A typical day for a telemarketer

[blas]

I vividly remember listening to that very segment on the Bob and Tom show. I remember almost getting into an accident and looking like a moron behind the wheel with tears in my eyes and slapping the steering wheel and shaking from laughing so hard.

[Rahmota]

AAARRRRGGGH! All telemarketing should be made illegal and punishable by being hung by your toes over a pit of ill tempered sea bass! If I want you're companies products I will find you and get it myself. I dont need to be bothered, harassed, or otherwise disturbed by your stupid commercials on MY OWN phone!

I am glad the do not call list came out that has managed to cut out 90% of the calls to my house the rest of it is due to the way I deal with it. If its not a human it gets hung up no matter what the stupid computer says. If its a human then they get the following script "In accordance with local, state, and federal laws this number is participating in the do not call list which your company has violated. Please remove my number from your lists and refrain from calling again." My phone is there for my convenience not the companies.

[ditchdj]

On that note I notice that the neighborhood paperboy has trouble reading the "No Soliciting" sign on my front door. He still makes his rounds every eight weeks or so offering me a free paper and a subscription.

[Rapscallion]

AAARRRRGGGH! All telemarketing should be made illegal and punishable by being hung by your toes over a pit of ill tempered sea bass!

Easy there, Tiger!

Some of our members have worked as telemarketers, and I suspect some still do (I can't think of any names offhand). Every telesales person I've spoken to has not wanted to do the job, except out of need. Let's not attack fellow members, eh?

Rapscallion

[Shironu-Akaineko]

Me I get the telemarketers I can't understand poop. They speak french but their accent are so thick you can't cut through with a ginsu knife.

I will tough out surveys (Those are delivered by unnaccented french people), but the ones that try to sell me new credit cards gets on my nerves. Now I understand they have to, it's their job, but
A) Get my name right. I'm not Sayrynne Go Tire, okay? My mom's not called Frank Côté either.
B) There is accent, and then there is ACCENT. Speak french, speak english, speak klingon, but not all 3 at the same time while gargling battery acid throught Botoxed lips. Take a hint from SurveyMan.

My trick is if they insist reading their dainty lil shit I mean, sheet of pre-written text in garblenese, I'll fake broken phone. I'll talk then suddenly stop and go Hello? Hello? Hello? Aw, darn it, the phone's broken again! *click*

That's also how I deal with irate customers on the phone at work. You wanna yell? Dun do it in my eardrum.

[karma_gypsy]

So it's not really our fault, it's just the law makes us do that. Either that or we'll be fired.

Oh gee, I didn't know that. When I get a machine, I always hang up on it pronto (we get the machine occasionally where I work as well). I always try and be nice to the telemarketer person and wait until they hang up first (after saying "no" umpteen times), but sometimes it just doesn't work . . .

[Rahmota]

Sorry raps not trying to attack any of the posters or their jobs. I know how it can be to do things you dont like to earn a living. Needs must as the devil drives and all that.

Just fed up and grumpy about the whole concept/industry of telemarketing in general.

Sorry if anyone took it personally.

[BlaqueKatt]

I've never yelled at a telemarketer, but I hang up as soon as they call me.

and that puts your number right back into the auto dialer-let them know it's a cell phone before you hang up, or you will be called back-repeatedly.


Husband used to be an inbound telemarketer for home loans

[starla671]

You have my deepest sympathy! I did telemarketing for AT&T years ago when I was pregnant, and I got yelled at, cursed out, basically treated like garbage. There were many times that I sat at my cubicle crying!

[Kiwi]

Haha I once kept a telemarketer on the phone for an hour... not realising it was a sales pitch

I was new to Canada and got a call telling me Id won a trip to florida (YIPPEE!!!) for me and my boyfriend blah blah blah. I got all excited and started screaming and being like omgomgomgomgomg!!!!!

Then she started in on the "terms and conditions" and I found out I would have to attend a seminar... and pay $400 in 'service fees and taxes' per person and which credit card did I want to put that on. WAIIIIIIT a minute... I didnt have $400 per person to spend on a holiday I didnt win... how did that work!?!?!?!

At this point I stupidly didnt realise it was a scam... and was sitting there so confused and disheartened, the woman kept talking and talking and lowering the amount I would need to pay etc.... trying to coax me into thinking I had still "won" this trip...

Then she mentioned that airfares werent included my heart kind of stopped.... and at that moment K *my boyfriend* walked in the door... I explained it to him and he snatches the phone from me and hangs up...

I always felt bad for the woman on the other end... she must have thought she was so close to a sale!

[MadMike]

In our call center there's sort of a three strike rule. In other words, if the customer says their not interested, we are REQUIRED(by Federal law) to make another attempt(called a rebuttal).

Really?

I don't claim to be an expert on telemarketing, although I did follow the whole concept for awhile. Am I reading this right, that federal law actually requires a rebuttal? That's it's actually illegal for a telemarketer to follow the idea of "No means no?"

Back when I was still following this issue, I'm pretty sure I came across something that said that in some states, a rebuttal is actually illegal. But you're saying that federal law requires it? I think that would invalidate the state laws that make it illegal, since federal laws supercede state and local laws.

Could you do me a big favor, and post a link to the federal law that you speak of? I'd be interested in reading it.


EDIT: I anticipated you asking me to cite the state laws I mentioned, and I found these examples on Google:

http://www.epic.org/privacy/telemarketing/

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/36248.html

http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/950184

http://www.lfirm.com/CM/MarketingLaw...keting-Law.asp


I actually found several thousand results, but I figure there wasn't a point in posting them all.

[NightAngel]

In other words, if the customer says their not interested, we are REQUIRED(by Federal law) to make another attempt(called a rebuttal).

Please cite this Federal Law for me and I'll need a source to verify.

I've been reading the Federal Laws on telemarketing as set forth by the Federal Trade Commission and their law seems to be the exact opposite.
http://www.ftc.gov

[BlackCat]

I've actually had quite a few good/amusing experiences with telemarketers lately. I've been rather unwell for the last few months (not the cough cough unwell, the lots of tests and trying lots of meds unwell). As a result I'm home during the day when most of the telemarketers ring.

I don't know why, but apparently I sound *awful* over the phone. Everyone who I ring/or rings me has said it (I don't know why, the problem shouldn't effect my voice). And me being me, whenever someone asks "How are you today" I always give them an honest answer ("I feel terrible", or "not too good today") although I'm always reasonable polite and friendly about it. And as a result almost all the telemarketers say something along the lines of, "yes, you sound rather unwell". And then say they're sorry to bother me, and they hope I get better soon, and they'll try some other time. And hang up. (although once we had a brief but highly amusing conversation about how evil his employer is - my dad worked for them in the past and hated them with a passion, so did the telemarketer....) Its fabulous. I don't have to try and deal with a stressful no I'm not interested conversation, and everyones reasonably happy. I'm seriously considering taping myself so that when I'm better again, I can just play the tape back...

[counterjockey]

Although I did my six month stint in telemarketing*, the experience has seared itself into my restless tortured soul, so I think I know what's going on. What it sounds like to me is a little bit of a miscommunication. I think what our OP (sorry if it's too early in the A.M. to try typing your name, UK2004) is saying is that Federal law allows him/her to make a rebuttal, and his/her (fucking sociopath) supervisors require him/her to attempt to make that rebuttal, although it would mean short-circuiting every mental and emotional survival instinct known to him/her.

By the way UK2004, sorry about the hamhanded pronoun assignment. If you like I can edit as necessary. By the way, if you have any other option, any at all, please get the hell out of telemarketing. Anyone here can give you some advice about what else to do, where else to look, but as someone who's been there, suffered that, I can tell you that it doesn't get better. I know a few people on CS are in this line of work, I have nothing against them at all, but there just has to be a better way to earn a living. That's my $0.02, I realize some might disagree with me, and more might think I'm being a hysterical dumbass, but I can only call 'em as I saw 'em.

*Looking back, I understand why more than 60% of my fellow phone-slaves were drunk, high, tweaking, or all of the above. I understand what might have driven somebody to try to light the breakroom on fire. And now I know that when a place hires me before I've even filled out an application, RUN B1TCH RUN!!!!!!111!

[iradney]

I don't really have to deal with TM's that much. On the rare occasion that they do call my mobile (I don't have a landline because Telkom, our only service provider, was spawned by the Devil himself and is the what you would get if you concentrated evil and stupidity) I am always polite and firm in my rebuttal. I know they can't take the first no for an answer, so I continue being polite. They're simply trying to make an honest living so that they and their family can have food and a roof over their heads. I would honestly rather they call me every now and then rather than break into my car and steal it.