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

[Tsyr]

The "poor starving college student" bit would hold more water with me if If it wasn't that I personaly knew three telemarketers who do it not for a desperate source of money, but because it's a source of money that requires no real labor... and none of those three really even need the money in the first place.

Edit

I should point out that those three people are my family... my sister and her two daughters. NONE of them need money, my sisters husband has a very high paying job repairing computers.

I don't have much respect for them anymore. Not just for that, there have been other things, but that one the final kicker.

 

[Tiefling]

Some of them may be down on their luck, but I doubt that the majority are. I'm not going to be happy and nice to you when you invade my privacy and annoy me like that because you might be some poor sod. Besides, there are plenty of jobs out there that don't involve doing things like that. A friend of mine who's in college got a construction job over the summer for $8 an hour as the starting rate, and that was low. I don't believe for a minute that telemarketing is the only job he could find. Probably just the only job not requiring actual physical work that he could find.

 

[Ace]

You are aware the Telemarketer #1 doesn't know about Telemarketer #2 and so on down the line, they aren't coordinating their efforts to bombard you with calls?

I can understand your frustration, and your annoyance, but the people placing calls are just making a living.

Exactly.

The thing that people aren't getting is that Telemarketing as annoying as it is is protected (in the US) by the 1st Ammendment. Freedom of Speech baby...

Its the same thing that protects Jehovas Witnesses, Gangster Rap, Political Speech and heck even D&D. All those things that enough somebody out there. And yes that means a perfect stranger can call you form 9am to 9pm and other than the list there is not a thing you can do about it. It is the same freedom you have to play D&D in a public place. As long as you are not creating public disorder you are protected. Incidently, while annoying, calling someone at home is not public disorder.
The Freedom of Speech thing is a package deal and may not be seperated.

The best solutions for unwanted TM calls are

Don't buy anything form them. When it becomes no longer cost effective most of the marketing will dry up

Get an unlisted number

Don't sign up for any promotions. You know those kewl "Win a Boat, Car, Whatever" contests. They generate telemarketing lists.

Ask to be put on a no call list. If you do this be cadgy and polite. Get the name of the caller and the company. Write it down. If they keep calling you will have the ammunition you need in court

Be nice. There is little point in being rude to the marketers, in many cases the phone room is the only job they could find. Also a lot of big time operations are in India so yelling at some guy in Bangalore is useless.

Realize that you will always get calls from companys you have used before. Carpet companys things like that Telemarket previous customers. Its a wonderfull way to increase business and while I hate cold calls as much as you do there is nothing wrong with calling the old customer list.
Sometimes they will get a new person at that number and hey why waste a call.

The reason you get calls from 5-9 is simple. As was said earlier They know you will most likely be home. TM people don't want to interupt your dinner. It isn't deliberate rudeness, just an accident. After all the goal is sales and if it makes you cranky you won't buy.
Its just people eat at different times and sometimes they call at the wrong time.

There are time limits on when folks may be called. If they call outside those bounds nail them to the wall! In most areas the rules are 9am -9pm for residential. For Businesses it is a little different. In my area calls start at 8:30am. I recieve the stupid things all day long

 

[Tsyr]

The thing that people aren't getting is that Telemarketing as annoying as it is is protected (in the US) by the 1st Ammendment. Freedom of Speech baby...

Fine.

That sword cuts both ways.

I have the right to say anything I want to THEM in return, short of the half dozen things free speach doesn't cover (Death threats, for example).

Freedom of Speech baby...

 

[Ace]

Some of them may be down on their luck, but I doubt that the majority are. I'm not going to be happy and nice to you when you invade my privacy and annoy me like that because you might be some poor sod. Besides, there are plenty of jobs out there that don't involve doing things like that. A friend of mine who's in college got a construction job over the summer for $8 an hour as the starting rate, and that was low. I don't believe for a minute that telemarketing is the only job he could find. Probably just the only job not requiring actual physical work that he could find.

I understand how you feel here but you should see the people that are marketing these days. I used to work for a company with a big phone room and I have never seen more dope addicts in one place in my life. The watercooler chatter there is like "yeah I have been in recovery for like 30 days now, I hope I can get my kid back from the state."
20% of them were the OK college student/working mom types
and 10% were saleman who happen to work on a phone.

Frankly if you want to dry up the phone room what you can do is

#1 get a welfare program so the derelicts don't have to take a job. Vouchers and whatnot will get them out of the workforce.

#2 Prohibit overseas marketing calls. This is legal and will kepp the companys from slipping overseas to Indian call centers

That should dry up and a lot of the market and cut abck on the most egregious marketing

Oh and too all those get a job folks

Two things

1- sometimes thats the only job people can get do to illness injury and being plain messed up. Since we don't have social welfare ala Europe unless you want them robbing you or homeless you need to give them something to do.
Or prehaps you would like to employ them?

2- What would you rather do? Work 8 hours in the sun for $64 US or sit at a phone for 5 and make the same amount or more?

If you don't like Telemarketers (and who does?) just be polite and get you name off the list like I and other have mentioned earlier.
Most of the calls will dry up and everyone (including the telepests) will be happier for it.

 

[Ilen]

I would not suggest a telemarketer is a money-hungry jerk, but I do think there are better ways to make money.

"Working through college" is no excuse.

FD

In this case I was actually reply to the person I quoted.

Working through college is an excuse for taking a job one normally wouldn't want to. From street hawker, telemarketer to Guy in Chicken suit for the local fried food joint.

Heck, beleive it or not telemarketing looks good on a resume for quite a few jobs.

Look, I'm willing to conceed that Telemarketers are annoying, obnoxious even, I can understand how people wish they'd all keel over (I sometimes have the same thoughts towards lawyers), in the case of people who get 30 odd calls a day I can understand some of the venomous things that get spewed. I can understand the temptation to toy with somebody who is annoying you.

But, and there is always a but, I draw the line at refering to people as scum because they are Telemarketers, I have friends an family who are telemarketers they are not scum. They aren't scum because of the job they do, they are not scum because they are willing to do the jobs they do, in fact they are fine and dandy people.

 

[Cedric]

R-i-i-i-ght. We're jerks for prefering to be nasty to the telemarketer, which takes about a minute, feels rewarding, and causes no real trouble for them rather than sueing their company, which would take months and a lot of money and might result in them getting fired.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!!!

You have certain rights available to you and exercising those rights is not as hard as you may think.

When a telemarketer calls, ask them for:

- The name of the company for which they work.

- The name of their supervisor and a number at which he can be contacted.

- Their first and last name, along with any badge number, extension number or other identifying number.

With that information written down, request that your phone number and name be added to the companies "no call" list. Ask the person if he understands what this entails.

Write down the date and time, save this information in a Journal near your phone. If they call back, contact the supervisor or ask for the supervisor and let them know that you intend to take legal action, as they have violated the FCC regulations pertaining to phone harassment and "no call" lists. Do "NOT" let him talk you out of it, insisting that he'll put your name on the list this time. Stick to your guns. He'll be nice, he'll be friendly, he'll be slicker then snot on a doorknob. Don't fall for it.

They will usually just cut a $500.00 check and mail it to you with a bit of perserverance. No legal fee's required. If they do press the issue though. Feel free to take them to small claims court, no attorney required.

The ultimate point is this. Don't take this out on the college student or single mother or person recovering from injuries that is stuck with this job. Take it out on the company that pays them to pester you.

And no, the person who called you will NOT be fired. The person who maintains No Call lists will take this one on the chin...but even he will get off easy, cause the company most likely has an unofficial policy of not taking someone off the list until they take or threaten legal action.

Cedric

 

[Heretic Apostate]

Okay, things that have popped in my mind while reading this.

First off, I have to agree that, based on a statistically invalid sample (so far, only tried once), telling telemarketers to remove you from a list doesn't work. I once told a telemarketer to remove me, not just from the current call list, but from the future call list as well. Anyway, I was going to be transferred to a supervisor to verify that I never wanted to be called again, and was put on hold. I waited. And waited. And waited. And eventually was disconnected. So I don't know if I'll be called from them again, since I technically never managed to contact the supervisor.

Second, how many people are being harassed by the telemarketing recordings? There are two different phone lines in this household. We'll get one phone ringing. Answer the phone, and it waits for some sound, then it starts the spiel. Hang up. A minute or two later, it calls the OTHER phone.

Third, someone mentioned commercials on network TV. My question is, what the heck is with cable TV? People are paying $30 to $60 a month, AND on top of that, they have to pay for commercials as well? I remember twelve years ago, last time I had cable, that I never saw commercials on most of the channels. Now, it seems only the premium channels don't have commercials. I think, if I ever get cable (or, more likely, satellite), I'll have to get a DVR, just so I can record and skip over commercials. (Of course, now these DVR companies are selling commmercials that will air while fast-forwarding or pausing. Sheesh.)

Okay, enough rambling.

 

[Furn_Darkside]

The thing that people aren't getting is that Telemarketing as annoying as it is is protected (in the US) by the 1st Ammendment. Freedom of Speech baby...

The 1st Amendment does not demand for me to turn over my home to those wishing to communicate about any particular topic.

It is freedom of speech- not a right to be listened to.

Don't buy anything form them. When it becomes no longer cost effective most of the marketing will dry up

It costs them so little- it does not take many sales to break them even.

Get an unlisted number

Oh, thats ideal, I should have to pay even more for a modern necessity.

Not only does it cost me more money, it may cost me some personal calls.

Be nice. There is little point in being rude to the marketers, in many cases the phone room is the only job they could find.

That is nonsense- I am not going over the reasons again.

Also a lot of big time operations are in India so yelling at some guy in Bangalore is useless.

That is bigger nonsense.

Besides the cost of such an arrangement- your first amendment argument just went out the window.

FD

 

[Cedric]

I have the right to say anything I want to THEM in return, short of the half dozen things free speach doesn't cover (Death threats, for example).

I would just encourage people to not shoot the messenger. As much as you hate the telemarketer calling you. Remember that it's his company that is pissing you off...not him/her.

See my other post above for your rights.

Cedric