Telemarketers have balls

[birdmom]

Solicitors call our office all the time. They frequently call for our former owner, who passed away three years ago. This is how my conversation went this morning:

Solicitor: "Is John in?"
Me: "I'm sorry, he is not."
Solicitor: "Well, he is waiting for my call."
Me: "I don't think he is, sir."
Solicitor (in a very angry manner): "Who are you to tell me that he isn't? I need his cell phone number right now, it is an urgent matter and he is waiting for my call."
Me: "I'm pretty sure he isn't waiting for your call. He is dead."
Click.

Sometimes they ask if I'm expecting him in today. I tell them that I really hope not!

I do realize that I could tell them that he passed away. Then they would ask who the new owner is so that they could harass him. And besides, some of these people are so nasty that I really don't want to be nice to them. I realize that they are making a living, but there's no need to be rude!

[Deleted]

Next time (if you are not having a busy day) I would play with them a little. I would have said he does not have a cell phone but I can give you an "address".

[definitelyO]

good for you!!

I had a political call last night and DS was sitting at the counter eating his snack. I would answer the questions with Extremely, very, not very, etc...
DS said "next time you say very - say berry instead" so I did - he burst out laughing.
then he says - you should say "excuse me" next time - so I did and then of course - more laughter. I just let him feed me the lines and worked them in.

[niemand88f]

Jul 6, 2012 10:27:59 GMT -5 definitelyO said:

good for you!!

I had a political call last night and DS was sitting at the counter eating his snack. I would answer the questions with Extremely, very, not very, etc...
DS said "next time you say very - say berry instead" so I did - he burst out laughing.
then he says - you should say "excuse me" next time - so I did and then of course - more laughter. I just let him feed me the lines and worked them in.

That's awesome :Y:

[Ashley&Scott]

Good for you, those guys are assholes. It seems like they call here a few times a week & they drive me nuts. They act so urgent & won't tell you who they are with. Usually if you ask them enough questions they'll hang up on you. Every once in a while my boss will talk to them just for fun, lol.

[birdmom]

Jul 6, 2012 10:15:16 GMT -5 vigurl said:

Next time (if you are not having a busy day) I would play with them a little. I would have said he does not have a cell phone but I can give you an "address".

DH used to do this all the time. We live in his grandparents old house, and after his grandfather passed away, he got calls for him all the time, even after he told them that he had passed. He told them that his grandfather had moved, but he could give him his new information. He gave them the address and phone number to the cemetery...lol.

[darthxtater]

My grandfather died in '89. My uncle still gets persistent telehasslers. He gives them the address if the cemetery my grandpa is buried at if they do not believe he is dead.

[salbert79]

I'm on this list and have had problems on my cell phone. Every time I would ask to be taken off the list, they would hang up on me. The telemarketers were using phantom numbers so it was impossible to track them down. So freaking annoying. They have finally stopped after calling twice a day for a few months.

[ilikedonuts]

Jul 6, 2012 12:06:52 GMT -5 salbert79 said:

I'm on this list and have had problems on my cell phone. Every time I would ask to be taken off the list, they would hang up on me. The telemarketers were using phantom numbers so it was impossible to track them down. So freaking annoying. They have finally stopped after calling twice a day for a few months.

Same here. I've been on the list for years and I still get at least one if not 2 calls a day. They will not stop calling nor does telling me to take me off their list.

[jenni232323]

Terrible. Love your handling of it.

Sometimes I answer our company main phone - most try the same tactics trying to get to someone. Many are very rude when talking to me - I have a young voice. Sometimes at the end of the call I clue them in that I'm a part owner and President of the company. Hinting that they need to be respectful of anyone that answers the phone because thru never know who it is...doubt they think about it though.

[birdmom]

Jul 6, 2012 12:36:41 GMT -5 jenni232323 said:

Terrible. Love your handling of it.

Sometimes I answer our company main phone - most try the same tactics trying to get to someone. Many are very rude when talking to me - I have a young voice. Sometimes at the end of the call I clue them in that I'm a part owner and President of the company. Hinting that they need to be respectful of anyone that answers the phone because thru never know who it is...doubt they think about it though.

This is true. There are only three people in our office, and we all answer the phone, so there is a one in three chance that they are going to speak to the owner when they call.

[MixedBerryJam]

You're all reminding me of some olden days. We had one line in the house, but for some reason we had a phone with a hold button. So whenever we'd get a call, we'd tell the caller, oh, wait, I see him just pulling into the driveway. I know he'll want to talk to you about ... whatever the person was selling. Then we'd put the call on hold, coming back just often enough that the person wouldn't hang up (oh, sorry, he's got some bundles he's bringing in ... he'll be right here ... etc.) then we'd see how long the light stayed on before they hung up. Good times, good times.

Not that I miss the pre-dnc-list days.

[Velvetshady]

When my dad lived with me during the week, we used to play with them and always say the other person was the decision-maker and they weren't home.

At the same time, AT&T kept calling my parents house and refusing to speak to my mom and would only speak to my dad (and he wasn't there during the week). They finally caught him at home on a weekday and my mom gave him the phone. He said "Before you start your spiel, let me tell you three things. First, my wife makes all business and financial decisions in our household. Second, she is a major stockholder in AT&T. And third, in 30 years plus of marriage, I've never seen her as pissed off at a company as you have made her. Now, exactly why did you need to speak to me?" They hung up and haven't called back.

[Velvetshady]

Another good one I thought of. My mom got this call from a hotel in FL one day:
Telemarketer: Hello, may I speak to Mrs Shady?
Mom: Speaking.
Telemarketer: This is Helen calling from the Dew Drop Inn in Key West, FL. I'm calling to ask some questions about your satisfaction with your recent stay here.
Mom: I don't believe I have ever stayed at the Dew Drop Inn.
Telemarketer: I have here that Mrs and Mr Shady stayed here last month.
Mom: Well, yes. My husband was there, but I've never been to Key West.
Telemarketer: ...um...oh! I'm so, so very sorry. [click]

My dad used to take his mother on a couple trips a year--just the two of them. My mom didn't think to tell the caller they had the wrong Mrs Shady.

[milkrations]

I understand you have to engage in some conversation if telemarketers call your work line - lest you offend an legitimate caller, but you don't when you're at home. The instant I figure out it's a junk call, I talk over the person, say "I'm not interested" and hang up. No conversation needed.