Best response to a telemarketer.

JustANumber85 · December 2012

i

Caller ID- i dont even pick up and when they hear the answering machine they dont even leave a message. Although every once in awhile ill get one that doesnt seem to understand an answering machine (god i know, so old school (rolls eyes)) and will say " hello? hello?" 20x.

dalehall64 · December 2012

I let either my 6 year old or 4 year old answer the phone.. They normally just hang up on my kids and then I block the number from calling again.

libbymcbain · December 2012

Thank you but, NO thank you.

They can't work out if it's yes or no and it's too polite to argue with.

penrbrown · December 2012

I was thinking about this and you know... why are we so hard on telemarketers? Scam artists I don't mind messing with but telemarketers? They're just doing their job. A really ****ty job. They're trying to earn a pay cheque and here we are giving them grief for it.

A good friend of mine had to work as a telemarketer for a few months back when the job market was ****ty. She couldn't get a job anywhere else. She hated it. Every minute of it. Every day people were screaming at her and being jerks to her, all while she was just trying to make ends meet.

Anyway. Scam artists deserve a good old rub but telemarketers are just regular people who are paid to sell a product. Like a door to door salesman but LESS intrusive because you can just hang up. I wouldn't slam the door in a door salesman's face.

Just my two cents. :P

JustANumber85 · December 2012

I was thinking about this and you know... why are we so hard on telemarketers? Scam artists I don't mind messing with but telemarketers? They're just doing their job. A really ****ty job. They're trying to earn a pay cheque and here we are giving them grief for it.

A good friend of mine had to work as a telemarketer for a few months back when the job market was ****ty. She couldn't get a job anywhere else. She hated it. Every minute of it. Every day people were screaming at her and being jerks to her, all while she was just trying to make ends meet.

Anyway. Scam artists deserve a good old rub but telemarketers are just regular people who are paid to sell a product. Like a door to door salesman but LESS intrusive because you can just hang up. I wouldn't slam the door in a door salesman's face.

Just my two cents. :P

thats fine and dandy except they get paid whether they get a sale or not (unless its commission) and they seem to have the worlds WORST timing. Thats part of the reason people get mad plus they dont understand NO.

penrbrown · December 2012

thats fine and dandy except they get paid whether they get a sale or not (unless its commission) and they seem to have the worlds WORST timing. Thats part of the reason people get mad plus they dont understand NO.

That's because they're expected to push and they get in trouble if they don't.

I don't see the point of yelling at them, tricking them or pranking them. Why not just hang the phone up?

iluvprettyshoes · December 2012

I switched my home phone over to my fax line. Now they get the annoying loud beep of my fax.

The real people I want to talk with call my cell phone.

It's so satisfying to hear the phone ring, see "out of area" on the caller ID and then hear my fax machine pick up! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Jindra12 · December 2012

I can't hear anything that comes out from a telephone. I could feel a boom when I shot a .30-06 rifle and I couldn't hear it without using the hear protection form. Yeah, you are right I am a profounded deaf.

RedHeadDevotchka · December 2012

I can't hear anything that comes out from a telephone. I could feel a boom when I shot a .30-06 rifle and I couldn't hear it without using the hear protection form. Yeah, you are right I am a profounded deaf.

That's quite deaf I'd say. I have shot a 30-06 and that sucker is LOUD!

Enigmatica · December 2012

"No, Sally is not available. She stole all our petty cash and flew off to New Zealand to find Xena Warrior Princess and Hercules on their legendary journeys. Bye."

cmacphee3 · December 2012

My brother has something similar to Aspergers and he gets rid of them without even trying! He just starts talking about his latest obsession (periodic table, math equations, family history, farmville 2... etc.) and will NOT let them talk about anything else. He does this in real life too, when you try to change the subject he just keeps talking about it until you stop responding.

I'm starting to think he might be on to something...

edge_dragoncaller · December 2012

I've gone by my middle name since the day I was born...my parents were pressured into giving me the "family" first name. So whenever I get a telemarketer, they always ask for my first name. I just tell them that there is no one here that goes by that name.

Lleldiranne · December 2012

If you really want the calls to stop the best way is simply to ask them directly to put you on the companies do not call list. Make sure you write down the name of the company calling and the date and time.

they can be sued for up to $1,500 for each violation after your request per the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991.

It legally requires these companies to maintain do-not-call lists of anyone who requests to be taken off the call list.

They typically will not call back after being reminded that and if they do you can stick it to them.

A lot of these calls are now originating outside the country, and thus they cannot be prosecuted. Do you ever get those recorded calls from "Rachel at Card Services?" Yeah, those... Not from the US.

Or they're scams. There are some that you try to say "do not call list" and they hang up before you can get it out (I guess they reason you didn't say it/they didn't hear it)… they keep calling back. Anyway, after that happened a few times I called back the number on my caller ID to complain to a supervisor … and it was spoofed to a real card company. Sadly not much you can do legally, there, since you don't even know who's calling. That's when I pull out these tactics.

yoovie · December 2012

(because I sound 5 on the phone)

They always lead with "Hi there is your mommy or daddy home?"

and I say

"(sigh)... mmmmmmmm... (pause) mommy left on (whatever day was six days ago)... but it's ok we have cereal!!!" *hangs up*

mvandommelen · December 2012

My dad... one called and asked for Mrs. Brandy (knowing it was a telemarketer) my Dad said she could not come to the phone right now because he had her locked up in the basement. Hahaha, the caller hung up immediately!

blink1021 · December 2012

My uncle once asked a telemarketer for their phone number so he could call her back after he finished his dinner. She was so shocked that she just hung up.

thoshowski · December 2012

Ok, So this really isn't a telemarketer, but similar. My roommate years ago, had never known what a Jehovah Witness was. So she answered the door and let them give her the info then she gave them her name. So, every week they would come back asking for her. Finally, she and I and our other roommate had had enough and so I answered the door. When they said her name, I made my eyes well up with tears and started sobbing. They asked what was wrong and I told them she had just died in car accident four days ago. They apologized profusely and left. A friend of mine still lives there and no Jehovah witnesses have ever stopped by the house again.

xnikkixsikkix · December 2012

I put my two year old on the phone to talk to them. Last time I put them on speaker phone, and they sat there in silence for about 5 minutes before hanging up.