<p>Why? Soundboard assisted calls. More of telemarketing calls are becoming not actual people but a computer program run by an operator. See [this</a> article](<a href=“Almost Human: The Surreal, Cyborg Future of Telemarketing - The Atlantic”>Almost Human: The Surreal, Cyborg Future of Telemarketing - The Atlantic). The gist is a person sits at a console and pushes buttons depending on your response. You say you’re busy, the button gets pushed and you hear “but this will only a take a minute” or the like. If a specific piece of information is needed, an actual person may speak. </p>
<p>Use this information to alleviate any guilt you may feel about hanging up on them.</p>
<p>For several weeks now, I’ve had my land-line calls forwarded to my cell phone. I’ve had some ongoing issues with insurance that I need to know, when they call, I’m going to answer no matter where I am or what I’m doing (for the most part). This all means I now get solicitation phone calls on my cell phone, which hadn’t been an issue for me before. Yesterday, I discovered a need little feature on my iPhone, which I didn’t know I had - I have the ability to block numbers! I felt so foolish for not knowing this until now! I do seem to get many ‘repeat’ calls (same number, same robot call), which I can now block, and am doing so!</p>
<p>Whatever happened to the do-not-call list which was suppose to prevent these unsolicited calls. I can say with certainty the telemarketers treat this list like a joke. I never answer my land-line phone, and if I screw up, I will hangup without hesitation.</p>
<p>Years ago, I had March of Dimes calling me 10 times a day. I got so fed up I spoke to high-level administrators in their corporate office, and when that didn’t work I filed a complaint with the FTC. Finally, they stopped. Consequently, I am now very careful about who I will give money to so I don’t get on their list.</p>
<p>I believe charities are exempt from the DNC. Before we cut our landline in October I was regularly hassled by our local police (I’ll write you a check in December if you promise not to call me all year!), Purple Heart, Goodwill, AmVets, every political organization known to man either with an ‘invitation’ (read money grab) or survey (I’m not voting for your guy, really). The credit card company called with bologna but you have to pick up in case there’s a fraud alert. I know it’s only a matter of time until they ‘find me’ on my cell, but it’s been blissfully quiet since October. (love the iPhone block, also the setting to block all calls before x time, after x time, except XYZ callers).</p>
<p>Yes, certain entities are exempt from the no call list. But aren’t they required to take your name off their list if you ask them to? I don’t think they have carte blanche to harrass you with multiple calls.</p>
<p>The do not call list law, while still on the books, has gone the way of the dodo bird in effectiveness. I guess enforcement became so unlikely that telemarketers decided it was worth it to take the chance at a fine. Speaking to the caller and asking to be removed from the call list will only assure the telemarketer that a number that was randomly dialed is attached to a consumer who answers the phone–not a good message to send.</p>
<p>I get the “Credit Card Services” call almost daily. When I’m in the mood, I press “1” , and when the telemarketer answers, I ask if their mother knows they earn a living by scamming people. Silly, I know, but at least I’ve wasted their time just like they wasted mine.</p>
<p>Yes, the “do not call” list seems to be about as well enforced as jaywalking on a suburban street…
While I really want to shout at the callers, they are trying to make a living. I no longer answer calls from a number I don’t recognize. If they are really trying to reach me personally, they will leave a message.</p>
<p>We get March of Dimes a lot also, but the biggest offenders are contractors and solar energy sales wanting my business. Seriously? They really think I’m going to hire a contractor who contacted me randomly?? Since they usually call in the evening, my standard response is “I’m busy right now but if you’ll give me your number, I’ll call you back when YOU are trying to eat dinner”. I should probably just not answer.</p>
<p>Often we “answer” “unavailable” and “unknown” without speaking. The computer calls apparently depend on some “response”, so when we hear just dead silence, we end the call.</p>
Hmm … this may be true … but we have a strategy. When we make a donation by mail we include a letter of our don’ts for charities we contribute to … with a promise to stop donating if the charity violates the list. We’ve been using the letter for about 10 years and it appears to work very well.</p>
<p>My standard response is to say “hello” quickly after I answer and wait a few seconds to see if there will be a response. If I don’t get one soon enough, I simply hang up. If they do answer I will give them a little while to make their point and then say “Not interested” and hang up. I once had a telemarketer call me back because I didn’t let him finish his spiel.</p>
<p>We rarely answer the phone (landline) any more, because most folks do call us on our cell phone. I am trying to get mom to stop answering her landline, as they keep trying to get her to contribute to various causes. She says, “The lady of the house is not at home,” but I tell her that answering lets them know that the phone number they dialed is a live line and they will keep calling it. Am not sure I’ve convinced her.</p>
<p>This is just more reason NOT to answer the phone if I don’t recognize the caller. <sigh> Obviously, someone must do the economic analysis and decide that they DO get business blindly calling homes with this system. If may not be us CC folks, but SOME FOLKS must be perfectly fine working with folks that are just randomly calling them on the phone.</sigh></p>
<p>If I answer an “unknown #” type call, I usually answer with either “yes?” (which may not trigger an auto response) or “is this a marketing call?” A live person typically stumbles over a response to this one. I have been doing ouse remodeling and donating a lot o stuff, so do want to answer the calls when companies we give to are going to be in the neighborhood. If its a random marketing call I tell them I am not interested and to please take me off their list.</p>
<p>Calls regarding some of my husband’s medical issues come as “unavailable” or just from the state due to privacy regulations so I have to pick up even if I don’t recognize the number. I have gotten several calls saying that my Windows computer is compromised and I need to do something. The first time, I just told him that I have a Mac. The second time, I repeated what he said for clarification, and then told him how surprised I was plus a few more things. He hung up on me! The one I hate the most is the one saying that they have a medical device that they will send right out to me if I push “1”; it sounds like a real person, not a recording. The first few times that I got that call, I tried to talk back to “John” before I realized he was not real.</p>
<p>I just got off the phone with Steve who hung up on me! The first part of the call was Betty the computer who sounded like a live person, complete with pauses while she double-checked her list to see what was ordered for us. In addition to the home alert system we are getting $3000 in groceries. All I had to do is push “1” and the order would be shipped. Being a curious person, I pushed “1” and asked Steve what the scam was since we obviously hadn’t ordered this and as a retired college prof with a rather nice pension, I am sure there are needier people. Steve wouldn’t answer but he did promise to take us off the list. Yeah, I really believe that.</p>
<p>I’m like lotsofquests - I HAVE to answer the phone (unless it’s a 1-8XX number). My kids will sometimes borrow other people’s phones, and sometimes those numbers have different area codes! We also get calls from medical offices that aren’t listed. If I see a 1-8XX call, I pick up the phone and hang it up immediately.</p>
<p>The last time I tried telling a guy to put us on the no-call list, he hung up on me.</p>
<p>Some telemarketing calls are scams (notably, the calls from India that tell you something is wrong with your computer), but some are just a job–to sell something, to solicit donations, etc. </p>
<p>My sister worked for a stint as a telemarketer and then a supervisor of telemarketers back in the 80’s. (This was before email, so I think there must have been even more telemarketing then.)</p>
<p>She says these folks are just trying to make a living, and explained that they have a script they are obliged to follow and a quota of calls they have to make. I’m sure some of this has changed with robo-dialing technology, but the gist is the same…unless it’s a scam, it’s just someone trying to do a job to pay their bills. </p>
<p>I usually just don’t answer numbers that come up as “unavailable” or as American Lung Association, or whatever. Or I pick up and hang up right away just to make the ringing stop. But occasionally, I accidentally take a call that turns out to be a solicitation. As soon as the caller speaks, I say, “Sorry, I can’t help you,” and I hang up. You have to hang up or they are obliged to argue with you. They have a script they have to follow, with rebuttals for every potential objection you might raise. If they don’t follow the script, they get reprimanded. If you hang up they can move on to the next call and make quota.</p>
<p>So, I agree, one should not feel bad about hanging up. If you are not going to buy what they are selling or donate to the charity they are soliciting for, you are doing them a favor when you hang up. No need to be unkind to them prior to doing so.</p>
<p>(Scam artists are a totally different story. They infuriate me and I tell them so.)</p>