Cold callers...

[indolikaa]

As for various methods of messing with them, I would love to but frankly they aren't worth the effort.

Lazy bastard.

[JohnnyCNote]

I used to use this message:

(in a cheerful voice)
Hello, are you a telemarketer? Like the one that sold my grandmother unnecessary insurance, or the one that sold her air conditioner service that she didn't need?

(in a menacing, angry voice)
Well if you are, then I want to talk to you and you're not going to like what I have to say!

(in a cheerful voice)
If not, then please leave a message.

It worked for a while....

[Capmaster]

It's free and run by the Government so it should work no problem

Boy can I ever tell you don't live here

[indolikaa]

It's free and run by the Government so it should work no problem

Boy can I ever tell you don't live here

I detected a hint of cynicism in Mr. Cobra's voice myself...

[Capmaster]

It's free and run by the Government so it should work no problem

Boy can I ever tell you don't live here

I detected a hint of cynicism in Mr. Cobra's voice myself...

Ahhhh yes. That sly, British sarcasm that slips in every now and then

[Cobra]

Maybe I should have put "should" in italics...

Cobra

[thecoalman]

It's free and run by the Government so it should work no problem

Boy can I ever tell you don't live here

I've had it since they started it Cap and I'll have to say I get 0 calls except for the exclusions - Political(of course) non-profit etc. Not sure how it is now but PA enacted this law before the feds did and there was a $1k fine with the victim getting a percentage. I think it was $5k if they were elderly. Quite a good reason to not call

www.donotcall.gov

[Capmaster]

It's free and run by the Government so it should work no problem

Boy can I ever tell you don't live here

I've had it since they started it Cap and I'll have to say I get 0 calls except for the excluisions Political(of course) non-profit etc. Not sure how it is now but PA enacted this law before the feds did and there was a $1k fine with the victim getting a percentage. I think it was $5k if they were elderly. Quite an inducment to not call

About time Now ...if we can just get rid of the goddamn spammers

[thecoalman]

About time Now ...if we can just get rid of the goddamn spammers

I'll bet a hefty percentage of the fine for the victim would put a lid on it I edited my post here's the link to sign up.

www.donotcall.gov

[northcat_8]

It's free and run by the Government so it should work no problem.

I'm sorry cobra...the irony just made me laugh too hard to not quote it.

[flaninacupboard]

Actually, TPS does seem effective. used to get telesales on my mobile, now all gone. there's also a mail preference service and a fax preference service.

I try not to be rude to these guys, they are after all just trying to earn a living. my method of screening is to never answer my home phone - no one i want to speak to will ever call that number.

[Cobra]

I try not to be rude to these guys, they are after all just trying to earn a living.

It's when they are rude to me that I get really annoyed. They dare call my home in the evening when I'm trying to relax, not get what they want and give me lip? That's when I want to kill them. That, and a lot of them I can't understand at all.

I'm tired of them, and it should hopefully stop now.

Cobra

[Capmaster]

I try not to be rude to these guys, they are after all just trying to earn a living

That's all well and good. But anyone who is making a living doing what amounts to sneaking into people's homes uninvited, trying to sell them something they probably don't need or want, they had better have a thick skin or get out of the game

[Madz]

I always use an answering machine to screen calls. Telemarketers always appear as "Unknown Caller" on the Call/Name ID and leave dead air on the machine. Although I put my number on the "don't call" list so the calls have dropped dramatically in the last few months.

One call I remember was this dude calling me up a few years ago and telling me I've been entered in some contest for a trip (to Florida, I believe). Then he asks me if I'd like to buy like a five-year subscription to a half-dozen magazines. "All I need is your credit card,", he says! I'm like, "Do you think I spend THAT much time in the bathroom, parked on the throne, that I need all those mags?!!"

[JohnnyCNote]

If you want to have fun with these types, take control of the call. They're trained to take control of the call, so if you do it instead, they're usually not prepared and it throws them off. Pepper them with questions, objections, ask for addresses.

Or just hang up, or not answer at all.....

[thecoalman]

Or if you have a lot of time you can order a whole bunch of shit and then when it comes time to make payment......Credit Card? I don't have a credit card.

[jimmalenko]

While I agree that they can be a pain in the ass most of the time, they, like us, are just trying to earn a buck at the end of the day. I pity them for accepting the job, knowing that they could cop a cavalcade of abuse at any moment.

[Cobra]

As I say, I am polite to them until they are rude to me. That's when I get angry with them.

As it is, though, I don't like them calling me anyway. It's not their fault personally - they have a job. It's the company that employs them.

[flaninacupboard]

i had a good one at ork the other day - the national association of arcitechts wanted to sell us some advertising space in their magazine. hmm, let me think about it...................

[jimmalenko]

It's not their fault personally - they have a job. It's the company that employs them.

I couldn't agree more.

Although they do accept the job in the first place, with a reasonable idea of what they are going to be doing.

[Capmaster]

When I was in high school I used to telephone solicit. I sold Chicago Tribune subscriptions. I didn't last long at that job because I used to have to call people at 9:00 on a Sunday morning ...waking them up. I got some creative abuse, and it expanded my youthful vocabulary

[flaninacupboard]

i'll bet

[Capmaster]

i'll bet

If I remember correctly, that was the first time I ever heard "your mother's got a blue uterus". I laughed so hard when he said that because it was the most ridiculous curse I had ever heard. My laughing only pissed him off more, and finally he hung up.

I couldn't take the job because I guess you can't thrive doing a job you personally despise

[flaninacupboard]

your mothers got a blue uterus? how is that even insulting...?

[Capmaster]

your mothers got a blue uterus? how is that even insulting...?

I don't know. The guy on the phone was spluttering and almost incoherent, he was so mad. It's probably the only thing he could think of. So much funnier that way The job did really bother me. Just as well - I found a better job right away.

[mastersmurfie]

I actually solved most of this problem by downloading "out of service" tones and recording them at the beginning of my answering machine message. Supposedly, when a computer is making the call and hears those tones, it removes your number from it's database. I used to get 8 or 10 calls a day...now it's down to about 2...

funny, those two are SBC and MCI...

mastersmurfie

[Reaper88]

"your mother's got a blue uterus".

I dont know why but i found that funny as hell

[Capmaster]

"your mother's got a blue uterus".

I dont know why but i found that funny as hell

So did I the first time I heard it. It's just so stupid sounding it's funny as hell

[indolikaa]

your mothers got a blue uterus? how is that even insulting...?

I don't know. The guy on the phone was spluttering and almost incoherent, he was so mad. It's probably the only thing he could think of. So much funnier that way The job did really bother me. Just as well - I found a better job right away.

Male whore? :P

[Capmaster]

your mothers got a blue uterus? how is that even insulting...?

I don't know. The guy on the phone was spluttering and almost incoherent, he was so mad. It's probably the only thing he could think of. So much funnier that way The job did really bother me. Just as well - I found a better job right away.

Male whore? :P

I was a cheap floozie in my youth