<p>I say, (except for the colleges), that I don’t respond to any phone calls, they can mail me the materials. If they ask for Mrs. My husband’s last name, I say “There is no Mrs. My husband’s last name.”</p>
<p>I’m always nice to people who call from some organization to which I have an actual connections, such as my alma mater or my son’s college, in-state political/charitable organizations, and my church’s denomination. The vast majority of them are volunteers or work-study students, and their calls do not have the tell-tale lag. I may or may not contribute, but I thank them for doing the difficult task of fundraising.</p>
<p>For other organizations, I usually just don’t pick up. Or I ask to be taken off the list. We get VERY few calls except for political organizations and our various alma maters because we are on the do not call list.</p>
<p>In the past, I’ve volunteered to call for some local groups, both political and non. Particularly when one is calling actual MEMBERS of a local organization it is distressing to be treated rudely. There is a difference between that and telemarketing. Nowadays, I suppose, most of the calling we had to do back then to drum up volunteers or inform people of events can be done by email. Much better.</p>
<p>Mathmom, we have different last names, too. It’s a dead giveaway. :)</p>
<p>Caller ID eliminates me answering most of the calls. Waiting for D2 to graduate HS so we can cut the land line (there’s too many school people who have that # as our primary contact & trying to get it changed through all the layers is just impossible.)</p>
<p>Good friend of ours is a state trooper & he told us years ago that they don’t telemarket for funds. I’ve found that the telemarketers supposedly trying to get donations for PBA and other emergency responder funds are the most rude and aggressive to the point of accusing me that I don’t like cops when I said I wouldn’t donate. That’s when I push back asking for documentation to be sent to me so they can prove they’re legitimate or I’d report them. That’s when they hang up ;)</p>
<p>Ask the caller "are you a volunteer or a paid solicitor? I think they are required by law to divulge that they are being paid… then I tell them that I prefer to donate directly to organizations of my choosing, not to people being paid to solicit.</p>
<p>The call we get the most — at home and at the shop – is someone wanting to switch our electric supplier. </p>
<p>My current answer: You know this is a pet shop right? Well, we don’t have an electric bill. We’re off the grid. We use hamsters, you know on the little wheels. They generate all the electricity we need.</p>
<p>Several years ago, before the Do Not Call list, my elderly father received a call from a telemarketer. He listened patiently for 3 or 4 minutes, until the caller had completely finished her script. She then asked if he wanted to buy whatever she was selling. He replied with, “I’m sorry, I don’t hear well, could you repeat that please?”. Shee began her script again, started laughing, and signed off the call…and never called back. The truth was that he didn’t understand most of what she said, between his hearing loss and how quickly she was speaking, but he found an unintended benefit!</p>
<p>MaineLonghorn: No, sometimes it’s me, trying to remember who I called or why.</p>
<p>What worked for my Mom: No matter what the nuisance call was about (newspaper sub, Police aid) she would say “My husband works there. Do you know him?” Chatting and getting them to hang up. </p>
<pre><code>I’m on the do not call gov list.
Hamsters? I love that one.
</code></pre>