Anti telemarketer movement

The Lounge General Discussion
#1

I would love to start a movement to harasse telemarketers.

Blocking their calls does nothing…BUT, if you have the time, trying to waste as much of their time as possible is great.

I get 3 calls a day from Marriot Hotels. Ive never stayed there. Rather than block the calls, i take it, slam 0 a bunch of times to bypass the robocall part of the message. I get a marketer, and i let them go through their schpiel…falsely answer questions, and lead them in circles. They end up getting mad at ME and angrily hang up. Good fun (providing you have the time). Wasting their time prevents sales.

Ultimately id like to be able to keep someone on long enough to be able to trace a call (no idea how to do that) then start calling them tieing up their lines.

STOP TELEMARKETERS: the movement
Time to fight back

:slight_smile:

5 Likes
#2

So you have some fun while staying active on the call list. Sounds like a great plan :yum:

1 Like
#3

I cant get off the damn list. Ive called the hotel and they dont do anything.

So ill just interfere with their job.

:fu: Marriot
:slight_smile:

#4

A telemarketing operator does not like spending their day calling strangers to upset them, setting themselves up to catch flak. The job sucks, but that person is trying to put food on the table. No one likes receiving those calls, but don’t be a dick towards those who are on the front line crushing their souls each time they call or receive a routing connection.

6 Likes
#5

I’m really glad that I live in a country where telemarketing is not allowed until you purposely opt-in.

Austria - Opt-in legislation applies for all three forms of direct marketing.

from: Marketing Regulations in Euope

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#6

this is an important thing to remember. Also a lot of telemarketers are paid mostly through commission or depend on sales quotas to keep their job. wasting their time is preventing them from actually being able to make any money to support themselves., possibly costing them their jobs.

1 Like
#9

You can get call minders either built into the phone or as a separate unit, these intercept all calls and unless they are saved numbers then it makes them leave a message who is calling, then the phone rings and it informs you that you have a call from “Fred at Marriot Hotels” press 1 to take the call or hang up, then it logs the number and gives the option to block it.

3 Likes
#10

I only get nasty if it’s a scammer, like the Microsoft virus one or some pyramid scheme.
They can definitely go fuck themselves.

Got a couple of mates who had to do cold calling when they were hard up, they both got really depressed about it and both chose to be poor rather than do that. Not everyone’s as lucky as them though.

#11

I highly doubt that people taking these Jobs dont know what they do and what awaits them. Plus: Its not that they couldnt do something else, right?! Everyone has a choice. Even the poorest. There are dozens of other small Jobs that dont harass people on their Phone.

3 Likes
#12

Also this tends to make the marketters flag your number and remove it from their list.

I tend never to answer any call on my mobile with id withheld or from a number I don’t recognise, send it straight to answerphone.

I think by answering and engaging with marketeers encourages them to share your number, if they know you are never going to take the call they will almost certainly remove it from their database.

FWIW marketeers would not exist if people did not buy whatever they are selling, I do have a problem with them preying on the elderly or mentally disadvantaged though.

2 Likes
#13

Bear in mind as well that some people love sales and love talking to people, I would not condemn a whole industry based on some bad actors.

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#14

If the poor had choices I doubt there would be so many of them.

5 Likes
#15

while you have a very optimistic outlook on the job market, it’ s a lot more difficult to find a job than one would think. I’m sure there are a number of users on this board that can attest to that. Even the OP of this topic was once very open about the difficulties of finding work. Personal principles cannot be exchanged for rent and food.

i dont think people on this planet needs any more excuses to be terrible to each other.

11 Likes
#16

Oh, interesting view… I guess it’s ok that some farmers continue to sell poisonous products then ? Because, you know, “they try to put food on the table”. Too bad it happens to be my table where they put the cancer-sprayed stuff.

Rent and food vs. morality…

Also, to those flagging comments because they happen to be of a different opinion from yours: I don’t care :slight_smile:

1 Like
#17

people are likely flagging you cause of the foul language you choose to use.

Someone calling you when you don’t want them too, and a farmer knowingly selling poisonous food are two entirely different topics. If you cannot judge the difference, i’m sorry. Contemplate on it for a while.

3 Likes
#18

Im sorry i dont care.

Picture this scenario…
Im actually waiting on job interview calls. No one has office lines anymore. And in my line of werk the caller usually isnt known until jsut before the call. Itll be someone from the dept that isnt too busy.
So i have no idea what number will be calling.
So i HAVE to answer these calls. I cant afford to miss an interview.

This is how these marketing calls can really mess things up.

1 Like
#20

I dont use foul language. I extend the call with no outcome for the caller. I can usually end with a question. No swearing needed.

#21

the person who was flagged did. that is who i was replying too.

if you need the line open, as you edited into your post, why would you waste time messing with someone on the telephone? That really doesn’t make sense. At that point if you miss an interview its all your fault for choosing to play on the phone.

1 Like
#22

Oh ! fine, delicate people here. I’ll rephrase then:

Telemarketers can go talk to themselves (or go find a better job… or better yet, create it, I don’t care). This entire industry is like cancer. But really, why waste your time with them ? Just hang up. My rule of thumb: if you’re not in my contacts, I just don’t answer.

#24

Well, this turned ugly reaaaaal fast.