In the past 4 days I have had numerous chats with them. We get a ridiculous number of sales calls or calls from banks/credit card companies on our land line for some reason. Everyone either wants to talk to Renee, or Sarah & Melvin. It makes me wonder who these people are and what they did to warrant so many people trying to contact them. Weirdness.
Yesterday I talked with a very polite telemarketer.
*ring*
me: hello?
him: hello, this is so & so with such & such incorporated...Is Renee available right now?
me: I'm sorry, but there's no Renee at this number...
him: Oh, I'm very sorry for inconveniencing you! I'll be sure to remove your number from our listings right away! Have a nice day.
*click*
I couldn't believe how professional he was. Well done.
On Thursday, however...
*ring*
me: hello?
her: (in a monotone, never-ending sentence, marge simpson sort of voice) This is so&so with Direct TV is Sarah or Melvin available?
me: Sorry, but there is no one by those names at--
her: Is this the Forester household?
me: No, it--
her: Well then allow me to tell you about the great new deal you can get with Direct TV (blah blah monotone blah blah)
me: (I finally cut her off when she takes a breath) I'm really not interested in this offer and--
her: But you cannot ignore what a great deal this is compared to competitors (blah blah TV blah good deal, does this woman ever breath?)
me: No, I'm not interested. Would you kindly take us off of--
her: May I ask then what you have against Direct TV?
me: I have nothing against Direct TV and--
her: Then how can you pass up this offer (blah blah blah)--
me: No, I am not interested in watching TV at all. My husband and I do not want to spend money on that right now, so will you please remove us from--
her: Well then may I ask what your household does for entertainment...
me: (I almost just hung up, but figured I should let her know that there are people out there who actually don't have the TV on 24/7) We have plenty of things we would rather do than sit around watching TV (I think I actually listed stuff like studying, reading, having conversations...)
her: Have you considered that watching TV could add greatly to your enjoyment and that Direct TV can--
me: Look. I am not at all interested. I know you're just trying to make a--
her: (blah blah Direct TV blah blah)--
me: I'm going to hang up. I'm not interested and I don't want to waste your time, as I know you're trying to make a living. Please remove us from your list. *click* before she can respond.
This was the most ridiculous conversation! Typing it out made me wonder why I didn't try to speak with someone higher up at Direct TV. It doesn't make me upset, just rather impressed. At the time, I was so taken aback by her determination to sell me something and rather curious about how far she'd take things, so I didn't hang up right away. Normally, I'll hang up pretty quickly if someone continues to try to sell something after I've told them I'm not interested, but this...wow.
How do you deal with telemarketers? I'm blunt and straight forward, but also polite. Even still I feel like a jerk for hanging up on them or having to be extra firm in my "not interested" line.
Met in junior high, enjoyed friendship during high school, and fell in love and married as college students. Enjoying life together in the Pacific Northwest while Spencer finishes school. Learning how to cope with Lyme Disease. It is our desire to honor and magnify Christ in all that we do.
goodbye, Petrova!
14 years ago
6 thoughts:
Anymore, I just inform them I'm not interested and hang up on them if they persist. I do try to say "goodbye" just before hanging up... nicely. My tendency is not to pick up the phone in the first place if caller I.D. doesn't indicate who the caller is. I figure that, if it's important or someone we know, they'll leave a message.
P.S. Love you!
Dad
A hint I learned from being "one of them" for a week. ( and it was aweful!!) If you ask them to take your number off their list, they are required by law to comply. If they call you again after you asked them not to, you legally could sue or they get fined or something like that. Also, check out the National Do Not Call List. We don't get telemarketer calls anymore!
I do the same thing as you and your dad. You tell them you're not interested and then if they persist, just say you're not interested and hang up. I just don't have TIME to go on and on with someone.
Just a note: If you tell them "Please remove my name from your calling list" they are required by the FCC to do so. They tend to take that seriously.
I worked for a business where we received tons of telemarkting calls, but after a few months of telling them, the calls stopped.
If you say you're "not interested" they only put you back in the system to be called again in X number of months. It doesn't really solve anything.
Wow! That last one was pretty nosey, and definitely over the top. You were more than patient, I must say. You were probably the kindest person she badgered all day!
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