What do you say or do to get rid of a telemarketing call?

[begin_within]

[leftstreet]

1. Once they state the price, ask it if they can make you a better deal.

If what they're selling is $19.95, ask what's available for $9.95. Sound as if you're in earnest. I think they personally add your phone number to the no-call list.

[mykpart]

2. Ask them to hold for a minute,

put down the phone, and continue about your business. Later on you can hang up the phone.

[Kali]

3. even better -

tell them you are getting your credit card

[Dead_Parrot]

14. That's what I do...

...they never make it past an hour...
:evilgrin:

[grace0418]

4. I don't get em anymore since I signed up on that no call list.

That was AWESOME.

[RebelOne]

9. That's the only good thing that I think Bush

ever did when he signed that no-call bill.

[grace0418]

23. Truly the ONLY good thing he's done. And that was because

it didn't cost him anything I'm sure. If his oil buddies had telemarketing firms I'm sure he would've said a no-call list is un-American or some other nonsense.

[RockaFowler]

18. The No Call List is GREAT

If they call (sometimes they do get through), I always mention that we are on the NO CALL List and you are now in violation. They usually hang up right away. I also have Privacy Director, so if they have a block on their number, I reject them before they even get to talk to me.

[Kali]

5. I leave the computer hooked up to the land line

all the damn time, otherwise the answering machine handles 'em pretty well.

[NMMNG]

6. I just hang up on them

But I have a friend who is quite brazen. Once they start into their spiel he will say something like, "That sounds really interesting but I can't talk right now, my boyfriend is waiting for me to &%$! him up the $#%." He did that one time when I was at his house and I nearly spit my drink all over the table. :spray:

For some reason they usually hang up after that. :rofl:

[yewberry]

7. Once they've made their pitch,

I just say "thank you, no, I'm satisfied with <my version of whatever they're offering>" and hang up.

I try to be polite and brief. Some don't make it easy, but a quick shut-down usually works, especially if I don't let them respond.

Harsh? I don't really think so--I like to think that I'm keeping them from wasting their time on someone who won't be a sale.

[MrSlayer]

8. Caller ID is great for this.

You either ignore the phone after you see who it is or you just hit the speaker button twice quickly. Instant hang up.

[tjwmason]

10. Just say "no thank you, good evening".

I do my best not to be rude to the poor sod trying to eek out a living from making the calls - but they are damn irritating.

We get very few of them now - thanks to the Telephone Preference Service.

[HughBeaumont]

11. They don't even make it to the pause before their pitch

I don't know how it is with your TMs, but we can tell who it is if you hear dead air after you say "Hello" and then 1-2 seconds later you hear "Hi, is there a Mrs " and then they proceed to mispronounce BOTH of our names. They always do, I've never heard a telemarketer get either of our last names right EVER.

Anyway, when I say hello and hear the pause, I just hang up. Or if they're calling from their home, I just hang up on them in mid-sentence. Nowadays, I don't even pick up my phone and just let the machine take it. 93% of our messages are either dead air or dial tones from them hanging up.

I feel sorry for businesses that have to resort to that, but it's simply annoying and an interruption to my evening.

[AllegroRondo]

28. The pause is a huge giveaway

and the cue for me to tell them I've died. Most are too stunned to say much after that.


"Is there a Mr Allegro there?"

"No, Im afraid he passed away several days ago."

[mr blur]

12. I'm afraid that my response is usually

"Fuck off!"
I know they have to earn a living but if that involves hassling us then they can, indeed, fuck off.

[tyedyeto]

13. I'm usually polite

tell them I'm not interested right away and ask them to take the phone number off their calling list. If given a chance after that I will tell them that I have recorded the name of the organization, date and time of call, so if a future call is made from them it will be forwarded to the proper authorities.

[hippywife]

15. I used to just hang up on them

but in the Bush economy, I realize many poor people are having to take any job they can find to stay alive. So, I very sweetly tell them I'm not interested and to remove my name from their list.

When I was laid off for 9 months looking for work, I thankfully did not have to do this kind of job. I was offered a collection agency job by the temp agency I was working with at the time. I turned it down without a seconds hesitation.

[swag]

16. "Put me on your Do Not Call List. Goodnight."

[NoPasaran]

17. "Goodbye"

[Dude_CalmDown]

19. "May I speak to Mr or Mrs _____?" Me: "Which one - there are 43 of them"

When they pause I hang up.

[LaurenG]

20. I just tell them Thanks but I'm not interested

I really try to be nice. It's a hard way to make money imho.

[Telly Savalas]

21. I tell them to eat shit and die.

Part of what makes me a progressive is my contempt and disdain for the working poor. In contrast to right-wing nuts, I believe that if a person doesn't want to be told to "fuck off and die", they should elect to take one of the numerous jobs that do not involve cold calling. Such jobs are bountiful in the Bush economy.

One might think this is a bit extreme, but several months ago my wife got a call from a telemarketer and was traumatized by the experience. After several months of treatment, including electro-shock therapy, she's on the verge of being able to go out in public. The doctor says that in a few years she might be able to answer the phone again. Please pray for her.

[Patiod]

22. Depends

If they're selling theater ticket subscriptions, I might buy.

If they're selling anything but theater tickets, I lie and say I'm VERY interested, but am unemployed right now and filing for bankruptcy. They hang up REALLY quickly.

If they're doing a phone survey (which is not telemarketing), and the topic is interesting I take it.

If they're doing a phone survey, and the topic is tedious, I tell the truth and say "do you have a security question in there?" (meaning: will they be asking if I work at a market research company) and if they're legitmate, they have to let me go right away.

If they're doing telemarketing disguised as a phone survey, I ask for their phone number so I can report them to the Direct Marketing Association, and they hang up.

My S.O., an actor, couldn't find anything but telemarketing for a short time, so I tend to be as kind as possible to these folks.

[freestyle]

24. Put my name on your do not call list.

Sign up for the national do not call list. It really does help. Some local companies may be behind the curve. Tell them to put you on their do not call list, and inform them that legal action will follow any subsequent calls, then hang up. Also saying that you make it a point not to do business with companies that do phone solicitations helps. Remember, non-profits and politicians are exempt.

[AngryAmish]

25. I always ask them what they are wearing

Turn it into a an obscene phone call (both genders). Hey, they called you so they are asking for it, right?

[MsAnthropy]

26. When I pick up the phone I don't say anything at all

Since the equipment is voice-activated it messes with their schedules since it takes a while for it to hang up.

[SoCalDem]

27. Nothing..just hang up n/t

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

29. I've promised myself that one day I'll do the Seinfeld thing

(phone rings)
JERRY: Uh, sorry, Excuse me one second. Hello.
TEL: Hi, would you be interested in switching over to TMI long distance service.
JERRY: Oh, gee, I can't talk right now. Why don't you give me your home number and I'll call you later.
TEL: Uh, I'm sorry we're not allowed to do that.
JERRY: Oh, I guess you don't want people calling you at home.
TEL: No.
JERRY: Well now you know how I feel. (Hangs up)

http://www.seinfeldscripts.com/ThePitch.htm

In all seriousness, I'm pretty sure there is a website in the US (there is over here) where you can register and get taken off a lot of the lists. Since I've done it, I maybe get one nuisance call a week (down from 5 or more a day).

[SteppingRazor]

30. Um... hang up?

I mean, seriously. What's so hard?

[Initech]

31. If it's a machine I just hang up without question.

I mean it's bad enough to call you in the first place but a freaking recording? I just slam the phone down.

[LSK]

32. i say "not interested" and hang up quick

[Horus45]

33. Caller ID, I don't answer any calls I don't recognize.

[edbermac]

34. I tell them this joke and they hang up immediately!

Donald Rumsfeld is giving the president his daily briefing. He concludes by saying: "Yesterday, 3 Brazilian soldiers were killed."

"OH NO!" the President exclaims. "That's terrible!"

His staff sits stunned at this display of emotion, nervously watching as the President sits, head in hands.

Finally, the President looks up and asks, "How many is a brazillion?"

Works every time...:rofl:

[JVS]

35. "I'm hanging up " Please do that!

Telemarketers are not allowed to stop going through their spiel until they hit the end of the written script. In fact, there are rebuttals written for different kinds of refusal. (fixed income, out of work, I give locally, etc.) Supervisors monitor calls and will assess workers based on their adherence to the script, if a caller does not properly rebut, he will be told to rebut and eventually fired if he does not. Generally though a good amount of patience is shown to the worker in the first weeks and the ropes are learned. Experienced callers are allowed to improvise the script but the basic structure of offer, refusal, rebuttal, refusal.... final offer, end of call, must be maintained. The number one rule of telemarketing is that the caller is not allowed to hand control of the conversation to the contact. That goes down to things as simple as always saying "Good morning" and never saying "how are you doing today?" That is an open ended question and those are forbidden. All questions are supposed to be simple yes or no questions, like "Should I put you down for X?". Is it annoying? Yes, but it is effective and callers will be fired if they don't play the game. So really the most effective thing is to say the conversation is over and hang up.

[Bridget Burke]

36. I say No Thanks & hang up--gently.

Doesn't take any time at all.

Or I let voicemail handle the call.

[JVS]

37. Saying "Please remove me from your list" is good too

From what I've seen, the caller has to do that if you ask. Some might not, but everyone I know who worked in that industry said that ignoring that rule was risking your job.

[newyawker99]

38. I say "I'm not interested" and hang up.

:-)

[Left Is Write]

39. "I'm not interested, thank you! Goodbye." Hang up. (nt)

[Roland99]

40. "Sorry, I'm busy now." *click*

[trackfan]

41. I never answer the phone unscreened

Sometimes, though, if we have been getting a lot of annoying calls on the machine, I'll pick up and shout loudly in a fake foreign language, as if I am an old first-generation immigrant, and I am calling my child to the phone. The "child's" name is Audi. I say it in a really high pitched, nasal voice, with the accent on the second syllable: au-DEEE. (The "DEEE" is actually somewhat between dee and day). I say it about ten times, interspersing it with other gibberish, and the word "te-le-FONN". I then put the phone down and chatter in said "language" with my wife for a while. They never bother us after that.

[mokawanis]

42. I like getting their calls

I just set the phone down and let them babble, then I hang it up a minute later.

[LostinVA]

43. I put the phone down, connection still on, for a few minutes, or

If I'm feeling Puckish, or have a few Guinness in me, I talk in a really, really fake "European" accent until they hang up.

[Aristus]

44. I'm always polite and tell them kindly that I'm not interested

and please take me off their list.

My mother spent a hellish few weeks as a telemarketer just after my parents got divorced. We would have had to look UP to see 'broke'. She hated, hated, HATED it and got out as quickly as she could. But I'll never forget her coming home and bursting into tears over her dinner plate. That shocked and hurt me.

Still, I enjoy reading some of the harmless, non-abusive methods some DU-ers use. B-)

[pitohui]

45. don't say ANYTHING, just hang up the phone

people who engage and who make witty comments have had the experience of having themselves reported as having agreed to the sale, leading to endless disputation & even reports to collection agents

don't answer any question w. "yes" or "no" because a call can be edited to make it sound like you agreed to something you didn't agree to


the safest thing to say is not one word, don't worry abt being polite, just hang up as quickly as possible