OT: Do you hate Telemarketters as much as I do?

[Tiefling]

An ad in a magazine interrupts what I am doing as they attempt to sell me a product. It is valid in response to the post I responded to. He said nothing about telemarketers, simply people who interrupt your life to sell you something, which is what ads do by nature; they grab your time and attention and try to persuade you into buying something.

Of course an spot on TV isn’t the same as a telemarketer, people don’t overreact to the former.

I think it would be good to summarize why this is an invalid argument.

1. Advertisements on television, radio, or in a magazine are paying for the service that they're in. If they were not there, the network/magazine would have to charge more, and in the case of radio or broadcast TV, that's impossible. However, telemarketers are not contributing to my phone service. Likewise, if someone were to hack into the TV network or radio station and place an ad in without paying the appropriate people for that privilege, I'd be noticably upset.

2. Advertisements on television or radio, and to a large extent in magazines, are placed at convenient spots. The TV commercial comes after an acceptable break in the show, a radio commercial after a song or news story is finished, and in magazines most advertisements are between articles. Telemarketers, however, call whenever they feel like, frequently at inconvenient times, such as dinner or a nap, thus interrupting whatever I'm doing and forcing me to pick up the phone and see who it is (no, nobody forced me at gunpoint to answer, but it could be someone who I actually want/need to talk to). Continuing the previous example, if the hacker put his illegal ad in the middle of some action on TV or in the middle of a song or news story, I'd be VERY upset. Even if the ad was legitimate, I'd be very upset.

 

[Psionicist]

Whisper. Whisper. Whisper. Talk very very quite. REALLY quite. When they raise the volume on their headset speakers to hear you, bring them the HORN!*

Very evil.

*note: Don't do this, it's not even funny. I just wrote it to be a part of the thread.

 

[KingOfChaos]

Telemarketters aren't what bother me..it's the damned spam mongerers that I wish would all die horrible deaths, everytime they try and harvest e-mail addresses from my website!

 

[Wormwood]

Telemarketters aren't what bother me..it's the damned spam mongerers that I wish would all die horrible deaths, everytime they try and harvest e-mail addresses from my website!

I assume that they both share the same circle of Hell.

I'd probably put them in Plutus, the fourth circle, where they can enjoy eternity pushing them stones.

[edit: had to dig out my Dante]

 

[Tetsubo]

Psionicist,

I did something like that to a freak that was calling my sister. If I answered the phone he'd hang up. If she answered he start talking dirty to her. One day I was home when he called her. She handed me the phone while in tears. I placed it next to the smoke detector and hit the test button. He didn't call back again.

 

[Jondor_Battlehammer]

Great, now some fool is going to call me rude for clicking past commercials and deleting spam. It's just like some other forum I was on, complaining that I don't have the right to use pop-up blockers, because pop-ups keep the site free. I have an obligation to have my connection slow down and waste my time on them.

If I want a service, I can look it up in my FREE, non annoying phone book. You want to drum up buisness, try doing something no one else does. Do what you promise on time, and do it well. You won't need to telemarket.

Since we are sharing, how about opening your e-mail, which takes 5 min. even on a DSL, to 455 emails from the same guy on the same day. I don't care who you are, no one needs "fuzzy barnyard sex" that much. Or those damn sites that alter your home page. How that is leagel escapes me. I thought at least the computer itself was mine.

 

[Valmur_Dwur]

Just wanted to hit 100 posts Actually most telemarketers are not forthcoming in telling their name, phone number, or the crap erhmm company they represent. Fortunately we were able to get on a national no-call list and so only get like 3 a week. As for efectiveness I highly doubt that. When I worked in marketing, those drop in info cards that you fill out at home shows and such. Perhaps see in a paper to get free info, Only about 3 in 1000 even get sent in, Out of that you call and can wipe out about another 65-75% of actual phone numbers. Finally out of the remander 1 in 3 are a viable sales opportunity. Telemarketing just uses the scatter gun approach hoping that someone out there says yes to the overproced mags, and other assorted trinkets they sell. Tell them to put you on their no call list only lasts as others have said til management says to call them anyway. You can always lie and say you don't have a record of it but will put you on the list wash,rinse,repeat

 

[333 Dave]

Ahem.
http://www.absurdnotions.org/page2.html

 

[EricNoah]

Wow, what a treat this thread has been! I'm so sorry I missed the beginning of it. But I'd hate to not get my opinion in here.

Here's what I think...

*clunk*

Oh darn it!