For the last couple of weeks, I've been getting this call on my house phone every single day. It was an 877 number, so I knew it was a telemarketer. Which meant I wasn't answering it. I hate talking to them. And I'm on the do not call list too, but I still get the calls from my credit card companies. I knew it had to be one of them and I didn't want to listen to their salespitch.
But yesterday I was home early and I realized just how much these people call. They called 5 times in the matter of two hours! I finally got so fed up, I just answered it. I was sick of hearing the phone ring. So I pick it up and the guy asks for me, then he tells me he's from Dell Financial and he wants to thank me for being such a wonderful customer. Yeah, yeah. Sure.
Then he tells me something about as a valued Dell customer, I'm entitled to free loss coverage for my merchandise. Totally free! Uh-huh. Sure. So I tell him that it might be free at first, but I know they're gonna make me pay for it eventually. Right? He tells me no. It's absolutely free! Then there's a pause.....all I have to do is sign up for credit protection for $6 a month. I knew there was a catch! There always is.
So I tell him, "aha! See, I have to pay for something..." But he insists it's not a big deal because it's just a few dollars a month. I tell him no thanks. I'd rather buy an extra Starbucks with the money. And I attempt to hang up. He begs me not to hang up and to just listen to all the wonderful benefits of this coverage.
I listened. And he tells me how if my laptop is ever in a tornado or a hurricane, they will replace it free of cost to me. Wow. Because I know if my house was destroyed by a tornado, the first thing I'd worry about is my missing laptop. That would be such a huge relief, I probably wouldn't even care about being homeless and losing everything. At least my laptop would be replaced!
Then he goes on about how if I ever lost my job, the credit protection plan would pay my monthly payment for me. But I told him that my minimum payment is only $15 anyway, so I don't think I'd be too worried about that. I could always recycle some aluminum cans to pay that bill. If I lost my job, I'd be much more concerned about coming up with the shitload of cash I need to pay my rent. Not my Dell bill.
He still wasn't giving up, no matter how many times I said no. And when I told him I was hanging up now, he reminded me that the loss protection was FREE. Didn't I want that? I had to sigh and explain to him that it's not really free unless I didn't have to buy anything else. Which I do. So he needed to stop telling me it was free, because there was a catch!
He finally shut up and told me to have a lovely evening, but I wanted to throw the phone across the room. I would hate to be a telemarketer. I know they're doing a job. But why are they so annoying? And why won't they just shut up when you tell them you're not interested? Do they HAVE to say the entire speech in order for it to count? Maybe they do? I have no idea.
I just hope they don't call me again....
-evil_twin LA
evil_twin posted on Jan 03, 2008
| views: 782
Comments
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rupert7 said on Jan 03, 2008....
Evil_twin - if they don't call again,then you will have to be acknowledged as a genius of rebuttal! You could Telemarket your tactics and make some cash while helping us all out! lol Here in Australia most of the Telemarketers are Indian or something,and are hard to understand anyway. They never give up! When I told one that I was not interested and I was going to hang up,he told me i was rude! (he is not rude for calling several times every day?) There good arn't they? lol -
the_infernal_optimist said on Jan 03, 2008....
My very hard-of-hearing grandfather is really good at dealing with telemarketers. He just loudly says "Nothankyoubye" (all one word like that) and slams the phone on the hook. It's hilarious. Especially since he's been known to do that to people he just doesn't want to speak to right then - later he says, "Oh, I thought you were a telemarketer." :-D
It really is a shitty job, I'm sure - but their calls suck! I try not to be rude, but if they get too pushy, I will coldly (but not profanely) cut them off and hang up.
~Infernal
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wombat said on Jan 03, 2008....
It's just a few dollars a month....and the Grand Canyon is just a little hole! I wouldn't want that job, either. I used to try to be polite, but not anymore. I say something off the wall and hang up sometimes. (Like the time I told the man I wasn't home) If you lose your laptop in a tornado, hope it blows over here. I could use one. -
botoni said on Jan 03, 2008....
I m with TIOs' grandfather. Hard of hearing and really good with "Nothankyoubye!" Click. You suppose we re related? I ve been annoyed and irritated often enough that I am just plain unadulterated rude. -
Actorguy said on Jan 03, 2008....
Thought you might enjoy this Kyle. Perhaps you could try something like this if they call back. -
botoni said on Jan 03, 2008....
OMG! Actorguy you ve got me rolling in the aisles and reaching for my recorder! -
wakingharmony said on Jan 03, 2008....
They drive me nuts too. Yesterday they called saying that the Sheriff Dept.has been really snapping down on Drunk Drivers this year and about the officers that die in the line of duty and to support them Blah blah blah...... Well they are telemarketers calling they say they are calling for the Police Dept. They aren't employed by them. they may give a certain bit I'm not sure.... It is a scam SAD!! Ask them if you can call them back.... Anyway I told them I didn't appreciate them calling (It says sherriff no. too )
I donate with my son-in-law who works with the sheriff dept and to see that number come up on my phone was frightening....and to take my number off of their list... they were a bit shocked but said oh ok and hung up! So there are ways they still can con you!!
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nursecutie said on Jan 03, 2008....
You are too funny.....LOL yes, I don't think you'd be worried about your laptop if our house was blown away by a freak tornado! We don't even have tornados and hurricanes here......LOL
I usually just hang up on them fast and don't let them argue. You are just too nice! You actually let him talk. Even if you had smart ass replies for him.......LOL! Next time wait til I am home and I'll answer the phone and get rid of them faster!
xxoo natalie xxoo
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wombat said on Jan 03, 2008....
Actorguy: That was the best funny thing I've heard in a long awhile!(that sentence doesn't even make sense, I was laughing and trying to type) -
evil_twin said on Jan 03, 2008....
rupert--I'm glad you liked my rebuttal!I hate it when the telemarketers don't speak English good. It makes it impossible to talk to them at all. Luckily this guy spoke okay, but he was still annoying!
infernal--I always try to nice to them, but I think I might need to use the 'nothankyoubye!' approach in the future!
wombat--If you hear about a freak tornado in Los Angeles, and suddenly a laptop appears on your front step, that's mine!
botoni--I think I need to be a little more rude, huh? I'll have to try that next time!
actorguy--That was great! That's a perfect prank. I wish I could think of something like that. Maybe next time? :-P
waking--Those people have called me before too. A friend of mine is a police officer and he told me they weren't really affiliated with them, just like you said. But it is easy for someone else to believe it! I never offer money over the phone. I always ask them to send me something in the mail first and I'll look it over.
cutie--I should have waited until you were home and let you answer it. But at least I don't think Dell will be calling me again for awhile. Hopefully!
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rupert7 said on Jan 03, 2008....
evil -twin - I wonder if they go to classes to learn how to be so annoyingly persistant? Just when you think it safe to relax - the phone rings AGAIN! thank goodness for caller ID lol -
nytquill17 said on Jan 04, 2008....
It's such a sucky job (I've never done it, but a friend of mine has). They're paid on commission, which is part of why they get so pushy. I don't know anyone who actually buys things from telemarketers so there can't be a lot of commissions out there to go around. In some cases there is a supervisor standing in the same room cracking the whip, or berating them after "failed" calls - another reason why they get so pushy.
The ones I love (ha!) are the ones that ring the phone, and then when you pick up, you get a recording saying "Please hold for an important message." I'm like, "No, you called me, I'm not waiting on you to get your act together! And if I'm getting put on hold, how important can this message be?"
My uncle, who's also worked in telemarketing, had some good advice. He said basically just tell them you're not interested. Don't say anything else at all, don't tell them why you're not interested, don't get engaged in any kind of discussion or give out any information other than "I'm not interested, thanks." The idea is that they have a script for pretty much every situation and if you give them any kind of "hook" they will latch onto that to try and keep you on the phone and hopefully talk you down. But there's not much they can do with a plain old "not interested." They can't make you be interested! You might have to repeat it a few times before they exhaust their different sales pitches, but basically they are more prepared for you to fight and haggle with them then they are for you to just say "no thanks."
But then, if you're getting a half dozen calls a day or something, you don't really have time to go through all that. I like your grandfather's solution, too, TIO! I'm usually too flustered (phone calls make me nervous unless it's someone I talk to all the time, and often even then) to say anything but, "Um, I'm sorry, no thanks," and hope they quit. Sometimes I try, "Well, my husband is in charge of that so I can't make that decision," but they're likely to ask when he will be home >< I'm too polite to hang up while someone is talking to me, even some stranger who's being intrusive and rude!
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phoeby said on Jan 04, 2008....
oh god, aren't they annoying!?! they always ring at the same time too. 6pm at night when they know you're home from work and cooking dinner. Yeah, great flippin time to be answering phone calls from some person you dont know selling you a product you don't need.lmao @ the lap top in the hurricane... um... yep that's realistic!Phoeby -
evil_twin said on Jan 04, 2008....
rupert--I love caller ID! That's why I never answer their calls usually. But this particular place was calling me ALL the time. They drove me crazy enough that it was either answer the phone, or unplug it!
nytquill--You know, about 30 seconds into his spiel I told him, "sorry, not interested" But he didn't stop talking! In fact, I think I said that about ten times before I just gave up. I think you have to tell them you're not interested and then immediately hang up the phone. And those recorded calls? Those are so stupid! I've gotten those before too. Would anyone really wait on the line?? I hang those up instantly.
phoeby--Yes, they always call during dinner time. And this place had been doing that for a few weeks. But then I think they got antsy so they started calling at all hours of the day! Between 3-5pm they called my house 5 times! Normally I'm not home at that time, so I had no idea because they won't leave messages on my machine either.
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nytquill17 said on Jan 04, 2008....
Yeah, maybe it doesn't work so much anymore. Like anything else, their scripts evolve for new situations.
I've been getting recorded calls now that go like this: "You have won a free Caribbean cruise! To claim your prize, press 9 now." Yeaaaah. And after that we'll need your SSN and credit card...
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uniquely-ironic said on Jan 04, 2008....
When I'm unlucky enough to have picked up the phone for a telemarketer and they won't stop talking, (like if they keep talking I can't interrupt them to say no thank you) I put the phone down and walk away. I come back about 1/2 an hour later and hang up. If I'm lucky it ties up their phoneline since they cannot sever the connection. -
evil_twin said on Jan 04, 2008....
nytquill--I got a call like that before. They wanted all this personal information and I knew it was a scam! They can be convincing though if you're not really savvy to things like that.
uniquely--I actually considered doing that with this guy! He was talking so much, I figured he wouldn't even know I was gone for awhile. Maybe next time I'll do that?
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CreativeWoman said on Jan 04, 2008....
I always say, "I don't accept telephone solicitations. If it's important mail it to me." Then I hang up. It's not really polite, but it gets rid of them. It must be a really thankless job.
CW
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Mr_Box said on Jan 04, 2008....
With the crappy ass weather we had today you might want to rethink the laptop tornado/hurricane insurance. It might have come in handy.
But I hate telemarketers too. I wish I had an awesome witty story to share about how I handle them. But I don't. I just won't answer.
And if they keep calling, I pick up the phone, then I hang it right back up again. You do that enough, they usually get the picture.
I've also found that those credit card solictors know nothing about your account. So I've told them I canceled the cards they want me to protect and they need to take me off their list.
It's a lie. But they don't seem to know that. It works for awhile until someone makes a new list.
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somethingunUSual said on Jan 07, 2008....
It's 2008. No one has to answer an unsolicited phone call. There are a dozen ways to block, including simply stating "I am on the national do not call list." An $11,000 fine can be held against telemarketers who do not comply. Billions of dollars are traded every year by telephone. You have purchased over the phone by initiating calls. Everyone loves telemarketing until they get annoyed by their own laziness and failure to pay attention when you get a call. Your relatives have survived by telemarketing peon jobs. And I cleared $200,000 last year over the phone selling private placements. Thankyou for this reality check. Not to take away your bitching fun... -
evil_twin said on Jan 07, 2008....
I forgot about this post. Sorry!
CW--It is a thankless job, I'm sure. But I think your approach is probably a good one.
Mr. Box--That's a good idea to tell them you canceled the account. I could have told the guy I didn't need loss insurance because my laptop was already carried away in a funnel cloud. That would have shut him up!
Somethingunusual--Well thank you for your comment. But if I had just not answered the phone, I wouldn't have had anything to write about. So I guess it worked out okay for me and everyone else who had something to say. Bitching is good for the soul sometimes.
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mysterious said on Jan 19, 2008....
I do get annoyed at some telemarketers, too. But it's a tough job that they have. -
evil_twin said on Jan 19, 2008....
mysterious--They do have a tough job. Not one I'd want! -
somethingunUSual said on Jan 22, 2008....
Tough because of people like ..... -
evil_twin said on Jan 22, 2008....
Sorry somethingunUSual, I still don't feel guilty for being annoyed by them. Just because their job sucks, doesn't mean I can't hate it when they call me. -
somethingunUSual said on Jan 25, 2008....
Actually, they're calling around you....you're just in the line of fire.
Comment on "Telemarketers drive me crazy...."
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