Stop Telemarketers
Telemarketers are, without a doubt, one of the most annoying things to ever be associated with the telephone. Landlines are still subject to frequent calls from companies and politicians who are looking to sell you something. To top it off, they have some of the worst timing in the world. Since the majority of people work first shirt, most companies attempt to make phone calls in the early evening, where most people are more guaranteed to be at home (therefore able to answer the phone). Here is how you can stop telemarketers from ruining yet another peaceful dinner.
It is actually much easier than you think. You can easily stop most telemarketers by signing up for the National Do Not Call Registry. You can sign up for this list by either registering online or by calling 1-888-290-4236. This will place your phone number on a national do not call registry, and you should start to see a drastic reduction in the number of unsolicited phone calls you receive in about 30 days.
While this does work for a majority of telemarketers, those who are still interrupting your dinner will need to be told directly. When they call, don't hang up or get angry and start yelling. Politely interrupt they script and say that you are not interested. Then say "Please, put my phone number on your do not call list." All of this information must be included. Saying things like "Take me off your list" and "Please stop calling." If you clearly state this, FCC requirements leave them with no choice but to place you on this list.
If you choose not to get involved with the national registry, you will just have to do this with more telemarketers.
What You Shouldn't Do With Telemarketers
Remember one thing, the person you are talking to isn't happy to be calling you, and odds are they hate what they're doing more than you do. The majority of telemarketers are underpaid and overworked, with some of the tightest company regulations you can find. Whatever reason they may be working this job, there's no need for you to make it worse for them. Politely inform them that you are not interested, would like on their do not call list, then hang up. You should never yell at a telemarketer, since this isn't good for anyone at all.
Here are a few more things you should not do with telemarketers.
- Begin shouting profanities or using suggestive language over the phone. It will not make the telemarketer hang up on you, and most of these calls are recorded by the company, which could lead to legal issues later.
- Never make threats over the phone to a telemarketer. Odds are you don't mean them, and they could lead to a slew of legal complications.
- Don't stay on the phone longer than you have to. General rule is that you should say I'm sorry, not interested no more than three times. After the third time, they can talk to the dial tone.
- Remember, if you just hang up on them right off the bat, they'll call back later. To stop telemarketers from calling, you will have to actually talk to them for at least a few minutes.
- The I'm not home approach is just mean. This is a technique where you answer the phone, ask them to hold on for a second, then just lay the phone down. Eventually, they will hang up and you can hang up your phone. It was believed that this would really show those companies and get them to stop calling. The only thing this does is tie up your phone line and probably get some telemarketing employee (remember, their job really isn't that good and they probably don't want to be doing it) in trouble.
Remember, telemarketers are people, too. We've all worked some pretty bad jobs at one point or another. Yelling at an employee or making their life more difficult will do you no good. Plus, you'll look like a pretty big jerk.
Cell Phones And Telemarketers
Contrary to many popular e-mail scams and many different news stories, telemarketers are still not allowed to call cell phone numbers. You do not have to put your name or cell phone number into a directory, and you won't be getting randomized phone calls at all hours. To fully understand their limits, you must understand how telemarketers work.
Many telemarketing companies use a computerized dialer that randomly pulls your number from a pool for a representative to call. In most cases, the computerized dialer will pull up the number and dial it for them and the telemarketer is provided with a name for the number being dialed. This method cannot be used on cell phones, and is the most common type of telemarketing you will find. Other types of telemarketing are allowed on cell phones, but since they are so rare, it normally isn't an issue. If you do get a phone call from a telemarketer on your cell phone, politely tell them that they are calling a cell phone, and you would like you number put on their do not call list immediately. Once you inform them that it is a cell phone they're calling, they are required by law to not call again (they shouldn't call in the first place, but mistake do happen).
Laws like these are put into place since cell phones are so costly. Where land lines are paid for with a flat rate (excluding long distance), cell phones are normally charged by the minute during the hours when most telemarketers would call. Essentially, a company calling you on a cell phone would be costing you money, so they aren't allowed to do it.
There is no need to put your cell phone number in a do not call directory, and you should never get an unsolicited phone call on a cellular device.
