 There are limits
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Dec. 22nd, 2012 @ 02:23 pm 
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You know, even if I don't catch the name or where they said they're calling from, I can determine that a phone call is from a telemarketer, and one who can rack off at that, if what I do catch is this:
"Hello, this is [something] from [somewhere], how are things there, my love?"
Because, you see, while in some situations I might check who's calling me if I didn't catch the name, I am absolutely certain that I do not know anyone with a strong Indian accent well enough that they can address me with how are things there my love when all I've said is Hello, and also that any business or other organisation which might have legitimate reason to call me is likely to have trained their staff to be more professional than that.
I'm not as much of a stickler for professional niceties as some. I am, in fact, generally okay with it if a stranger addresses me by my first name, even in a professional context. (Caveat: If they're expecting me to address them by honorific/surname, in most contexts, they will call me Miss or else, because one-way formality is a means of trying to establish a power/control dynamic.)
But "my love" is going a little far.
Also, I just growled at the THIRD INDIAN-ACCENTED TELEMARKETER IN FORTY-FIVE MINUTES a bit. (Seriously, you all have the same accent, and very slight variations in the name of the company you're calling from, I know you're calling from the same centre and I'm now PRETTY SURE IT'S A SCAM.)
Growled politely, but still growled.
"Hello, my name is Nancy, I'm calling from Blah Blah Blah, how are you today?"
"This is the third call we've had from you people in the last hour, and we're on the Do Not Call register."
"... I'm sorry, we won't bother you again."
"Thank you." *click*
Because yes, telemarketing at us is ILLEGAL SO GO AWAY.
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| From: | ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png) copracat |
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| Date: |
December 22nd, 2012 10:16 am (UTC) |
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I have a foolproof method: my landline is in my landlord's name. Anyone who rings for "Mr Landlord" gets hung up on.
I'm also on the do not call register but fraudulent callers ignore it (oh, so many calls one month about the problems with my PC!) and charities & market researchers aren't bound by it.
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| From: | sami |
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| Date: |
December 22nd, 2012 10:23 am (UTC) |
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We have something similar - the phone is in the name of my housemate with an unusual hyphenated surname. If they ask for Mr [Either half of surname], they're done.
We *used* to be set when they asked for Mrs [His name] as well, but then he and my female housemate got married, and now it doesn't work any more. How dare they.
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| From: | stranger |
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December 22nd, 2012 05:53 pm (UTC) |
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Institutional calls, from sales or charities or anything, announce themselves on my landline with about a second or so of silence first -- I assume they're checking for answer machines or something -- and it's easy to hang up then. If I don't hear a voice I recognize very quickly (and I'm not expecting a call-back from anyone I don't know), it seems polite to hang up and save everyone's time. This was particularly useful during the election season.
A few local charities have an actual live caller on a normal line, but these have a chance of being charities I might consider donating to.
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| From: | sami |
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December 23rd, 2012 04:00 am (UTC) |
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"during election season" - wow, that must get annoying.
The only time I've ever received an election-related phone call it was the candidate herself calling me, and we had an interesting chat about policy. I'm reasonably firmly of the belief that political phone calls should be restricted to candidates only, and live, not recorded, thanks.
(But then, we don't have to do get-out-the-vote here.)
We have a family friend whose never-fails tactic for getting rid of telemarketers is to say "I'm so glad you called [name]! Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal saviour?"
They always hang up after that.
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