Are they ethical? Methods of dealing with telemarketers. 1

[SantaMufasa]

Should I be worried about ethics here?...

The phone rang as I was sitting down to my anticipated evening meal, and as I answered it I was greeted with, "Is this William Wagenhoss?"

This didn't sound anything like my name, so I asked, "Who is calling?"

The telemarketer said he was with The Rubberband-Powered Freezer Company or something like that and then I asked him if he knew William personally and why was he was calling this number. I then said off to the side, "Get really good pictures of the body and all the blood."

I then turned back to the phone and advised the caller that he had entered a murder scene and must stay on the line because we had already traced this call and he would be receiving a summons to appear in the local courthouse to testify in this murder case.

I then questioned the caller at great length as to his name, address, phone number at home, at work, who he worked for, how he knew the dead guy and could he prove where he had been about one hour before he made this call.

The telemarketer was getting very concerned and his answers were given in a shaky voice. I proceeded to tell him we had located his position at his work place and the police were entering the building to take him into custody. At that point, I heard the phone fall and the scurrying of his running away.

My wife asked me as I returned to our table, why I had tears streaming down my face and so help me, I couldn't tell her for about fifteen minutes. My meal was cold, but oh-so-very enjoyable!!!

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
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[jrbarnett]

Not really in the workplace, but my parents have a fax machine/telephone combo device. Any cold callers (not restricted to telemarketers) who won't hang up when told gets an earful of fax tone for a couple of minutes.

Hint: to do this, just press the start button on the fax machine and it will try and negotiate with the machine at the other end.

John

 

[zeitghost]

In the UK, there's the Telephone Preference Agency and the Fax Preference Agency.

Neither of which helped me to get the name & address of the previous user of my telephone number extracted from the directory enquiries databases...

So after 6 years I emailed Ofcom.

 

[sleipnir214]

Here is a telemarketer counter-script:

http://www.xs4all.nl/~egbg/counterscript.html

Want the best answers? Ask the best questions!

TANSTAAFL!!

 

[LFI]

sleipnir214,

Pretty funny!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
O Time, Strength, Cash, and Patience!

 

[langleymass]

I often hit on them, whether they are male or female. I even told one that "I want to suck...." It can be a lot of fun. I am also trying to get them into a trance so I can hypnotize them.

I also highly recommend a Tele-Zapper. It's a great thing to have.

 

[rosieb]

SantaMufasa
Ace!!!

But, I think the ethics rather depend...

On the one hand are those who see telemarketing as their calling, and enjoy it - they're fair game! The nastier the better.

On the other hand, a lot of the people doing this kind of work are desperate for employment, they're treated badly by their employers and are paid peanuts. They should be treated fairly but firmly.

What I'd really love is a way to get back at the companies that propagate this nuisance.

Rosie
"There are four basic food groups: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and chocolate truffles." Anonymous