Comments on: How to Cope With Telemarketers

on 4/25/2008 I always mess around with the Bastards, saying my number is different!

on 4/24/2008 Nice.
This is just what I do and it works great.If I get reapeat callers I do ask them to remove me from their list.

on 4/24/2008 Just hang up. Believe me, you won't hurt their feelings. My sister was a telemarketer for a long distance company. Their motto was "Sign up or hang up". They're just doing their job. If you don't want it don't waste your time or theirs. Hang up and they can move on to the next call. If you don't want these calls add your name to the national "Don't call" registry. You may have to re-add your name every 6-12 months.

on 4/24/2008 Just hang up. Believe me, you won't hurt their feelings. My sister was a telemarketer for a long distance company. Their motto was "Sign up or hang up". They're just doing their job. If you don't want it don't waste your time or theirs. Hang up and they can move on to the next call. If you don't want these calls add your name to the national "Don't call" registry. You may have to re-add your name every 6-12 months.

on 4/11/2007 A sports/boating air horn sprayed directly into the phone's mouthpiece does a fairly effective job. Especially when 2 or 3 people from the same company call. You can call that abuse or whatever you want, but you sure ass hell can't come after me for it. I don't want you on my phone. Especially my cell phone. So if you call me selling something, god help your eardrums.

on 2/16/2007 I used to be a telemarketer. Worse few WEEKS of my life. By law, and reiterated in training, if the person states: "I want to be removed from your list(s)", the telemarketer is required to do so. Also the "Is Mr. or Mrs [Last name} home?" is a dead giveaway. Here has gone my last Telemarketer call: "Is Mr. or Mrs. [last name] available?" "Please remove me from any and all of your lists and please do not ever call me again, thank you." [Click].

on 12/16/2005 There is no reason to be rude. I have had aggressive telemarketers and I simply hang-up if they don't listen to me refuse their offer. I realize that most people calling are under the same pressures we are to earn a living. There job is to get people to buy. If they get rude, I am firm and then if I need to I say no thank you, goodbye and hang-up.

For charitable organizations, I tell them (and these are true for us)
1) I only give directly to charities or
2) I will not commit to an amount of money over the phone, but they can send me information. I had a telemarketing firm for a charity still write a commitment amount down, so I sent it back to them saying I would now not contribute, because they disregarded what I said. Some will tell you that they can not send you information, so I tell them I can not send them money.

on 11/22/2005 If the telemarketer is especially obnoxious, and calls you a second time; prank call them. Make sure it is not rude or any kind of harassment. Say things like "Hello, Tony's pizza, how may I help you" or "Hi, may I speak to Cory, please?". It will be fun for you and will teach them a good lesson.

on 11/22/2005 Tip 1: Treat a telemarketer as you would a person a friend had introduced to you. Once you have established what the call is about, briefly explain your circumstances.
Tip 2: Show a telemarketer respect and courtesy as it reflects poorly on you when you do not.
Tip 3: Stay smart. Unless you trust the company, do not divulge bank account numbers over the phone, at least not without checking their website or similar.

However, do realize that there is a lot of personal information about yourself that can do you no harm if released. For instance, the name of your bank or that you earn between 40K - 50K per year.
Tip 4: Do not immediately say that you are not interested, but if after discussing the product or service of the call and you are not interested, ask them to remove you from their phone list.

If you have shown respect to the telemarketer, you will find that they are generally more than happy to oblige. I personally know that when, after being abused, I am asked to take a persons name of the list, I don't often comply.

on 11/22/2005 I am a telemarketer, so I know how my company works. If you are busy, tell them, they should get off of the phone. The same goes for if someone is on the other line. We don't believe you, but we give you the benefit of the doubt, as we we usually have to. Saying that it is the wrong number is usually the quickest way off of the list. We only call our client's customers, so the do not call registry does not apply. You could also ask to be put on the company's do not call list, but this invariably takes time. They will call you as much as the law allows, if they know it is you. If it is the wrong number, it is a total waste of their time to call you again. If you can say "He (or she) is deceased" without laughing, that can work, too. Screaming about how uninterested you are does not work. Pranks do not work. Just hanging up does not work. All of those will get you called back. Being rude about asking not to be called may not work. Remember, the telemarketer gets to determine whether you are never called again, or called tomorrow, so being rude may or may not work. Faxes are not a good idea either, we call them back. Pressing random digits on the phone will get you called back. Just be calm and polite. Say it is the wrong number, they are dead, or take me off of your calling list, and things will get done. Yell and scream and ask for a supervisor, and you will be called again tomorrow (hopefully just as you are drifting off to sleep).

on 11/22/2005 The absolutely easiest way to get rid of a telemarketer is to say, "I'm not interested. Remove me from your calling list. Goodbye.", then hang up. They will not call back, but if they do, report them to the police for harassment. When asked to remove a name or number from calling lists, solicitors are required by law to do so. Playing tricks on telemarketers (i.e. setting down the phone, pretending not to speak English) is just rude and unnecessary. We don't want to be bothering you at home any more than you want to be bothered, but we need to pay the bills just like you, and our contracts generally require that we make at least 3 attempts at a sale on each call. Trust me, when someone says, "I'm not interested", I get the message. It's just that I'm required by my employer to keep trying. Another superfluous tip to people out there - your answering machine that says, "Hello?... hello?.... hello?....gotcha! We're not here right now, but..., " is not original, or funny. It merely irritates everyone who calls you when you're not there. Trust me, get some new material.

on 11/22/2005 If it's not a recording, ask stupid questions like, "Do I need a phone to use this service?" or "If I hang up, are you still charging me?"

on 11/22/2005 Please keep in mind that telemarketing centers are usually in very low-income areas where employees are forced into such jobs for economic reasons. Very few people actually want to be sitting in a room full of other people calling you and trying to sell you things. Please keep this in mind and be polite when declining. Let them know that you want them to take you off of their list. If you have any problems with the actual caller, ask to speak with their supervisor.

on 11/22/2005 Start speaking jibberish to telemarketers.

on 11/22/2005 I tell the telemarketer that someone in my household is really interested in speaking to them. I then put the phone down on the desk. Easy for me, results in decreased deficiency for them, and it gives the poor wage-slave a brief respite from talking to people.