Hello, hello? Turning the tables on telemarketers

Sadly, not all telemarketers are like this, but people treat them all the same. I am not denying that there are callers who are high pressure and will keep pushing until you answer what they want, but guess what? It's just a job. These people are just doing what they are paid to do. It is highly likely that they don't like doing it either, but it is what they are paid to do so they do it.

You don't have to be mean to the person. Be polite. Tell them you are not interested. If they are from a low pressure call center they will thank you for your time and end the call. If they persist, ask them politely to take you off their calling list. Every call center has their own Do-Not-Call list which you can be put on so they won't call you anymore. If they refuse to do that, you can ask to speak to a supervisor.

Hanging up on them will not help. They will call you back. Be polite and understanding that they are just doing their job and you and they will be a whole lot happier. Can you imagine if you were them and you were constantly being hung up on, sworn at, yelled at? You wouldn't be to happy either!

Always check your caller I.D. then let your answer machine do the rest, they seldom leave a message and will soon give up. 'DO NOT PICK UP THE PHONE.

HAVE A GREAT DAY

I used to be a csr (customer service rerresentive) and i have a few tips on how to handle telemarketing calls (including collection agencies)
First please be polite most people who work for outbound call centres are nto bad people they just have a crappy job (I used to do it)
Second ask what telemarketing company they work for. If they are located with Canda or the U.S. they are REQUIRED to tell you by law, after they tell you what call centre they work for ask to be put on that do not call list. If you just say remove me from your calling list without telling them you want to be on the companys do not call list all they do is remove you for that campaign's calling list and can call you again after they start a new campaign (average 8 weeks).
Third if they are asking for you by name for example May i please speak to so and so tell them they do not live there and they have the wrong number, also make sure you tell them you just got this number a few days ago so it looks like they have not gotten a updated call list yet and they will remove you from their calling liist.
Have a good one and hope this helps to quiet your phone down a bit.

Just hang up or better yet just put the phone down when they start their speel. The most effective way is to cancel the home phone and just use your cell phone.

Telemarketers are not any different than any other sales person. The zapper that is used is very dangerous depending on the type. I had someone zap a call that I was on and it was extremely painful and I very nearly fainted from the harsh sound. Telemarketers are people who do a job, probably not a glorified one but it pays the bills and that is what most people are trying to do. You need to ask to be taken off ALL lists otherwise you will only be taken off the list of the campaign that a telemarketer is calling on at that time.

I wish people would stop complaining about everything nowadays. If you are not interested, just tell the person calling that you are not interested - it doesn't cost a red cent to be polite. And it might just be 10 seconds out of your day.

Just don't answer. I agree, these people are just doing their job, and it's not a great one. Give'em a break. Just be polite and say "no thanks". Period. End of story. No need to be a complete arse over this. They likely have this job because there are no others out there in this overtaxed province of ON.

it's a job that pays the bills....so does sitting outside of the 7-11 asking for change.. both are equally unwanted.

A key point, as has been touched on, is to be polite to the telemarketer. Keep in mind they are just people who are doing an extremely tough job, and how would you like to be repeatedly hung up on or yelled at for 8 hours a day 7 days per week? More to the point, however, and this is directed at people who may get some perverse enjoyment from "harassing" telemarketers, you have NO idea what information the telemarketer may have at their fingertips. Some may have next to nothing, others may have your name, phone number, home address, or even more sensitive info.

It's not the person at the other end, it's the computer system I object to. If I don't hear an answer after I have spoken, I wait no longer than 1 second and continue with " thank you for calling, for service en Francais, pressez numero deux." If it's a genuine call you may have a laugh as you hear the tone for 1 or 2. Otherwise the 'puter will hang up.

Am I the only one here getting calls from all over BUT in Canada? Just as our airlines and travel agencies are "supplied" by phone agents from India to Cairo for reservations, info , etc.. so are the telemarketers. And especially the "pushy" ones. They give you names like Jimmy Jones or Harold Smith, but can barely speak English in many (most?) cases!!! I hang up on them in 3 seconds - I answer, I talk, if no reply in 2-3 secs, I hang up immediately. This may be some poor individual doing this for a mere pittance as their job, but in my experience, the VAST majority are NOT Canadians on the other end of the line. Move to India or Cairo and buy 20 magic-jacks and start your own telemarketing firm.....

People are usually not polite because the calls always occur at bad times. They never call when you need to get rid of guests at your house or when you're just staring at the wall. If they called me now on my cell phone, I'd be incredibly polite. I'm waiting for a flight at the airport and I'll probably keep THEM on the phone asking them more questions about their product (and then not buy, obviously, because no one in their right minds buys from a cold call). Instead of doing that, they call you in the middle of dinner, while you're watching a good show on TV or while you're in the shower. So, you get to the phone thinking it's someone important and it ends up being some clown asking you to switch long-distance carriers. That's what makes people snap.

The solution, I believe, is to be sure that NO ONE EVER buys anything that is offered over the phone. Companies will eventually realize that it's a bad as door-to-door sales and will stop investing in it.

As for giving them a break because it's their job, I believe it's not an excuse. If someone was paid to spit on people as they walk by them, I wouldn't be very understanding either. If you know that you're annoying people, you should be apologetic about it. If someone says "no", don't object, apologize for disturbing them, thank them for their time and hang up.

Putting your name on the "do not call" list is a joke. I did it 2 years ago. They still get thru. Some as late as 11pm!! I work; don't need that sh*t. Elderly people; my folks included; are forever taken advanatage of by these insane telemarketers. How many "real" people actually respond to these idiot calls? Not everyone can afford visual phones, call display, etc. Why do we have to put up with the harassment by this? It could also be a ploy to see if anyone is at home. Then they break into your home. Telemarketers should be outlawed by the government. Let's do away with this particular job class. It is usually manned by foreigners cutting their teeth on the English language, anyway.

I say ditch the phone all together.

Ok, so it's not very nice, but I've had a lot of years to get creative with my techniques. But when they call me now, I just start to cry, yes I'm one of those lucky people that can cry on demand, and then I tell them that Mom and Dad won't be coming home anymore, that they didn't survive the car accident yesterday, and then offer to let them know the information on the funeral...they normally finish up with I'm so sorry and hang up on me not knowing what else to say.
I've got a couple of others - but that has always been the most effective, because they never come back with the even more disgraceful line of "well is the head of the household in?"
Now don't get me wrong, I grew up in a small town and held down a telemarketing position for two summers, it wasn't great, I got a lot of mad people yelling at me, I never yell at them, and honestly I give them a story to tell on their break. They should be paying me.

Where do I get a zapper!!!! I registered all of my telephone numbers on the bloody Do Not Call List, and my calls actually INCREASED!!!! I even started getting marketing calls on my cellphones (whole family under my account), which are numbers that I don't give out to companies! I know that the people who work in telemarketing are desperate for money, so they're doing a job that they probably hate, and getting S&A for it to boot. I feel sorry for them, but the companies that employ them are scum. The zapper is the perfect solution - it saves the repeated calls over and over again when you don't pick-up the phone - which is even more annoying than them calling in the first place! If I haven't picked up the phone the first time, I'm going to be f'ing furious by the 10th time they've tried my number. Especially since we have senquential numbers, so they ring one, then the other, then the other!!!

I just use my caller ID all the time and don't answer calls from all the 800 and other numbers starting with 8 if its legit they will leave a message.

I have asked about 30 times politely for U.S. Online America to stop calling and to take my number off their list. The last telemarketer laughed and said she could call and will call as many times as she wanted in a very rude tone. Telemarketing should not be allowed, it's like someone entering your house when told they're treaspassing, it's a total invasion of privacy. Please tell us where to get zapper, it's a great Christmas present for everyone being harrassed. People, get a real job, don't resort to telemarketing. Like the saying goes, don't call us, we'll call you!

Everyone has a job to do. Just don't butcher my name.

If the job requires harrassing others look for another job or go deaf by our zappers.