Telephone Rage

[holdouttrout]

So apparently the thing to do now in telemarketing is to dial many phone numbers, and then put the people who answer on electronic hold until a representative is available.

So. THEY CALL ME and then I HOLD.

I've been caught twice, but I'm onto them. Next time, I hang up.

Comments

[ultranos-fic.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah. That woke me up this morning. I was Not Pleased.

(Usually, I only get called on my phone when someone needs me to do something Right Now. So, cue bolting out of bed and diving for the phone, only to get a pre-recorded message. So Bloody Irritating.)

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry. UGH. So awful.

[annerbhp.livejournal.com]

*blink, blink*

WTF, people? It's like someone sat down and thought, "Now how can we make telemarketers even more hated? Oh, I know!"

I'm having a morning of rage myself. stabstabstabdie

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I know! I think I'm going to think of your icon when that happens again.

[http://users.livejournal.com/traycer_/]

You know, I hate it when I answer the phone and a computerized voice tells me to hold for "a VERY important message". I mean, please. The way I look at it, is that if it was really important, there would be a human making the call. *grumbles*

Just hang up and wait for that human being to call. That'll give you extra time to do the more important things you want to do.

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

I have no compunction about hanging up on people (I'd never get any work done otherwise) but I didn't know that's what this was and was just stunned by this extra layer of fail.

[silerswench.livejournal.com]

They used to phone the shop I worked at too, around the time all the senior staff go off to do orders. Five times in one afternoon!

[abyssinia4077.livejournal.com]

This is new in your area? I've been getting telemarketing like that for like ten years.

My rule of thumb is if I get no response after about 3 seconds post-"hello" I hang up.

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Well, the waiting on actual hold is. I've gotten the pre-recorded messages, and the dialing several numbers and whoever picks up first loses calls (with the three-second bonus wait), but not this new variety. "We'll let you speak to an actual person in a minute, we promise!"

[abyssinia4077.livejournal.com]

Ah, yeah, I've had that before too, but it is a more recent development.

(my favorite will always be the people who ask if my mom/dad is home (because I still sound like I am approximately 12 on the phone) because, well, I don't know since they live 1000 miles away but I call them and ask if they'd like. Also the saleslady who called me on a Saturday while I was living in government housing to try to sell me more siding and it took me 10 minutes to convince her that 1) I was over 18 2) I lived in government housing and couldn't purchase siding to it even if I wanted to 3) no, I wasn't going to call my boss, the housing manager, on a Saturday to see if he wanted to purchase new siding 4) the government was pretty much letting these houses go until they fell down, so the odds of new siding were, well the odds of a snowball's chance in hell anyway. It was partly annoying, but also about the most entertaining 10 minutes of my weekend)

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Ha ha ha. Oh, salespeople. I really only get these calls at work, so sadly I can't do TOO much to them, and usually I feel bad for them, anyway. They have to try to get people to buy things over the phone. *shudders*

[ziparumpazoo]

We got sick of those calls and built our own PBX/voicemail system for the house (instructions here).

Now if somebody calls who is not on the calling list, they get routed through to the following message: 'All members of the household are busy assisting other telemarketers. Please stay on the line and your call will answered shortly.', followed by the tone that tells computerized dialers that the number isn't in service. I love it. It takes care of the live telemarketers, and the not-so-live ones, and real people who do accidentally get routed through here ask us to set them up with the same service.

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Nice! I should totally do that.

[pepper-field.livejournal.com]

Yes, that sucks. I now hang up if there's more than a second or two of silence - which will suck for anyone real who phones me and then gets, I dunno, unexpectedly held at gunpoint or something. :)

I recommend this comedy sketch as an antidote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsYoeoEE3ww

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Ah hah hah! That skit is awesome.

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Oh, and *makes note not to get unexpectedly held at gunpoint while on phone to Pepper*

[pepper-field.livejournal.com]

*snort*

[ivylore.livejournal.com]

If I don't hear a voice right away, I hang up. I have zero patience (or less).

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Yeah. That would work at home, but not so much at work where there are elderly people who call in and sometimes don't respond right away.

[binkii822.livejournal.com]

I just only answer if I know the number. I figure anyone else I need to talk to will leave a message.

Your icon is made of serious win!

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Yeah. That would work at home, but not so much at work. And thank you!

[binkii822.livejournal.com]

See, being a teacher, work phone calls such as that didn't even occur to me! *grin* I can totally see where you could not apply the same logic there!

[stargazercmc.livejournal.com]

Ever heard of Tom Mabe? He's my telemarketing hero.

Ack, OK. Here's the link.

Edited for HTML fail.

[shutthef-up.livejournal.com]

HAHAHAHA!

I should tell you that I went to high school in Littleton, Colorado and my parents lived there for years!

I think that is absolutely hysterical! I need to send this link to my dad and prays he doesn't have a stroke from laughing so hard.

[stargazercmc.livejournal.com]

You should check out his other stuff, too. There's one where a dude calls trying to sell a funeral package and Tom Mabe pretends to be someone who was contemplating suicide and decides the call was a sign from God that he go ahead and do it. The telemarketer freaks at first, but by the end of the call, he's actually TRYING TO MAKE THE SALE. It's unreal.

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Oh my goodness. Hah hah hah! Oh, I hope he didn't get in trouble for impersonating a police officer. *grins* He has the perfect voice to pull that off, too.