Normally when you win something it comes to you free, right? Ok, so play along with me here for a moment and all will come clear.
You see, I keep getting these calls from automated telemarketers for everything from paying too much interest on my credit cards to the warranty on my car running out. Yesterday the automated call was ever so slightly different. I've had this call before so I knew what was coming so I decided to have fun with it. This time I wasn't being told how I could save money, I was told I won a trip for 4, all expenses paid to Barbados! Yes, an all expenses paid vacation! Wow, lucky me!
Uh huh, not so much, you see, I've listened to the rest of this spiel before! Someone who shops at Macy's, Eaton's, Sears or some other such store entered my name for this competition. Yep, sure they did, first I don't know anyone who shops at any of these types of stores, second none of these stores exist in this little hick town I live in, so I know that wasn't true! As this automated telemarketer was saying her thing, I started making comments and I asked a question and that's when it happened!
Before I get into the question that I asked, let me ask you how rude does a person need to be in order to get an automated telemarketer to hang up on you? Let me remind you, this telemarketer is AUTOMATED, that means that it's a recording! You didn't think you could be rude enough to have a recording hang up on YOU did you? Well, it's possible, and this is how it's done. See, you have to listen to their nonsense at least once to fully know what it is they are trying to get from you, then the next time you call, you play!
Yeah yeah yeah, I know it's automated what's the point in playing? Well guess what!?! Even automated calls have real live operators listening in just waiting to pounce as soon as you press the right number! Oh yes they do, don't tell me I'm full of it! How do you think that an automation can hang up on you if there weren't someone listening in, hmmmmmmm?
Anyway, I'm rambling so back to my point. Yesterday I got this call that I had won a trip to Barbados, all expenses paid no less! The thing of it is though, what I learned having previously listened to this rabble was that this trip I supposedly won was going to cost me $99.99 per person, plus I'd have to drive down to New York City in order to claim my prize. Nice free trip, huh!?!
So my question to this automation was "Yep, a FREE trip to Barbados and all it was going to cost me was a 2 day drive, the hotel bill for staying the night on the way there, $99.99 per person and then whatever costs were incurred while in New York before I can even claim my prize, right?" Well, that's what I WAS going to ask, but the line went dead when I got to the "and all it's going to cost me part". Apparently the person listening in wasn't too happy that I was aware that in order to collect this "prize" I had to pay a small fortune! I hadn't even mentioned that I'd have to get a passport for myself along with whoever I was going to take along!
So, do you think I was rude? I don't think so, I think I was just having fun. It's my right as a citizen to be able to have fun even at the expense of an automation :D I do so enjoy seeing just how long one of these automated calls takes before it hangs up on me. I have to admit sometimes I can't be rude enough, sometimes, just sometimes, I'm the one who ends up doing the hanging up as the person listening in must be enjoying the joke more than me!
I know exactly what your talking about. Those damn telemarketers are something else.They can't talk to you over the phone, they have to get a f-ing machine to do their dirty work for them. I think that they are scared that they would get hung up on. They are right.The way I like to do it,is let them say everything they have to say.Then they'll ask you are you interested, NOPE!!! I like to have fun with them too!!LOL!!
ReplyDeleteOMG
ReplyDeleteThe automated thingy hung up on you?
That would have hurt my feelings.
Yeah I know, I'm too sensitive.
Great story. If they aren't courteous enough to speak to you in person, then you don't have to be courteous in return.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you had some fun with them!
Rude? Noooo.. Of course not!
ReplyDeleteWe don't have these totally aumated things, but operators who sound like that. so if I interrupt saying: "Oh, thank you so much, not interrested,don't really have time right now, but thanks, have a nice day" - at a similar speed they're talking, they usually wish me the same and hang up. If they offer me something to buy, I sometimes lie that I have it already. And when a person from Telekom was persuading me that, for technical reasons, I need one service if want the other, I asked him "Well, that's actually not true, is it?" And the guy said "Well, no, but I have to say it is." LOL! I actually had to order both, but there's this customer's association here that achieved tha Telekom had to stop selling their services that way and even had to return money to many customers. But his answer, you must admit, was brilliant.
They are fun to play with, aren't they Donna? The live operators so much more so than the automated ones, but it is fun to see how long it takes them to hang up on me...lol
ReplyDeleteOh Auntie, I tend to time it to see how long it takes for them to hang up. I do everything in my power to make it happen. I even had a live call not so long ago where all I did was repeat everything the telemarketer was saying and using her accent. Finally she just said "B*#@H" and hung up. I figure if they can't listen to you when you say you don't have time to listen to them and that you're not interested, they deserve to be made fun of.
That I did Reffie! Lot's of fun every time I get these calls...lol. You're right though, courteous is as courteous does :D
You're right there Minka, that is a brilliant answer! I don't know if telemarketers are more stubborn here or not, but I have not had one yet that listened to a thing I said unless I was being somewhat rude. The fact that you can get them to hang up after saying good day, is incredible! I wish your way worked here, it would make life so much easier!
I will have to remember that! I don't think you were being rude. I talk to the damn recordings all of the time.
ReplyDeleteI also like to have fun with the live telemarketers too. Check out my blog post http://soggy-doggy-bloggy.blogspot.com/2008/11/dumbass-telelmarketer.html
On my way there now Dizz, and if I haven't said it before, I'll say it now, Welcome to my blogging home! :)
ReplyDeleteI hate it when anyone calls, let alone a stranger trying to sell me something! HA!
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the funny half of my home Otin!
ReplyDeleteI'm not fond of phone calls either which is why I make fun of those that I can. I'm kinda nasty that way...lol.
And there's another thing: the people who call for surveys. And I hear this usually quite young voice at the other end of the line asking me if I could answer a few questions. Knowing that it's probably a student trying to make some mone of their own instead of having the parents pay for everything I often agree. Once there was this girl asing me if I could spare two minutes. I simply asked: "And how long would these two minutes take?" The honest young person areplied: "Errr... about ten minutes..." LOL
ReplyDelete"Okay then. I happen to have time right now."
There certainly is that Minka. You know, for all of 2 weeks I was one of those telemarketers. I hated it! You get paid minimum wage and then a comition of your sales. It doesn't matter whether you get listened to or not, the quicker someone who isn't going to buy your product hangs up, the quicker you can get on to the next guy and try again. Because quite frankly, if they don't buy it, you don't get paid. It's a horrible job and that's the reason why they've switched to automated telemarketing here. They just can't keep staff on hand that is happy to be paid next to nothing.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Minka answers those surveys because I had a job like that a while ago and she knows how annoying it was for me. I had to annoy people and I was annoyed by annoying others :D Terrible feeling..
ReplyDeleteBut some people really understood how I felt. Once I was looking for a man or a woman between 30 and 50 and some older lady answered. She was 65 so I already wanted to thank her and leave but she said it was no problem and that she would say she's 50 if anyone asks. Such a cool lady. :))
Now see, you have way more patients than I do Skye. I wouldn't be able to listen to the recording the first time, let alone the second.
ReplyDeleteNow that is really sweet Poppy! Just yesterday I had a call for a survey from the bank where I do all my banking. I was actually nice to the man and asked if I had to take the survey, he said no it wasn't mandatory. So I explained to him that I had just gotten off work and that I was really tired and would prefer if I could go and lie back down. He was very nice and must have said thank you to me about 5 times.
ReplyDeleteI understand how people feel doing these surveys too, they aren't fun and the people can be quite rude. When it comes to live phone calls, it's only when I can hear that the person doing the calling is bored or if that person him/herself is rude that I start to get rude. But the automated calls, I'm always rude for usually though I just hang up on them :)
Sometimes Sue, it pays to listen just so that a little fun can be had :) And trust me, it can be fun to see just how quickly I can get them to hang up on me!
ReplyDeleteHEEEELLLLLLOOOOOOOO!!!!!! SKYE ! WHEEERRREEE ARRRRRREEEEE YOOOOOUUUU?????
ReplyDeleteOOOHHHHHH SKKYYYYYEEEEE COME OUT, COME OUT WHERE EVER YOU ARE!!!!! LMAO!!!!!
I'm around Donna...lol. Are you wanting me to write another post? I've got one in the making, it'll take a bit though :)
ReplyDeletehahah. you said "these types of stores" like they are some obscure, other-earthly specialty store that only freaks shop at.
ReplyDeletewell, you just might be right
oh skye. i " heart " you
I "heart" you too Brit!
ReplyDelete