard job but I have no sympathy....waste my time and I will waste theirs if I can. | |
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| Telephone Solicitation (aka Phone Whoring)
Posted: 4/4/2009 9:34:01 PM | I was wondering about that "do not call" registry as well, as I signed up and listed all my contact numbers and STILL get the stupid TM calls. I used to be polite and listen to them for a bit before saying, "not interested". But now I just hang up. Telling them to take you off the list doesn't work either - I've tried!
This and spam, has to be the most useless marketing strategy ever. I can't honestly beleive that people actually respond to it enough to justify the costs involved. | |
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