I just had a great idea of what to say to those telemarketers and I wanted to know what you thought?

I got this call from some survey place wanting my opinions on something. I told her no I didn't want to and slammed the phone down. I'm on the 'do not call' list, but apparently then don't have that.. I should've wrote the name of the place down so I could file a complaint





Afterwards I was thinking about it - the way to go about this is to get them so confused that they would be the ones hanging up...





I came up with things like


phone sex


talk in some contrived language that you're making up on the spot


be so contradictory that you make no sense at all


repeat the question back to them over and over..





The list of what you can pull on them is endless.





If you live in the NYC area you know what a phone tap is. If you don't, one of the local radio stations here calls people with some phony story and gets them all riled up... alot of these scenarios could be used with the telemarketers...





The goal is to get them to hang up. What do you think?

I just had a great idea of what to say to those telemarketers and I wanted to know what you thought?
A lot of good answers on here already. I've been on the Do Not Call registry (state and national lists) since they first came out (both home and cell phones can be registered) and I have not received ANY solicitation calls since about 2 mos after I registered. Before that it was 4-5 calls a day!





One thing I want to point out is that the Do Not Call restrictions do not apply to charities, political organizations, and telephone surveyors. You will most likely see a sharp increase in these types of calls just before election time. Oh well, guess it's a trade-off.
Reply:Yeah it was probably me ... thanks jerk....


I work for a call center that does follow up surveys after people buy big ticket items. SURVEYS are exempt from the national do not call list BUT we are required by law to put you on a company do not call list. Slamming the phone is soooo unnessisary!!!





Here is an idea how bout I go into your job and treat you like dirt?
Reply:HEY I AM HERE ABOUT THE TELEMARKETERS , I AGREE WITH YOU THEIR AS$ HOLES ALL THE WAY!
Reply:Excellent idea. I'll try it.
Reply:LOL----I would do the Hot 97 thing ----U know how Jonsey do it.
Reply:There is a National Do Not Call Registry. If you registered with this, it can take a few week to get on everyones do not call list. You might have to re-register every five years. As far as how to treat the telemarketer, they are people. Just ask them to take you off their calling list. I also agree with Cletus that surveys are not the same as telemarketing.
Reply:Someone's going to call me a no-good liberal for this, I know, but they're human beings who are just trying to make a living. You can cut them off and tell them you're not interested. Then hang up. Then make sure you're on the do not call list - most of these folks just get lists of numbers, so they don't CONTROL the do not call list. They have no idea that you're on that list, but their bosses do.





Make sure you're on the right list, but it's a tough job. Cut them a little slack.
Reply:I think the correct thing to do is to tell them you are on the 'do not call list' and that you will report them. Then hang up. Usually they will then correct their listings so your number is crossed off. Don't let these people get you so upset, Millie.
Reply:Coming from someone that used to be in telemarketing, first of all, they are doing a job. Be thankful, they could be at home sitting on welfare, think of it this way, you do things like that, well, that is where they could be. Serveys are different then telemarketing, they are asking for an opinion, not selling you things. You won't get them to hang up, I have had all of that happen to me, and I played along. Just remember they have your phone number and address, so I would be careful on how you do things, Also, the "do not call" llist can take up to a year to go into effect for your name is off, also, many people don't know this, but when you order something on line, or get a magazine, the process starts all over for you being on a list. They are doing a job, just like everyone else is.
Reply:I just do my best to politely get off the phone. They do make it hard. I've learned to be firm, but polite. My step daughter had to do telemarketing once when working her way through college. You know, one day it could be you or one of your friends or family on the telemarketing end of that phone line.
Reply:I think it's a GREAT idea!
Reply:just have fun, I guess
Reply:I tell them that I have registered this number in the telemarketing opt-out/do not call list and that they are in violation of Federal law by calling me. They have so far apologized for calling me and disconnected the call.
Reply:When I answered the phone, the telemarketer said Good Evening Mrs. B. I started screaming Mrs. B? Mrs. B? There's a Mrs. B? That no good two-timing blah blah blah. They couldn't hang up fast enough and haven't called back.
Reply:MIGHT WORK. IF I HEARD A WEIRD LANGUAGE I WOULD HANG UP...
Reply:I think that is a great idea, I have already done that in the past, I have answered the phone in Hindi, I have sounded like a little girl and I yelled "Mommy, someone wants to talk to you on the phone"


then I got back on the phone and said my Mommy wants to know who this is, other times I have spoken in the contrived language you mentioned. It does work, they do get impatient and hang up, especially if they cannot understand what you are saying, it is alot of fun. It is very annoying to get telemarketers calling, they don't take no for an answer, so you have to have fun. Besides if you have to work ALL the time who wants to be bothered with someone invading your valued privacy, that is why we have private listings, whether it is their job or not we have rights to do what we want on our phones that we pay for. I was also a telemarketer, but I have respect for people's privacy. No means no. I am right there with you. Trust me, there are alot of other people that don't mind these people calling, but the ones that do mind, like us, they should give US some slack, after all it is our phones that we pay every month for. Peace.
Reply:All you do is, tell them just a minute you've got to take a pot off the stove and put the phone down and do nothing . They'll hang up by themselves. If you're not in for that, ask them how many hours they work and what the hourly pay is, ask them where they're located because you want to get employment with them, ask them if they like to be interrupted at dinner time, etc. Whatever works for you. Another thing, if the phone rings and you say hello and there's a pause, hang up, It's the computer letting the person know that you're on the line, so use the time between the ring and the actual person coming on to hang up.


Anybody you know would talk right away after you said hello.
Reply:i like the made up language part. i always tell them that i know you have to follow a script , i don't want to hear it and hang up. i would find out who they are, where they are calling from and make sure you have caller ID. write it down and file the complaint. you can event act like you are a joke answering machine pretending to be home and switch to answering machine mode.
Reply:I just say that I'm house sitting and I can only take down messages. Trust me, they will hang up!
Reply:I just lay the phone down and let them ramble on and on. Eventually they hang up.