The Worst Times Telemarketers Call Us

[Annoyed]

What time do telemarketers usually call you and what were you doing when they called? One telemarketing call dragged me out of the shower and I thought it was an important call. Last year a telemarketer woke me up at 6am on a Saturday selling credit cards. I work hard as a counselor and Saturdays and Sundays are my days to sleep in. I was pretty ticked off at the telemarketer and said to her, "Miss, don't you know you called me at 6am? I'm tired and I had a long week!" She told me it's only 9am in Maine. I live in California and told her that and gave her a quick lesson in time zones. She apologized and hung up. I probably embarrased her but geez, do I care? She woke me up and wasted my time. I thought it was a very important call thinking a relative or friend died or got hurt! The last time I got an early morning call was when my greataunt died. Those telemarketers find the worst times to call and the out of state telemarketers better learn about time zones cause they either call us late at night or early in the morning. So tell us about your worst interruptions by those nasty phone salesmen.

[Collegechickfromtexas]

:(Yeah I know what you mean, Annoyed. Telemarketers have suddenly started calling college dorms, not only homeowners. Geez, they annoy me and my roomie when we sleep late on weekends, study, do homework, and yes one did drag me out of the shower and toilet. They call when I rush to class or work and interrupt dinnertime or when i have friends over. It's so damn annoying and my roomie and I pay good money for my phone bill. (Scholarships don't cover it.) Our phone is meant to have friends, family, school, doctors, and Our bosses to call us and we call them back. We dont pay the phone company for telemarketing harrassment. They sell useless junk like magazines, newspapers, college loans, credit cards, Insurance, cleaning services, and also solicit phony charity donations and sweepstakes, which always have a catch. I wonder if college kids can be able to sign up for a donotcall list. I've heard from it from my family. My parents just signed up in their home and my grandparents are already on it. I'm only 19, and ive had it up to here with annoying telephone solicitors.

[WORKING]

WE THAT ARE PROFESIONALS LOOK AT A CLOCK AND ARE RESPECTFUL OF YOUR TIME ZONE PURELY AN AMATURE AND GIVING ME A BAD RAP AS I EARN A LIVING OVER THE PHONE AND SUPPORT A FAMILY LIKE YOU DO AND DON'T MIND WHEN PEOPLE HANG UP ON ME BUT DO HATE PEOPLE WHO ARE RUDE AND MEAN AS I UNDERSTAND YOU WORK HARD FOR A LIVING HOWEVER AT LEAST I AM JUST BOTHERING YOU AND NOT STEALING FROM YOU I MEAN YOUR PAYCHECK AND WELLFARE AND NOT WORKING AT ALL APPRECIATE THE WORLD AROUND YOU BECAUSE IT ISNT YOURS IT BELONGS TO EVERYONE INCLUDING MY CHILD THAT I SUPPORT FROM PEOPLE HANGING UP ON ME AND BEING MEAN BUT AT LEAST I AM PAYING FOR THAT CHILD AND NOT STEALING MONEY FROM YOUR CHECK TO DO THAT SO WHEN I CALL HOW WILL YOU FEEL THAT DAY?

[Angry]

:(You need to get a real job, Working. I can't believe you support your kid on some deadend minimum wage job where people hang up and yell at you all day, plus the polite and not so polite no thank you-rejection. Maybe you're not stealing, but you steal all of our time and these people call at the worst times. I also have 2 kids, a husband, and a fulltime job working as a teacher in high school. I'm on a donot call list in Maine and so is everyone else and telemarketing will be history by the time my children will be adults. It should be illegal and I wonder if you do get people to buy useless crap over the phone. I give you credit for taking all the rejection at the job. (telemarketers don't have it easy at their jobs, making the high sales quotas to make their bosses get off their backs. My niece did telemarketing for newspapers when she was a college student and she quit after a few months. They didn't pay her well and she couldn't take all the sales pressure and rejections.) I wish you a lot of luck finding a better job to support your family and you don't deserve all that bs in that deadend job. Thank you have a good day.

[Precious]

:oI used to be a telemarketer and even though I've annoyed a lot of people and caught them at bad times, I followed the rules. I made the calls after 9am and before 8:30pm. I used a regular phone with a headset and I dialed numbers by hand. (We didn't have autodialers, which are terrible!) I never blocked the calls so the company name showed up on the caller ID. But people answered the phone more. But my old job broke the rules because they didn't have a no call list and didn't intend to get one. I think that they'll be slammed with a big fine one day and go out of business. I've caught a lot of people on the donotcall list and I was scared so I said sorry, have a good night and crossed them off the list. I'm very glad I don't work as a telemarketer anymore. It's a tough, demeaning, stressful, deadend job.

[lilolme]

I don't think it matters that they have their rules about only calling during the day. If someone doesn't know the sleep/wake schedules of everyone in my household, and I'm not expecting a call from them, they have no business taking the risk of waking someone up in my house. I don't care if it's noon. That doesn't mean no one is sleeping.

[MO]

That is a very good point! I have told a few telemarketers that I would buy their stupid products if they would come over and rock the baby back to sleep.

[Ogilvy]

MO said:

That is a very good point! I have told a few telemarketers that I would buy their stupid products if they would come over and rock the baby back to sleep.

I always just say, "Sorry, I already gave my credit card to those moon farm people that called me a while ago. Said that moon farmin' was where all the money was at in the FOOTURE, so I signed up for it. Still ain't seen nothin' outta that yet." and hang up.

[RussianJewishAthiest]

We get called about 6+ a day. When I was about 16-17 i was playing around with ameritrade challenge where you pick stox etc..etc.. i filled out real information and I m paying for it eversince. I live with my parents goin to college and have 0 credit history. Here are my adventures;

I sent a couple of resumes and semi-hopeful of getting called. I hear a call rushing throug the house I pick up and hear a voice: Hello Albert, yes I say " I am calling on behalf of XXXXX brokerage" and beep i press. I go back to my computer. A call again and up in glee I rush and grab the phoning spree. Again I say who is this here and they reply is homeowner there. In jest I am now pist in angst and pressing button off I winsed.
And so as soon as i begin to sit again the phone springs. And so I pick it up again the same person has the never to f----ing call me again. Now in forcefull tone she says CAN I PLEASE SPEAK TO HOMEOWNER PLEASE and I ask who is it and its on behalf of AT&T and again I hang up. In 30 seconds it rings again the same c--- speaks I believe we have been disconected sir may I please speak to home---- I turn it off. I got another call today from Tom Riley who I thought was gonna offer me a job but he was from a brokerage house. I have no money I have no job what do they want from me.

Moral of the story they are becoming bolder and ruder expecting that you are obligated to listen to them and what they are pedling. This was the first time that the same person called 3 times in a row in the span of 15 minutes knowing they called the same house.

[Cheerleader2005]

Listen, I understand that you guys don't like to be interrupted in your time, but i'm 16. I have no money, and teleservices was the only place hiring. They offered good pay, and I thought that most people would have the common decency to at least be kind to another human being on the phone. I am monitered constantly, and it's all done by computers. I don't dial any numbers, nor do i choose the numbers to call. The call falshes on the screen when they pick up the receiver, and I HAVE to try my best to sell them the product. I HAVE to hear a refusal at least twice in a row in order to not get fired. Also, after tha call, I choose from a list to disposition the calls. Some options are Do not call, Callback (But I probably wouldn't be the one calling back, it goes through the computer), Early Hang up, Answering Machine, Foreign Speaking, etc... I ALWAYS put people on the Do not call list when they ask to be. But that can take anywhere from 2-8 weeks. Also, I can't help it if I'm the 10th person to call you, I don't know that! As far as I'm concerned, I assume you are a kind decent human being and will politely say, "I'm not interested... But thank you!" That's what I did even before I was a telemarketer. I am a smart, mature 16 year old girl who has mental health problems. I am out of school because of my health, and I'm trying to save up money to get myself through college eventually. I am suicidal, and I cut my wrists. When someone yells at me, or hangs up on me, or cusses at me, I could very well commit suicide right there. I am very sensitive, and I'm trying to work on that. But I HATE it when someone looks down on me just because I have chosen a profession that they don't like. I am not some DUMB telemarketer. I got an 1100 on my SAT in the 8th grade. I love shakespeare, John Keats, and I am probably the only teenager who could write a book on medieval england. I am a very polite person. I am one of those people who will say "Sorry!" if I run into a trash can or something. Just out of habit. I have housed many of my friends who have either been kicked out or had a baby. I volunteer at my local library, and tutor children for free also. I go to church almost every sunday, and I love God, and I love people. I thought this would be a great way to use my people skills, but the Human Race has once again proven to be a decrepid old materialistic, self-absorbed species who assumes that the world revolves around their lives. God forbid I take 2 minutes of your so PRECIOUS time to try and make my boss happy. Also, if you just hang up, we HAVE to put your name on the callback list. So if you're going to be rude, at least be smart about it. Also, I usually NEVER praise myself this much, and I apologize. I am just sick of being put down all the time. After all, I have done nothing to physically, emotionally, or spiratually abuse you or your loved ones. So BE NICE! And stop your little theory that all telemarketers are evil. It's simply just not true....

Sincerely,
~Alison*

[telemarketer]

Dont let those people get to you, they have a bad day then take it out on us because they assume we dont have feelings. Im sorry to hear about your depression problems...might I suggest quiting your job, because this kind of treatment is obviously not good for your health. Keep your head up and good luck in the future ;D

[MO]

Get a real job! I don't assume you don't have feelings! When you pester me in my private life, I don't give a fig about your feelings!

[Ian]

I used to just hang up without saying anything, but know I get the names of the companys and telemarketers and call and ask for them at laest 6 times a day. ;D

[riiight]

thats a lie...outbound call centers dont have call back numbers...

[telemarketer]

MO said:

Get a real job! I don't assume you don't have feelings! When you pester me in my private life, I don't give a fig about your feelings!

Thank you for proving my point...