Thoughts on Telemarketers.

Well that is all assuming if you own a tv foolio, but I believe spam is far worse...and it would suck to give up the internet...ah the complaining.

You expect commercials when watching TV. Programming is built around it. Commercials help fund the programming you enjoy, and you can choose to watch them or not.

Random phone calls from persistant salespeople trying to sell you things you neither want nor need when you aren't expecting to have to interact with a salesperson? Completely different.

I used to get sales calls while I was making dinner, eating dinner, relaxing with my significant other after dinner. I used to have to spend time deleting telemarketing calls or telemarketing hang-ups from my answering machine. You cannot just ignore telemarketing calls the way you can ignore TV commercials if you choose. You have to actually interact with the person on the other end of the phone and figure out fourteen ways to politely tell them to fuck off and stop bothering you.

I'm polite to telemarketers. Signed up for the do-not-call lists and whatnot. I ask to be removed from call lists. I also think that it's the most brain-dead form of marketing ever and that no one in their right minds would resort to trying to sell a good product that way. I feel sorry for the poor shmucks who are stuck making the calls, but really, you're annoying the fuck out of people for a living. You should expect people to be annoyed and rude on occasion.


Telemarketers are most of what drove me to drop traditional phone service altogether and just go with cellphone and internet phone services.

[Edited on Jul 24, 2005 by Shalome]

Thank you for being polite, at least.

It's a common consensus at my job... that we all hate our job. We're all looking for OTHER jobs. Dial America hires ANYONE, and there are bills to be paid and food to be had, and etc-- so yeah, we do do it for a living, but we do it so that we *can* live, not so we *may* live. I can't wait to find another job, lolz.

I always remember that they're just someone (usually quite young) doing a really shitty job, so I never yell or get abusive with them.. Recently, I've been getting marketting calls aimed at a previous tennant, as as they always ask for the person by name, I just tell say "No, you've got the wrong number" and hang up (as well as now having caller rejection and registering my number on the Do Not Disturb list) When they hear I'm not the person they're after, they try and rope me in with their spiel (but if it's an offer for the other person, it's of no use to me) which is why I gave up trying to tell them I wasn't interested and just hang up now. I know it's a paying job, but fuck, it's so soul destroying and thankless, save yourself (and everyone else with a phone) the hassle and just sign up for unemployment. At least that way you get help finding a decent job.

I did it for a few months, I hated every second of my life when I was doing it. It was the most mind numbing bullshit ever. I could literally feel myself getting stupider by the hour. Every single one of the thousands of phone calls I made, made me feel like a complete asshole. If I were ever in a position where I had to take that type of job again, I think i would rather smash my face into a pile of jagged broken glass repeatedly for a couple hours.

I do not blame anyone for hating telemarketers and I think it should be fucking illegal. I am so glad I got rid of my land line so I don't have to deal with that crap anymore.

To anybody who works in that industry, get out before it swallows your soul, and stop defending it. You are doing the devil's work.

Thirded

Lucky for us, we're on a pre-selected list, so we're not allowed to offer the card to anyone else but the name on the list. It makes the whole thing a lot easier.

I always said, "No, thank you. I'm not interested," before they even finished their opening spiel. Then I'd hang up. I knew it was a suck job and that yelling at them would only make it worse, but I also didn't want to spend more than a few seconds on the phone.

I'm so happy I switched to a cell phone a couple of years ago. I haven't had to deal with a single telemarketer since then.

it's hard to believe that that profession still exists being how EVERYONE hates them with a passion...that and the do not call lists and such.

Here's a tip on how not to get contacted by telemarketers:

Have you ever been to a shopping mall and seen a car parked there with a registration box and sweepstakes entry pads next to it, imploring you to enter and win? How about at a large outdoor event where there are lots of booths selling or exhibiting crafts, and one is offering a free trip to Hawaii (or some such place) if you enter? Along with the expected name/address/phone #, the form usually asks such questions as "do you own your own home," "what is your combined household income," etc., and you are asked to sign at the bottom.

NEVER FILL OUT ONE OF THESE ENTRY FORMS.

Yes, it IS a real sweepstakes (probably, unless the company sponsoring it is totally illegal), but your odds of winning are extremely low. However, your odds of being called by a telemarketer are extremely high. When you sign at the bottom, you are giving them permission to call you...and not just them. It is very likely that they will sell your name to other telemarketers. Good luck getting out of that circle of hell.

I work for a company that telemarkets. They're actually relatively scrupulous about it (they don't sell names, only call once within 30 days and not at all after) and they have a good product, but it's still telemarketing and I don't like it. It's against my principles to work for them, but I was out of work here for a year and a half and it was the best I could get. So I compensate by educating people about this....