Telemarketer's
Oct 12, 2002 at 2:04 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 23

Matthew-Spaltro

1000+ M-m-er:Larthenon Marthenon.
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Here is the deal. I get a call from one at 9 pm tonight. It was a credit card offer. But instead of just going into his sales speel he starts asking me questions about my credit that there is no way of me knowing unless I had my whole credit history in front of me. So I tell him that I am not interested and this is were the fun begins. His hole tone begins to change into a annoying annoyed voice lol and calls me Mr Splatro. Then he starts from the beginning again like maybe somehow I would change my mind if he just kept on talking. Finally I just gave up and I hung up on him.

The irony of the story is that I was actually waiting for a telemarketer to call me because I need another credit card because of head-fi
tongue.gif
so he completely failed to do his job of selling me the credit card. Total failure of his goal. He sucked so much the backward happened. Total moron.
 
Oct 12, 2002 at 4:58 AM Post #3 of 23
Matt
You should never give any of your credit related information to someone over the phone unless you initiated the call. There are a LOT of scams out there.
 
Oct 12, 2002 at 6:23 AM Post #4 of 23
Make that, you should not give out any of your PERSONAL information unless you initiate the call (or can verify who's on the other end of the line).
 
Oct 12, 2002 at 7:31 AM Post #5 of 23
(picks up the phone)

Anonymous voice: "Hello.... Mister Suh-hell?"

I reply: "Actually, it's Scheckle"

(it is neither)

Anon: "Sorry. Mister Scheckle. How are you doing today, Mister Scheckle?"

"Very, very orange."

Anon: "Very orange?"

"Yes, positively. George just ran off with the paint can."

Anon: ".........."

"So what did I do about it? I sure as heck didn't go chasing after him without any clothes on... so I ran to the window and shouted that he was the worst artist I had ever slept with. I hope the whole neighborhood recognizes him from now on as a lousy lay. What a putz!"

Anon: ".........."

"Hang on a second, I need to clean up."

(turns on the faucet, leaves phone nearby until he hangs up)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(picks up the phone)

Anonymous voice: "Hello.... Mister Schnell"

"Actually, it's Bartonmelon. I got married and took her name. Is that some silly ******** or am I double-barrel pissing on the cat? Heh heh heh."

Anon: ".....y-yes I guess so, heh heh. Anyway, I'm calling because the Texas State Troopers Annual Basketball Cotillion is about to kick off. We want to take some underpriviliged kids to a basketball game and show them a good time. It's a great program that helps these kids see a brighter tomorrow. CAN WE COUNT ON *YOU* FOR THAT?"

(LONG silence)

".........sir?"

Anon: "Yes?"

".........my brother was KILLED by a FLYING BASKETBALL! HE WAS SITTING RIGHT UP FRONT AND TURNED HIS HEAD TO GET SOME POPCORN AND THE DAMN BALL HIT HIM RIGHT IN HIS HEADGEAR AND DROVE IT THROUGH HIS NECK! GAAAARRRRRGGGHHHHH!!!!"

(slams the phone down)

I love it when telemarketers call. So many different ways to be creative...
 
Oct 12, 2002 at 5:50 PM Post #6 of 23
Anyone here have a Tele-zapper? If so, can you post about it? Does it just pick up all your calls and play that silly BEEP and then simulate a ring tone for the rest of your home's phones? I was thinking that I would like to pick up the phone and give it my best computerized-but-vocal "BOOOOOOP!" to see if I could trick those computers into hanging up on me.
 
Oct 12, 2002 at 6:11 PM Post #7 of 23
I used to know a pre-pubescent kid with such a high screechy voice that we got him to connect at 300 baud. I imagine with enough practice he could have grown up to be a major hacker if technology hadn't progressed.

These telezappers have been mentioned on CNN.com a few times and I'm curious, too. It seems to me that if they catch on in popularity at all that the telemarketers will adjust for them so that the calls still come through. Of course, for the telezapper makers this is good news--a great excuse to sell the Telezapper II.

Cablebox makers and radar scanner manufacturers are kind of on the same business model. The difference, of course, is that you're not trying to break the law here--you're just trying to eat your dinner without someone disrupting your private time. You'd think we'd not have to pay to get that. Personally, I don't answer the phone. Leave a message and make it good. If I like your headline, I'll call you back when I feel like it.
 
Oct 12, 2002 at 6:15 PM Post #8 of 23
My local phone service (and I'm sure many others) offers a service called Privacy Guard. Basically, if the call comes in without Caller ID data, you have to approve the call first. If the caller gets the Privacy Guard message and decides to hang up, knowing that I'll reject them, my phone never rings.

I kid you not, it has almost completely eliminated telemarketer calls.
 
Oct 12, 2002 at 11:51 PM Post #10 of 23
Nice cartoon.

Privacy guard, eh? Yeah, that's kinda like having a receptionist or gatekeeper screen all incoming calls. When it asks me who I am when I call Jude's house, I talk like Barry White in an Arby's commercial and its weird how quickly he reacts.
 
Oct 12, 2002 at 11:58 PM Post #11 of 23
LMAO!
I let all my friends know to let the phone ring...and ring...and ring..
I never pick up unless it rings more than six times.
md
 
Oct 13, 2002 at 2:22 AM Post #12 of 23
I think one of the best ways to cut down the telemarketing calls is to register at the Direct Marketing Associations opt-out list. It is not legally binding for all firms, it has lots of loop holes but it really reduced the telemarketing calls I receive to close to zero. Signing up via mail is free, online it will cost you money.

http://www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offtelephonedave

For more info click here

PS: I am in no way associated with them. I had good luck with them, YMMV, as always, it just seems it is one of the few ways to get at least some reduction of this problem.
 
Oct 13, 2002 at 5:03 AM Post #13 of 23
Kansas lets you sign up for a list that gets you off the telemarketers list. They can't legally call you any more.
 
Oct 13, 2002 at 5:12 AM Post #14 of 23
I don't like the idea of opt-out lists. Giving another party your real information to get people to stop calling you seems unwise to me. Probably just the paranoia acting up again. I should take something and lay down.
 
Oct 13, 2002 at 5:17 AM Post #15 of 23
The answering machine is your friend. Anybody that I might want to talk to over the phone knows to leave a message, and if I'm home and recognize who it is, I'll pick up.
 

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