View Full Version : Telemarketing
woodentoast
12-15-2008, 3:33 PM
Inspired by the shitty thread that got dumped, but hopefully this one will work out better, it's just a couple of questions and I guess you can bring up any other points about them you want to make.
1) First of all has anybody ever actually bought anything from a telemarketer?
2) Has anybody working as a telemarketer ever rang somebody only to have them scream abuse down the phone? I know i've done that to them before and afterwards I felt quite bad, he was just a guy trying to do his job and I went crazy at him just because i'd been having a shit day.
3) Last, anybody with an ex-directory phone number still recieve calls from them? My number has been ex-directory for a few months now and we still get calls quite often, how are they still getting my number?
Audioslave
12-15-2008, 3:38 PM
This isn't what I meant. I'll send you to the GF, though. I meant something more like "Should we ban telemarketers?" which would kind of be a shitty topic anyway.
Clerlic
12-15-2008, 4:07 PM
A telemarketer had offered me 2 pairs of underpants for "free", I accepted the offer and then immediately canceled it after I received them. They still billed me 10 euros for some reason, but the underpants were quality stuff.
I always play with them a little they piss me off so much.
One time they called and asked for Mrs. X. And since my parents aren't married there is no Mrs. X. So I pretended to start bawling and went on about how dare they be calling and that she had passed away two weeks ago and that it was insulting and disrespectful for them to be asking for her. Then I think I asked them what they had to say for themselves and the guy just kinda stammered said sorry and hung up.
And I know these guys aren't exactly telemarketers but if I'm having troubles with my phone or something I'm a complete bitch until they fix it(I try really hard not to be one to) then at the end I'm like, 'Well I hope you have a good day, thanks fo helping me' Then I feel bad.
Chrisso
12-15-2008, 4:38 PM
Telemarketers still exist?
Telemarketers still exist?
Yes. And so do door-to-door salesmen.
woodentoast
12-15-2008, 5:15 PM
Yes. And so do door-to-door salesmen.
But you're nicer to them incase they punch you in the face. And if you're clever and put a chain on the door then they wait until you fall asleep and break in. I assume.
lollercaust
12-15-2008, 5:17 PM
I know that they're doing their job, and if they're polite then I politely say no and hang up. But if they ask bluntly, or don't respond for about 5 seconds after I say hello (which happens quite a bit), I start talking quietly so they listen closer then hold my phone up to my speakers and play Smoke 'em if you Got 'Em as loud as I can.
Kidsvill
12-15-2008, 5:17 PM
i really wanna mess with those guys a little. not much but enoug to have them, you know, shit their pants... if they call, act like a crime scene investigator. ask them how long they knew the person, if they were any part of it or wutever. i cant imagine doing that for a living. you'd have a worse reputation than a lawyer :\
lollercaust
12-15-2008, 5:18 PM
i really wanna mess with those guys a little. not much but enoug to have them, you know, shit their pants... if they call, act like a crime scene investigator. ask them how long they knew the person, if they were any part of it or wutever. i cant imagine doing that for a living. you'd have a worse reputation than a lawyer :\
Does your name happen to be Tom Mabe?
Kidsvill
12-15-2008, 5:22 PM
Does your name happen to be Tom Mabe?
nope. :) i kinda figgered i had heard that from somewhere.... i just couldnt remember where.
I was a telemarketer. I made awesome money for doing sweet fuck all. I couldn't have given less of a fuck if I was pissing people off and the people who yelled weren't pissed off at me, they were pissed off at the company I worked for, so I didn't care about that either... I just told them they were idiots.
We got ex-directory phone numbers because people who had ex-directory numbers were dumb enough to fill in the "Telephone" section on questionnaires and forms either for our company, or for another company who sold the numbers on to us.
The only good response I've heard so far to a telemarketer is Jerry Seinfeld's:
hllDWSbuDsQ
Kidsvill
12-15-2008, 5:39 PM
I was a telemarketer. I made awesome money for doing sweet fuck all. I couldn't have given less of a fuck if I was pissing people off and the people who yelled weren't pissed off at me, they were pissed off at the company I worked for, so I didn't care about that either... I just told them they were idiots.
We got ex-directory phone numbers because people who had ex-directory numbers were dumb enough to fill in the "Telephone" section on questionnaires and forms either for our company, or for another company who sold the numbers on to us.
The only good response I've heard so far to a telemarketer is Jerry Seinfeld's:
hllDWSbuDsQ
Nice!
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Does your name happen to be Tom Mabe?
For all of you that missed the allusion, watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un_PjRXV5l8
Pretty damn funny.
SizzlingNickel
12-15-2008, 5:45 PM
Once i was called by one a female and she was selling cards she thought i was 20 when i was really 14 and i kept talking to here acting like i was interested in buying what she was selling and she fell for it which was funny so when she was thinking i was going to buy something from her and that's when i told here that i was really 14 that i was not going to buy anything from her and that i was playing video games the whole time i was talking to here then she simply said "why would you do that sir" and i said why do you call me when i am doing something like eating or taking a shower because you have called me over five times a day (the same company) then i hung up they never called again since. PS. she sounded like she was going to cry i feel bad now.
SizzlingNickle, please, tell us more of your awesome tales of bad-assery and downright disregard for society's conventions.
ultrasoundchick
12-15-2008, 5:47 PM
I have never bought anything from a telemarketer. But I have had a lot of fun messing with them. My favorite way to do it is to interrupt them when they start giving thier spiel, and say "Jesus?" Let them talk a little longer, then say "Jesus, is that you?" Makes for an interesting conversation.
I have never bought anything from a telemarketer. But I have had a lot of fun messing with them. My favorite way to do it is to interrupt them when they start giving thier spiel, and say "Jesus?" Let them talk a little longer, then say "Jesus, is that you?" Makes for an interesting conversation.
No you don't. You like to think that you do, so you tell strangers on the internet that's what you do, when it really isn't. You're lying. It wouldn't be funny, even if you weren't lying... but you are, so it's less funny than not funny at all.
WoeStorm
12-15-2008, 6:01 PM
When I get a telemarketer, I just hang up quietly. I know they're just trying to do their jobs, but I just don't want what they're selling 99% of the time.
John Travolta
12-15-2008, 6:04 PM
Most of them are automated machines anyways.
John Travolta
12-15-2008, 6:04 PM
http://wirelessdigest.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/robot_videobot.jpg
John Travolta
12-15-2008, 6:04 PM
"WOULD YOU LIKE TO BUY NATURAL MALE ENHANCEMENT PILLS- PRESS 1 FOR YES"
Most of them are automated machines anyways.
Those ones piss me off. I don't get why they can't have people. It's been a long time since there's been a telemarketer that was not a recording.
http://www.fotosearch.com/bthumb/EYW/EYW125/bbo_033.jpg
Audioslave
12-15-2008, 6:13 PM
I used to be a telemarketer, and I will be a telemarketer again. I used to dial for Comcast and Allstate, doing annoying-ass surveys. Just remember; no matter how much you make fun of them, they're probably making more money than you are.
Also, stupid jokes and accents make our day. Please keep doing them :shobon:
The only telemarketers I get are from the navy and the marines and the army and shit.
For all of you that missed the allusion, watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un_PjRXV5l8
Pretty damn funny.
Tom Mabe is a fucking evil genius.
drumbum
12-15-2008, 6:15 PM
A guy at my dad's office got scammed by one into buying 10 buckets of some heavy duty hand cleaner for truckers. Although the delivery and stock room guys enjoyed the nice orange scent, his boss was pretty pissed about the price.
3) Last, anybody with an ex-directory phone number still recieve calls from them? My number has been ex-directory for a few months now and we still get calls quite often, how are they still getting my number?
It's because "nonprofit" orgs. can still use and sell your number. But if you tell them to quite calling and they don't, you can sue them for harassement.
It's because "nonprofit" orgs. can still use and sell your number. But if you tell them to quite calling and they don't, you can sue them for harassement.
No you can't. That's not true.
drumbum
12-15-2008, 6:22 PM
No you can't. That's not true.
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080901/1828492144.shtml
http://killthecalls.com/suing-telemarketers.html
I am not an attorney, so I cannot legally advise you. Whenever you are considering legal action, it is always advisable that you consult an attorney.
Harassment is defined as "a course of conduct directed at a specific person that causes substantial emotional distress in such a person and serves no legitimate purpose".
drumbum
12-15-2008, 6:40 PM
http://redtape.msnbc.com/2007/02/suing_telemarke.html
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, signed into law by George Bush the elder, led to creation of the ragingly popular Do Not Call List. But tucked away in the bill was another important provision that entitles consumers to take what's called a "private right of action." For each violation of the act, consumers can sue for a $500 penalty. Violations include calling after a consumer has told a company to stop, or failing to provide the consumer with a copy of the firm’s Do Not Call policy.
Ercoledi
12-15-2008, 7:40 PM
I have no problems with telemarketers, unless they call me up during the night rush at the restaurant - something they really, really like to do.
Other than that, they're just people making a living. No issues with that.
hoopymo
12-15-2008, 7:46 PM
We got ex-directory phone numbers because people who had ex-directory numbers were dumb enough to fill in the "Telephone" section on questionnaires and forms either for our company, or for another company who sold the numbers on to us.
Is that not illegal?
Amazingly
12-15-2008, 9:00 PM
Is that not illegal?
No, it happens with email addresses as well, which anyone can buy. 5,000 active email addresses could go for as much as $100 last time I went a-spammin.
I never have to amswer to telemarketers thanks to the magic of Caller ID.
I thought this business would've died because of that.
Shocklocks
12-15-2008, 10:38 PM
The fact there are still telemarketers around amazes me. Who the hell honestly buys something off someone/ wastes their time filling out a survey from a company thats being douchey enough to ring your home number and bug you about it.
Hell even if you do have the time to do it it's not exactly like they apreciate it, if anything they use it as an invitation to whore your phone number out. One of my friends was stupid enough to fill out a survey for our countries post service through telemarketers. His flats recieved more calls from telemarketers(including another 2 from the same company who called him in the first place) in the last 6months then I can recall ever having in my life.
I always get Indians and it sucks cause I can't understand them most of the time.
macaronisheep
12-16-2008, 2:20 AM
I'd never buy something but i would consider doing a survey. I know someone who says "wait.... you mean I've won a million dollars?!?!?!.......... no,,,,, sorry then I dont want to talk to you thats the only thing I would let you interrupt my roast dinner for" (since they invariably ring up at dinner time.... on purpose I wonder? people might be mroe receptive if they werent more interested in their food)
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I always get Indians and it sucks cause I can't understand them most of the time.
Dude, same. Always from Melbourne for me.
I'm pretty bad when it comes to Telemarketers since I kinda feel bad with hanging up on them. I mean, its like when sales assistants come over to help me when I don't need them. I don't try to pull shit with them, I just say "Nah I'm good. Just browsing".
Then again I guess it just comes down to how much they give a damn. As Ox said with him, he didn't give a shit if people got up him about it.
And that Tom Mabe thing was hilarious.
Mirrorman
12-16-2008, 7:06 AM
They've called me a few times thinking I'm an adult and started to offer me all kinds of shit and I just said no thanks and they say oh well and hang up. Our telemarketers seem to be nicer than yours.
BreakTheWalls
12-16-2008, 11:40 AM
The thing that pisses me off about them is the outdated information they use. They still called for a guy that didn't live in the house for years (and unfortunately all had Indian accents). Our old house always had the phone going off nearly every half hour. I was surprised we didn't change numbers after all that.
Muahaha! (http://www.truecall.co.uk/)
junglebunny
12-16-2008, 11:43 AM
Isn't this what Ox-tail Soup does?
CharlieH
12-16-2008, 11:51 AM
No. Last I was aware, he did an office job at the police. I think. :confused:
Anyway, our family phone doesn't get much telemarketing. My dads business line however, gets a lot, especially recently with people desperately trying to get him to buy stuff. Phone lines usually.
Panda
12-16-2008, 12:05 PM
We used to get them all the time but lately we don't get any telemarketing calls at my house anymore. But that's probably because we shut off our land line phone because nobody used it anymore. :indiff:
Hickabod
12-16-2008, 12:08 PM
We get them all the time. It seems when you're trying to get insurance quotes or something like that, they deal your information around. My latest one had me in stitches:
"Hello, is the owner of the house there?"
"Whos calling?" (If I say this they assume it's me)
"Hi, I'm calling from Jigsaw we-"
"I WANNA PLAY A GAME" then I hung up
I felt really witty, then I found out that Jigsaw is a Cancer and Blood Disorders charity.
Rex_Mundi
12-16-2008, 1:47 PM
"Hi, I'm calling from Jigsaw we-"
"I WANNA PLAY A GAME" then I hung up
I felt really witty, then I found out that Jigsaw is a Cancer and Blood Disorders charity.
Haha that's horrible.
I usually just hang-up, I'm not cool like the kids on page 1.
Isn't this what Ox-tail Soup does?
Oxtail_Soup, and did. Now I work for da po-po.
woodentoast
12-16-2008, 2:18 PM
Oxtail_Soup, and did. Now I work for da po-po.
Nark!
danmanlott
12-16-2008, 2:21 PM
You Don't know funny telemarketing intill you see this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOjDKfAU-k0&feature=related
Nark!
/
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj216/mayfliesmayfly/NARF.jpg
Dacada
12-16-2008, 2:48 PM
Oxtail_Soup always gets his pop culture references wrong.
Fuck you, Dacadadadada. It's close enough for me to derail this thread for it.
beermonster256
12-16-2008, 3:54 PM
I used to work for BT (British Telecom) at a call centre, and although it wasn't strictly telemarketing (we only had to speak to people who phoned us) we still had to try to sell them packages that they hadn't originally asked for. It sucked though, I left after a couple of months.
In the UK, BT have a package called the Telephone Preference Scheme. If you register your number with the scheme and a marketing company still calls you, they are breaking the law. I think the companies are given a database of all numbers that they are not allowed to call each week/month or something.
John Travolta
12-16-2008, 7:20 PM
It's narf.
I have to do it at work. People call in catalogue orders, and I'm supposed to push the Sears Card at the beginning and then offer them sale items at the end. It's really annoying because I have to say this long-ass script to offer the card to them.
Also, from working in a call centre, I now know that most telemarketers you talk to are ugly and/or morbidly obese. So be nice. :shobon: They probably go home and cry anyways without you being a dick to them.
John Travolta
12-16-2008, 8:12 PM
THATS SO INTERESTING.
My dad always gets pissed when talking to telemarketers, so every time I get a call from them, I pass the phone to my dad. It makes my day.
Savaril
12-16-2008, 10:24 PM
Once i was called by one a female and she was selling cards she thought i was 20 when i was really 14 and i kept talking to here acting like i was interested in buying what she was selling and she fell for it which was funny so when she was thinking i was going to buy something from her and that's when i told here that i was really 14 that i was not going to buy anything from her and that i was playing video games the whole time i was talking to here then she simply said "why would you do that sir" and i said why do you call me when i am doing something like eating or taking a shower because you have called me over five times a day (the same company) then i hung up they never called again since. PS. she sounded like she was going to cry i feel bad now.
This one time a telemarketer phoned me and then I picked up the phone and then the telemarketer and me started talking and then the telemarketer said 'WOULD YOU LIKE TO BUY A THING' and then I said yes and then the telemarketer said 'OK IT WILL COST X AMMOUNT OF MONIES' and then I gave them my parents' credit card number and then I told him I was not a person over 18 and I couldnt buy his stuff haha and then I was playing video games so I told him I was playing video games and then I got mad at him for phoning me lots that day and then I hung up and then he was crying so I felt bad
It's narf.
Interestingly, this is what I googled to get my picture of Pinky. Pinky and the Brain sure were awesome.
Tyler_Legrand
12-17-2008, 3:37 AM
Pinky and the Brain
is overrated
retard
12-17-2008, 8:08 AM
your overrated
pinky and the brain was awesome.
If by "over-rated" you mean people calling a kids cartoon that was awesome "awesome ", then yes.
Rex_Mundi
12-17-2008, 3:44 PM
Hey guys.
Do you know what is awesome? Chocolate banana muffins. Fucking muffins are fuckign awesome.
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Dacada
12-17-2008, 9:29 PM
Freakazoid was better than P&tB.
Oh, I'm looking for a job where I can sit on my ass and do shit all for the summer, this sounds about perfect. How does one go about BECOMING a telemarketer? Do I have to know a guy who knows a guy?
bizzle
12-17-2008, 9:36 PM
No, actually. The work kills your soul so they are always looking for new people. I telemarketed for about 3 weeks and couldn't live with it any longer. It wasn't even calling peoples' homes either. It was "B2B" (business to business).
If you come to Montreal you can probably get a job on your first day here. They advertise them like crazy. They are always hiring. But it seriously isn't the best job. I wouldn't recommend it. The place I worked back home, they were always tracking your numbers, you had to reach quotas for calls, leads and sales - it was miserable.
SquidWard
12-17-2008, 10:48 PM
Just as I opened this thread I got a call at work by some girl offering me a 2 night holiday for only $99.99. I love haggling their prices down even though there's no chance I'm going to buy their shitty goods.
"Sorry sir, that is the lowest price we can do."
"Okay, Click".
Lozenge
12-17-2008, 11:53 PM
I usually hang up because I have nothing funny or witty to say that would shut them down so much that would make them quit and work as my personal slave.
I worked as a telemarketer a few years ago. I've never bought anything from one though, but I've sold quite a lot of stuff. From under wear and socks to mobile phones and internet =)
Sure, there has been some crazy people yelling at me but they are quite rare. I dont feel bad about calling them, I quit the job because it sucked and the pay was low.
=D
lolguy
12-18-2008, 8:07 AM
We get those calls a lot. I just kinda hang up on them, because after you tell these people to stop the first fifty times they call, you get really pissed off.
But if they. . . don't respond for about 5 seconds after I say hello (which happens quite a bit), . . .
Why is that, anyway? I always thought it was something to do with their phone system or computers. Does anyone know for sure?
Ercoledi
12-18-2008, 8:40 AM
As for pausing before speaking, I'm pretty sure that it has nothing to do with backwoods telephone connections. It's extremely common, and I'm pretty sure it has to do with machine calling systems; the machine makes the call, waits for the recipient to answer the phone, and only then brings the telemarketer online.
It's not for sure, but it makes sense.
lolguy
12-18-2008, 8:57 AM
That's kind of what I was thinking too. I know it's mostly a machine that runs this crap when you pick up a phone. I only say shut the hell up to the people who don't use recordings.
Counterfeit Dreamer
12-18-2008, 12:49 PM
And I know these guys aren't exactly telemarketers but if I'm having troubles with my phone or something I'm a complete bitch until they fix it(I try really hard not to be one to) then at the end I'm like, 'Well I hope you have a good day, thanks fo helping me' Then I feel bad.
Oh my gosh, I am exactly the same way. I have Sprint, and they have the WORST customer service ever. The only way to get anything done is to be a total cunt to them. And even then, it sometimes still doesn't work.
I feel kinda bad afterward, as well - but, then again... if they weren't so shitty to begin with, you wouldn't have to strongarm help out of them.
beermonster256
12-18-2008, 1:11 PM
Why is that, anyway? I always thought it was something to do with their phone system or computers. Does anyone know for sure?
It is because they have machines that do the dialling and whilst it is dialling the machine brings an available operator onto the call. If all the operators are busy, then nobody is connected which is why you're met with silence.
The reason they do this is because, like Bizzle said, operators have targets and quotas to meet. They figure that having a machine do the dialling saves time and so the operator has more time to sell whatever shit it is that's being pitched.
Ercoledi
12-18-2008, 8:31 PM
It's called 'call abandonment', seven paragraphs in (http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/31211).
Iceshade
12-19-2008, 5:16 PM
I got a call from the Marines the summer before I was headed to college. I told him I was going to college in the fall and he proceeded to ask me what I was majoring in. When I told him "Physics", he paused for a bit and then said, "Oh...damn, well good luck with that buddy.Thank you for your time." then hung up.
Mary-Ann-xx
12-21-2008, 11:25 PM
oh wow! I think that's the first time i hear of a telemarketer hanging up without the recepient being rude
chris_rhodes92
12-22-2008, 4:03 PM
i pretended to be my friends mom and eventually made one dude mad
barmey
12-22-2008, 6:00 PM
I just keep saying "uhuh", "really?", "cool" until it becomes tedious and they get really bored and annoyed, then I hang up.
And I know these guys aren't exactly telemarketers but if I'm having troubles with my phone or something I'm a complete bitch until they fix it(I try really hard not to be one to) then at the end I'm like, 'Well I hope you have a good day, thanks fo helping me' Then I feel bad.
They are called tech support officers, and it is called an in bound call center. More to the point it isn't there job to fix your shit, read the fucking manual, they are there to provide support.
The reason they can't help you is because you aren't there only client, even if they do have the knowledge to help you they are governed by a strict set of rules which they must follow, they can't provide any support that they aren't meant to provide without getting into trouble with there superiors. If you were lucky enough to get someone like me who didn't care about the job and realized that being in that sort of environment was draining and gave you help it generally set a bad precedent because the next person might be by the book or just might not have the same knowledge, which is why before providing any help that was outside our support boundaries I'd let the client know.
You do know that not every problem is dealt with by the same department right?
And that even though you might believe you yelling, raising your voice, being a bitch or asking to speak to a supervisor might help the situation it doesn't, in fact if you got someone like me i'd make sure you got limited help and would be a complete jerk to you because a) i don't like you, b) I don't tell you how to do your fucking job and c) if there was an issue with whatever you have and you're positive it wasn't caused by you majority of the help centers have a call out service which only costs a fee if its your fault.
I used to work for a telecommunications company (the biggest in Australia) in internal network support. Since the office was fairly busy I also had to take in bound calls when there weren't any network issues.
I've basically lived in Australia all my life and don't have a foreign accent cause I was born here but people were indiscriminately racist on the phone. They believe that because of the comfort of there home they can be as rude as they want. The number of people I had call through and ask me to repeat my name was ridiculous, I ended up just using a random name every time someone called, I couldn't care less if it blew my bonus because I failed the KPIs.
Anyways in the end people were thanking me for helping them and that they were so stoked they didn't get through to an Indian person etc etc, I would always laugh and be like yeah, I'm actually Indian, which would follow with an awkward silence and then something like ... well you don't have the accent and generally a hang up.
In summation, telemarketers are just doing there job, cut them some slack, ask them to remove you etc, not a lot you can do. Just hang up on them etc, its not a big freaking deal.
Intestiny Destiny
12-22-2008, 7:03 PM
Indian people can fake their accents.
Indian people can fake their accents.
Anyone can fake an accent, its not limited to only Indian people, whats your point?
farmball
12-22-2008, 8:58 PM
Most jobs to do with handling lots of phone calls, e.g. telemarketing or tech support, get out sourced by big companies to India, because it is very cheap.
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