I've been on the "do not call" lists since they've been invented. Even when those e-mails went around saying we all had to re-sign-up for the do not call lists, and most of us "Snopesed" it and believed it was just a rumor, I signed up again anyway.
I have always hated telemarketers, and I have no clue who on earth actually buys from them. Someone must be buying, or they wouldn't be doing it. And it really annoys me when charities do cold-calling. They are exempt from the do not call rules, so they aren't doing anything wrong per se. But I politely tell them "I do not respond to any telephone solicitation. I give a lot to charities, but not to any who call me."
Lately I've noticed two new phenomena:
- the return of door-to-door salepeople
- telemarketers pretending we had a previous business relationship
At least once or twice a week now, I get some joker knocking on my door selling something. It's often landscaping services, window/door people, gutter or siding people, and even a septic system services, when I don't even have a septic system.
I tell them that even if I was in the market for a service or product like theirs I certainly would not do business with a company who bothers people in their homes at 8:30 at night.
Then there are the teenagers who are "selling magazine subscriptions for a college scholarship." I sold all kinds of stuff as a kid, and I'll buy cookies, candy, raffle tickets, etc from any honest kid. But this magazines-for-college scholarship thing is a scam. When I ask the kids details about the company/organization they are selling for, and how exactly it leads to a college scholarship, they can't answer. Slam.
Do they still sell "no solicitation" signs? Though, I'm afraid these morons would not even know what "solicitation" meant. My parents used to tell me about how there were lots of door-to-door salesmen in the 50s and 60s, but in 2010??? Hmm, A person selling "No Solicitation" signs door-to-door might actually get my business.
The other exception to the do not call rules is companies with whom you have a prior business relationship. So I have an Amex card; Amex can call me and offer me new products or services, etc. Fine, I accept that.
But lately I've gotten cold calls from companies like chimney sweeps, lawn services, and window installers, saying "hey, we're going to be in your neighborhood next week-- are you interrested in having your (chimney cleaned, lawn treated, or an estimate for new windows)?"
I say, "hey I'm on the Do Not Call list and you seem to violating that." They say, "oh, no, we did your (chimney, lawn, windows) in the past, and we're just checking in. I save every receipt for things like that, and I'm quite certain I've never used your company.
After hanging up, I've even had a particularly zealous chimney cleaner call me back just to say "thanks for hanging up on me, ******."
Similar thing at work: we get calls from a copy machine service saying "hey, we've worked with you before. We're calling to see if you need updates/repairs/cartridges for your machine." We're in a one-story building and so we say "the machine on the second floor or the third?" They say "the third?" We hang up.
Anyone else notice this crap? I know some businesses are facing hard times, but why not stick to marketing strategies that actually work, and not those that annoy people into deciding to NEVER do business with you ever?
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