Stop. Calling. Me! (advice needed)

[rerant]

I don't know HOW these people got my number (especially since our home phone line is in my mom's name, we're unlisted, and I'm in a different country) but I constantly get calls from AOL telling me I signed up for a home-based business selling Direct TV and something else that is totally useless to Canadians.

The first time they called - which was several months ago - I politely told them I had no idea what they were calling about, that I wasn't interested, and to please remove me from their call list.

For the sake of readability I'll simply just mention the fact that for months I've been receiving calls roughly once a week, and often times more than that.

Every time I tell them I'm not interested, and remind them that I've asked to be removed from their call list.

Terrified of SC-dom, I've often been reluctant to ask for a supervisor, but one day I did and was assured I would get no more calls.
Well that was a big load of crap.

I always want to just set the phone down and leave it until they hang up, but they always catch me off guard when they call and I've never been able to pull that age-old move.

Yesterday a nice young rep called and I repeated the same spiel, and was again assured I would get no more calls.

And here we are today. I just got off the phone with them. AGAIN!
And was assured I would be removed from the call list. AGAIN!

This has gone on for about five months and apparently nothing I say to them hammers the idea through that I am not interested!

I don't like being mean, especially to someone who is just doing what is asked of them, so I don't want to start screaming about legal action, but I've asked for a supervisor and have repeatedly (every call, to be exact) asked to be removed from their call list and yet their calls are unrelenting.

What the hell do I do here? Should I just put up with their annoyance and let them keep calling me?
Do I dare become the person I hate and threaten (an empty threat, but a threat nonetheless) legal action?
Should I ask for a supervisor again, and explain again that I've asked them dozens of times to stop calling me?

Nothing seems to have worked, so for those of you who do, or have, worked in call centres of this nature how would you, as a CSR, handle this situation?
Better yet, how would you ideally hope that a "customer" (even though I'm not one) address this situation to you?

Someone toss me some ideas here, because I'm at a loss when it comes to getting these people off my back.

[Gurndigarn]

Here are some possibilities:

Get a whoopie cushion. As they start their spiel, put the phone next to the cushion, and compress it. Apologize. Quietly (if possible) inflate the cusion. Repeat.

Tell them that they need to send you some brochures about the job. Toss brochures in the trash. Complain that you need brochures the next time they call you.

Say "Oh, that was my brother who signed me up. He's the one interested in the job. He just put down my name 'cause he's in prison. But he'll be out soon."

I know, all vaguely sucky (except the second, which may end up with other problems for you down the road). But still...

[marasbaras]

What you need to understand is that CSRs, unfortunately, are agents of the company that is harrassing you. If they will not remove you from the list, you are perfectly within the bounds of non-SC-dom to start mistreating them after FIVE MONTHS of this.

With EVERY call, ask for a supervisor. Then, tell the supervisor "because the last two of you were so ineffectual, I want to talk to YOUR supervisor". If they won't give you one, start saying something to the effect of "then take me off of your motherfucking list you disease ridden whore."

They'll give you some crap about how you can't treat them like that. You just say "your company has called me weekly for the past five months, I've been polite and asked to be removed every time. I've been promised to be removed every time. You still call. I'll treat you however the fuck I want you piece of shit."

... then ... "now let me talk to your manager or I guarantee you that I'll start making your agents quit and cry with the way I swear and at and tear into them every time you call me in the future. I'm sick and tired of how you treat me and so I'm going to vent all of my angst upon your bitch ass and the scum you employ until the calls stop."

If you're like me, you'll enjoy doing this. I have a sadistic streak.

From a pragmatic point of view, sometimes you have to get angry to get people to pay attention. Clearly being nice isn't working. Lay into them. Make them uncomfortable. When they say "you can't treat me like that" say "oh yes I can you <fill in the filthiest thing you can think of>".

You did the right thing. You've politely asked to be removed. Obviously more than just a few times. That's all one should have to do.

Clearly the call center in question doesn't care about you. They keep calling ... for months. So, make it too painful for them to call you.

[Evil Queen]

Someone toss me some ideas here, because I'm at a loss when it comes to getting these people off my back.

We can do it in america, I wonder if you can do it in Canada; call up your phone company and see if they can block the calls from AOL. There is more then likely a charge for it (there's a charge for everything) but it would be well worth your time and sanity.

If all else fails; transfer the call to my house and I'll threaten to sue the pants off them! MWAHAHAHAHAH!

Seriously, though. I've been getting the same thing from Visa for three years now and I told them if I get a call from them again I'll be taking some legal action.

Good luck!

[Blueberry]

We used to get these calls ALL THE TIME!
One called every hour, on the hour, trying to sell more insurance on one of my credit cards.
I found pretending not to speak English really really really helps. Really. Works very well if you speak another language. And my husband can fake a pretty heavy Asian accent and will just say 'HELLLLOOO THIS IS TONGA!! NO ENGLISH! HELLO THIS IS TONGA!! NO ENGLISH' repeatedly. Mean, but it works.
Also, I sometimes would say I already had that service, or I had already bought whatever they were selling.

[rerant]

Also, I sometimes would say I already had that service, or I had already bought whatever they were selling.

I should find out who their competition is and say I'm now working with them instead.

However there is not a doubt in my mind that that will come back to bite me in the ass with a long scripted speech about their business opportunities.

One of these days I'm just going to rip my phone out of the wall and mail it to them with a note that reads, "SEE WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!?"

[Andara Bledin]

I suspect you can file a harassment claim with your phone service and eventually get their entire call bank blocked.

You might even be able to sue them and get money from it, but you'd have to check your local laws regarding international calls for that.

Either way, call up your phone company and ask them what they can do to help you short of changing your number. And if they don't have anything, then consider changing your number.

^-.-^

[marasbaras]

Really ... trust me ... lashing out harshly gets their attention.

[Dave0523]

Another thing you might try is, instead of asking to be taken off the list, ask to be placed on their "Do Not Call" list. Some companies, if you do the first, simply take you off the current call list, and when they get a new list, you are still listed. However, if you are on the Do Not Call list, they are not supposed to call you (at least here in the States).

--Dave

[Kogarashi]

I agree with Dave there. Some companies get really picky with how you request not to be called.

The call center I briefly worked for preferred callees to say "not interested" instead of "Do Not Call." "Not interested" got them removed from the list completely, but "Do Not Call" involved extra paperwork and the like to make sure they were never ever ever ever ever called again.

I've heard other telemarketers say that if you don't say something close to "Do Not Call," you'll just get tossed back into the calling pool. Same goes if you're rude without asking to be removed from the list. They'll toss you back in just to get back at you (and since you didn't ask not to be called, it's legit).

I wouldn't resort to violence on the low-level reps'. Regardless of how often the company has called you, it smacks of SCism to me since those low-level reps aren't really in control of whether or not you're called. Getting righteously angry at the supervisors, on the other hand, sounds more justifiable.

If you can find out who Corporate for the company is, take it to that level if you must. But if it's really AOL, good luck. I've heard horror stories.

[Dorath]

A friend of mine liked having telemarketers call. He was a consultant for a sales firm so after the opening pitch he'd ask for the company name to know who to bill for his advice.

[Ree]

Canada is working on a "Do Not Call" registry, but it supposedly will not be available until later this year.

This might be worth a try, but it only works if the company is a member to begin with.
http://www.the-cma.org/?WCE=C=47|K=224217

[Heksubah]

What you need to understand is that CSRs, unfortunately, are agents of the company that is harrassing you. [Cut for length, etc , etc, etc...] Clearly the call center in question doesn't care about you. They keep calling ... for months. So, make it too painful for them to call you.

I completely disagree with this. I have worked as a telemarketer in the past (hated it, but that is a whole other rant) and I have worked at many call centers and other jobs. The CSR is an agent of the company, but there is a VERY HIGH likelihood that they weren't the person that called you in the past and that they know nothing about any of the previous calls. Many times they are working on a system that just autodials a number and puts them on the call with no notes, simply a script and options to proceed based on the customer's response.

It is exceedingly rude, and very ineffectual, to treat a random CSR as if they are the accumulation of all the other people that have called in the past. It is not their fault. This would be akin to being upset at a company because the last three cashiers who rang you up were rude so you go to the fourth and automatically start cussing at them and treating them as if they were rude because they are an 'agent of the company.' That doesn't even give them the chance to be polite, or to help you, it just puts you on the wrong foot, ruins everyone's day, and won't help to solve the problem at all.

Now, obviously, this doesn't mean that the original poster should just sit back and let the company continue the harassment. I would think that a supervisor should be contacted again, the situation explained as it was in the above post, and perhaps asking them what can be done to remedy the problem might be of benefit. Explain that it is getting to the point that legal action has been considered because nothing has been done to stop the flow of calls despite repeatedly asking to be put on the do not call list. Unless this supervisor is a complete jerk they deserve some respect. It wasn't their personal decision to see the poster harrassed, or to not stop the influx of calls.

[marasbaras]

That's really nice in theory. I, too, have been the victim of such systems. I tried being nice to the CSRs. I tried being nice to the supervisors. Nothing worked for me until I just laid into all of them.

The CSR (yes, they ARE representing the company in question) is calling me at a meal time. Not my fault that:

1. The CSR has the job in the first place.
2. The CSR's co-workers can't or won't put someone on a Do Not Call list.
3. The CSR's supervisors can't or won't put someone on a Do Not Call list.

When being repeatedly polite doesn't work with an organization, ruining peoples' days seems to be a good Plan B. It gets their attention. And, since people don't like pain, they try to make you go away completely. With telemarketers, this is ideal.

If this company is calling the OP like this repeatedly, you KNOW that they're doing it to other people. It should come as no suprise to every single supervisor there. So, please explain to me why he should show any of the supervisors any degree of respect.

This would be akin to being upset at a company because the last three cashiers who rang you up were rude so you go to the fourth and automatically start cussing at them and treating them as if they were rude because they are an 'agent of the company.'

So very, very wrong. I've never had a rude cashier come to my house while I'm trying to eat dinner. Telemarketers do. They are a different breed. They intrude upon your life trying to sell things. So, they should be extra careful to respect YOU, the person they called, because they are the intruder.

One request to one supervisor to get on a Do Not Call list is all it should ever take. Sure, remain polite. But, after five months ... nobody at that organization deserves any degree of respect. "Just doing my job" is no excuse for that level of apathy.

[digilight]

Do you have caller ID. Does it make it easy for you to tell who these calls are coming from. If so have some fun. I would do the following with it.

Telemarketer(TM) Hello is Rerant available.
You: No I'm sorry, she died this morning (cue fake tears and shit)
TM: Oh errr my uhh I'm so sorry.
You: Thank you, its so hard coming to grips with this, blah blah blah, guilt trip and more tears
TM: we will go ahead and remove her from our list.

Enter peaceful bliss.