The Vent and Rant Thread

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by Peverel

My Father had a way to deal with all the ones that were doing windows, and alike, for the house. He just used to ask how they dealt with Grade 1 Listed Building (in the UK that means it is historically listed and cannot be messed with). They always said 'Oh we cann't' and hung up.

My Father used to live in a very average 1980's chalet bungelow..........

tee hee ! not bad.

Originally Posted by Sparrow

Hooray!!
That IS good news!

yes it is !!! i thanked the nice lady from the lab about 20 times for that news !

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by kazbates

The same goes for the incredibly annoying telemarketer calls I get all day long. We have a "Do Not Call" registry here which we are on, but we still get any number of calls each day. No, I do not want an extended warranty on my car, thank you very much!!

The worst occur during the run up to a political election. It's not bad enough I have to watch and listen to the candidates' assinine TV and radio advertisements, now they call me at home most often at the dinner hour to make their pitch.

The problem is that their are a couple of loopholes in the law. One being that if they have an existing relationship with you, they can still call -- like if you've donated or bought from them in the past.

The other one which makes me absolutely insane is when it's a robot call that says something like "This is xxxx credit services. Don't be alarmed, there is nothing wrong, but you do need to call xxx-xxx-xxxx right away to make sure you are protected" etc. etc. There is no option to opt out or get on their do not call list and if you call the number then you've "established a relationship" with them!! $%()*#%)(%_*)@#() V

There are changes in the law to stop this second part that go into effect early next year but it's not enough I think all telemarketing calls should be banned!

And another thing! as long as we're on the topic. It really pisses me off when I call my cable or phone company about a problem and the try to sell me something or upgrade me. Friggin idiots! My service is broke, there's a problem, why the h*ll would I want MORE problems!

Sheesh!

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by kennyc

The other one which makes me absolutely insane is when it's a robot call that says something like "This is xxxx credit services. Don't be alarmed, there is nothing wrong, but you do need to call xxx-xxx-xxxx right away to make sure you are protected" etc. etc. There is no option to opt out or get on their do not call list and if you call the number then you've "established a relationship" with them!! $%()*#%)(%_*)@#() V

I held on to speak to an operator on one of those. Blunt questions of "Who do you represent?" produced a prompt hang up on their end...

My pet peeve are the folks who try to establish a personal relationship, starting the call with "Hi, Dennis! How are you doing today?" as though we were bosom buddies.

They last one of this I got had me saying "Stop right there! I know you are simply following the script and doing what you are paid to do. I'm not mad at you. But if you want to talk to me on what is essentially a sales call, start by stating your name, who you represent, and the purpose of the call. That is simple business etiquette. If I'm interested, I'll stay on the line and we'll talk. If I'm not, I'll say so and hang up, and we won't waste each others time. Tell your supervisor I said so!" <click>
______
Dennis

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by kennyc

The problem is that their are a couple of loopholes in the law ...

OUT of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For caller ID, y'all!

[wodin]

I just hang up, no comment, no thank you for calling, nothing but "click". That way I don't have to get upset, I just go on about my business.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

I held on to speak to an operator on one of those. Blunt questions of "Who do you represent?" produced a prompt hang up on their end...
...
______
Dennis

Yep. I did exactly the same on one of the CAR WARRANTY calls.

[DawnFalcon]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

My pet peeve are the folks who try to establish a personal relationship, starting the call with "Hi, Dennis! How are you doing today?" as though we were bosom buddies.

I start telling them about the muscles in my legs (which bother me). It's remarkably effective at getting rid of them.

[WT Sharpe]

Most everyone has no doubt seen this, but here's Seinfeld's classic response to a telemarketer:

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by DawnFalcon

I start telling them about the muscles in my legs (which bother me). It's remarkably effective at getting rid of them.

I've been known to do that to people to tangle the reflexes. I once had a co-worker say "I'm not going to ask how you are, because you'll tell me!"

______
Dennis

[Sparrow]

Originally Posted by wodin

I just hang up, no comment, no thank you for calling, nothing but "click". That way I don't have to get upset, I just go on about my business.

But don't they just keep calling back?
In the UK you generally press '9' when prompted to be taken off their list - although you usually have to wait for the end of the robot's spiel before you can do so, at least it means they don't persist.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by kennyc

There are changes in the law to stop this second part that go into effect early next year but it's not enough I think all telemarketing calls should be banned!

I used to work for a market research firm that did telephone surveys. (I was admin for the computer/telecom gear they used.) My employer might have agreed with you, as telemarketers were making it increasingly difficult to get folks to talk to us, even though the first words out of an interviewer's mouth were "We're not selling anything..."

That status did save me some headaches, as working for a research firm normally disqualified me as a survey respondent. I made sure to state that up front when I got a survey call. No point in wasting their time and mine if I was simply going to terminate on them.

If they were allowed to talk to me, I'd often do it. I'd worked in a call center that placed such calls, and knew what the folks who did it had to go through. They didn't need me to make their lives difficult.
______
Dennis

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by DawnFalcon

I start telling them about the muscles in my legs (which bother me). It's remarkably effective at getting rid of them.

Or hemorrhoids.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

If they were allowed to talk to me, I'd often do it. I'd worked in a call center that placed such calls, and knew what the folks who did it had to go through. They didn't need me to make their lives difficult.
______
Dennis

Marketing research is one thing... sales call is something else. If they start with we are doing a survey to get your opinion. Of course, sales people say that too.

Also, don't lie to me. If a survey will take 30 minutes, don't tell me it will take 5 or 10... be honest.

I usually don't answer surveys... but if I do, and you tell me it takes 5 minutes I hand up after 5 minutes..

Oh... and don't ask me the SAME DAMN QUESTION twice. For example...

First question.... what year where you born...

Fourth question... what age range are you in... Um really... you can't F'ING figure that out from the year I was born?

BOb

[Catire]

Frakking School!

I get a 20 minute class last week on C language and Arrays and from that I´m supposed to be able to write a program that solves sudokus for this week???!!!!!!

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Catire

Frakking School!

I get a 20 minute class last week on C language and Arrays and from that I´m supposed to be able to write a program that solves sudokus for this week???!!!!!!