What Are The Rules For Telemarketers Calling On A Weekend I Thought It Wasn

What are some fun things to do when a telemarketer calls?

Oh! I have a story for this one!Last summer, I was relaxing at home, playing video games. Suddenly the landline rang.I was home alone, so I picked it up. It was a telemarketer asking about my electric bill.“Hello, is this ?”“…yes?”“Ah yes hello, I am calling to ask about your electrical bill.”I held the phone away from me for a minute to laugh.“Oh, okay.” I replied, “Only there’s one problem…”“Yes what is it ma’am?”“I don’t have electricity.”The line went silent.“You… do not have electricity?” The man asked, laughing a bit. I said that is correct.“Well.. how are you talking now?”“I don’t have electricity.” I repeated, trying not to laugh. The man on the other end was laughing a bit now.“But you are on the phone. You are at , yes?”“Correct but I don’t have electricity.”I ended up laughing, trying to ensure the telemarketer that I did, in fact, lack electricity, but he ended up laughing too.“Ah, so sorry ma’am, goodbye have a nice day.” He said, still laughing.“Yes sir, you too.” I replied, hanging up and still laughing hysterically.I’m awful at telling a joke with a straight face. I really, really am. I’m glad I could at least make the other guy laugh, though. Maybe I made his day slightly betterNot too long after, the same number called again. I picked up.“Yes, hello, is this ?”“Yes, hi.”“hello, I am calling to ask about your electric bill.”This guy again. I thought, sighing.“Sir, I’ve told you before, I don’t have electricity!” I exclaimed, doing my best not to laugh. The man sighed.“Ma’am, you are talking now on a phone.” He said.“Yes. But I don’t have electricity.”“…Ma’am, would you please answer a few questions about your electric bill?”“Fine, fine.”“Okay, so first…”“Hey what’s your favorite Pokemon?”It went silent.“P…Pokemon?”“Yes! What’s your favorite Pokemon? You know, little Japanese creatures…”“I… do not have one, ma’am.”“Ah, well you should. I like Gengar.”“Ginger?”“No, Gengar!”“Okay ma’am thank you for talking have a nice day.” He hung up and I let out laughter.It was really fun. I don’t think he called again.

Was I overly rude in the way I handled that telemarketing call?

No.To my way of thinking, the most valuable thing I have - the thing that can never be replaced, that I can never get more of - is my time.Since I’ve taken every reasonable precaution to avoid telemarketers, the only way they even manage to get me to pick up my phone is by “spoofing” a local phone number similar to one I know. A few times I have even received a call that pretended to be from my own phone number.So every time I pick up the phone to hear an unwanted sales pitch, I know two things: that these people are wasting my time against my will, and that they have no qualms about lying to get me to pay attention to their scam/sale/whatever.Therefore I have no qualms whatsoever about hanging up on them. It’s no use listening to their “pitch” which is usually a scam anyway. Do I really believe I’ve earned yet another “free” Caribbean cruise? No I do not, and neither does the person on the other end of the line. Why pretend? They are wasting my time, but I’m not going to waste any of theirs.Legitimate salespeople do not make cold calls. Don’t feel bad about hanging up on the scammers.

Are telemarketers training us to be rude?

This is an interesting question.  Thanks for the A2A. My short answer is a qualified yes.An example:Just yesterday my best friend called me at work in tears.  Her beloved Cocker spaniel, who has been declining for some time due to kidney failure, was at the end of her long life.  My friend had made the correct, but difficult, decision to have her put down.  She wanted me to accompany her to the vet, which I rushed to do.The reason I tell about my friend's dog is to give you an idea of the emotional state I was in when I returned to work.  I was a little wrung out and feeling great concern over my dearest friend's grief at losing a beloved pet.  Nevertheless, I had deadlines to meet, so I begin editing an investigative report.  Then my personal cellphone rings.On the other end is a telemarketer for our local cable/ Internet/telephone provider.  It was a young man who was obviously speaking from a prepared script.  He wanted me to upgrade my service with his company to bundle a land line and cable service.  (Currently I only purchase Internet from them.  I turned off cable TV and landlines several years ago to save money.)As I have said many times, I live in one of the poorer states where jobs are hard to come by.  This young man's speech patterns and accent sounded local.  I try to be nice to people who are just doing their jobs.  So I listened to his spiel, which was rather short, actually, and then politely declined.Then, he started offering me other options and in essence arguing with my decision to decline his offer.  I told him again that I was not interested.  When he kept speaking, I hung up on him.I don't enjoy being rude to anyone.  But when a person calls my personal cell, and attempts to sell me something and then will not accept a polite rejection, it makes me angry.  Furthermore it makes me less likely to be polite when the next unsolicited sales call occurs.  I don't blame those making these calls. I blame the companies.  Have a little empathy, decency and plain courtesy.  I was having a rough day.  I know that the young man making this sales call had no way of knowing that.  But wouldn't it just be common courtesy to inquire if there is a better time to call?So, yes.  In some respects telemarketers are causing an uptick in rudeness from those they call.