Dyersburg State Gazette

Score one for the phone company

Posted Tuesday, March 4, 2008, at 1:10 PM
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I thought I had this situation in hand…I had signed up for the do-not-call list several months ago…I was tired of being interrupted during the dinner hour or on Saturday afternoons during a great game on television by someone either trying to sell me something or trying to promote their cause, whatever it may be..

And, in saying that, let me add that I respect the job that these people do..they are only trying to make a living just like the rest of us…and part of my job is selling so I respect that too…but I try to pick and choose my times to sell our product..

Now, to the rest of the story..I guess the do-not-call does not apply to everyone. Normally if a number looks like someone that is tele-marketing, I just ignore it…But a couple of weeks ago, I answered without looking….this man said he was taking a political survey and did I have a few minutes to answer a few questions…I said no..I don't do surveys…

Another number had been showing up with regularity over the past month…two, three maybe four times a day (mostly during the daytime) it has shown up on my phone…Finally last Saturday, as I was trying to enjoy a day off after a hectic, busy week, the phone rang and it was this same number…I thought to myself that I would answer it and maybe they wouldn't call again….it was the phone company…

When I verified that yes, it was me talking to them, the lady began her pitch…"since you are such a valued customer, we are going to offer you ….." Honestly she was talking so fast I only heard about every fifth word….Finally I heard her say..this will mean a savings to you of (so many dollars per month on my phone bill)..I stopped her and asked "you mean you are saving me money??) He reply was yes, and again she repeated the amount….I said to her…but you told me you were consolidating my caller ID charges with my local calling and you took off my international charges, because I don't make any international phone calls and all of that adds up to more than you are saving me….she then explained…again I heard about one word out of 5..

I tried to be strong…I don't like agreeing to anything by phone without seeing it in writing first…but she kept telling me that she was saving me money and my bill would be lower starting sometime in March…finally to get her off the phone (after all it was Saturday for crying out loud)…and because I was saving a few bucks each month on my phone bill (maybe I can use my savings to buy gas)…I gave in….Ok I said…Ok..she thanked me and said if I had any questions to call some toll free number….

I hung up and I was mad at myself…I had gone against everything I believe in…in the first place, I had answered the call, because I was tired of this same number showing up….and second I had agreed to something over the phone that I had not read first…I had placed my faith and trust in a voice…

Do-not-call list…h-m-m-m- it apparently doesn't apply to everyone…but the rest better take note…the phone lady won…..now I really have my guard up…

Comments
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I get calls which open with "This is not a telemarketing call" then they proceed into their pitch...... I tell them to get a real job and quit bugging people............

-- Posted by muscadine on Wed, Mar 5, 2008, at 12:07 AM

Why do you even have a landline anymore? i have only had cable interent and a cell phone for years. AT&T is a dying company dude, get rid of them. unless you are a fireman, emt, or some other emergency service particepant, then you do not need a land line. ironically, even if you dont subscribe to landline service, if you have a phone plugged into the line, you can still dial 911. its the only number you CAN dial, but its the only number you NEED to dial if you use a cell phone and have cable internet.

-- Posted by jonboon on Thu, Mar 6, 2008, at 5:30 AM

I'm one of the few people in the world who actually enjoys getting calls from telemarketers. It's too bad I don't get that many calls from them anymore. I just try to keep them on the phone as long as possible. Normally when they call I try to get them to talk about something they don't want to talk about. The weather, politics, Aristotelian ethics, etc are all great topics to discuss with telemarketers. Or if I'm close to my computer I'll play clips of a Family Guy soundboard.

-- Posted by Nathaniel on Fri, Mar 7, 2008, at 2:35 PM

Try this tell them you are glad they called because you are selling (?) and havent had much luck lately. Tell them they will be saving $ by purchasing your product and give good reasons why Make your product sound better than theirs. Personally I try to sell them computers, No luck as yet.

-- Posted by beat_the _system on Thu, Mar 13, 2008, at 1:37 AM

It's funny, I don't answer any calls that remotely look like they may be telemarketers. When I do see one that calls 3-4 times daily, I will answer the phone in spanish, this seems to startle them and they hang-up, this worked pretty good until one actually started to converse with me in spanish, my spanish is ok but not that good, I promptly said thank you in spanish and hung-up.The Jerry Seinfield approach works too, I ask if I can have their number and call them back at their dinnertime or whatever, they also say no and I say well, don't call me during my inconvenient time.I understand they have a job to do, but there are some that are downright rude and their job is to get you confused where you just give-in. Don't Give In!!!!

-- Posted by titans2 on Thu, Mar 20, 2008, at 9:17 AM

To jonboon: How could a company that you say is "dying" have over 100 million customers...that doesn't make sense.

-- Posted by jibbajabba on Thu, Mar 27, 2008, at 9:16 PM

To address the article itself, why in the world do people answer unknown numbers? Screen your calls ... if it is important, they will leave a voicemail. Ignore them or hang up on them - you're in control. Also, cellphones are about to be wide open to telemarketers as well. Again, answer numbers you know, let others leave voicemail, or just don't call people back.

-- Posted by jibbajabba on Thu, Mar 27, 2008, at 9:20 PM

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