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We never pick up the phone any more when it first rings..use the answering machine to screen. 9 out of 10 calls are PITA calls. Most people use email these days and avoid the phone.
Actually, I rarely get email other than spam and business email with clients.
We get collection calls from attorney's office and what I assume are collection agencies for someone named D. Broom. Have for several years. She puts down our number for some reason as the phone company assures us that this number was not assigned to a D. Broom in the past.
It seems to be the same voices and numbers over and over. I assure them that no one by that name lives here. I don't think they believe me.
Yes..only thing is that might be tough for calls that come as 'unavailable' from people who prefer to hide their number no?
One of my neighbors has caller ID blocked so I told her to unblock if she wants to talk to us. *82 mostly works I think.
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Well with the above now we got to buy stuff to stop calls on a phone which is something to get calls in the first place..so we pay now to stop getting calls which we pay for already..;-)..
Please do not torment yourself with trying to apply logic to this situation!!!
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Now I think we now have to just get used to the idea that if you buy any product now in the 21st we can never underestimate the fact that somebody somewhere will cause you to hate it so much that you would pay to continue for it to do what it was meant to do in the first place without extraneous problems. That is progress...;-)..btw...how much are ya paying for er ...virus protection???? That's screwed up too, eh?
Reminds me of another thread about how you are dealing with technology. Well, I m still waiting for actual useable technology. What we have now is barbaric.
I noticed that if I respond to those phone surveys asking political questions, the number of calls goes up. I think our number ends up on a super list of some sort that gets passed around.
So I started pontificating. If they ask my opinion on something I go on and on. I refuse to answer 10, very concerned. Or 1, could care less. Or if I do pick a number, I go back and forth. "6. No make that a 4. No, I think 6 is closer. What do you thnk? Oh, what the hell, put down 5."
I always ask who is paying for this survey. They never know. But it takes up time.
If they ask who I plan to vote for I respond that that's why we have a secret ballot in this country.
DH has picked up a couple of times and been requested to take a survey. He always asks them how much they're paying for his time, and how they are going to pay. He gets very persistent with that question.
Some of us have to make a living calling out selling. I bet some of the high and mighty retirees had to do the same thing when they first began their career, and maybe beyond. I dislike talking on the phone or calling people I don't know. Heck, I rarely call my sweet mom, who is the best human God ever put on earth. But I do have to call call people I have a financial relationship with, all day, every day. And I know they might get tired of it, but it's my job.
Rarely do I get a rude answer. That is to their credit. But for some of you and your ideas how to deal with us "unsolicited callers", remember when you were trying to make a living and how you may have been annoying to customers or manager, or co-workers.
Don't want the call, no need to blow a whistle or threaten to litigate.
I have a cell phone, only. Being part of the younger generation that grew up as cell phones were becoming common place, I see no value in a land line. I also see landlines are regularly targeted by these calls. I only get a couple per year. My wife used to get some because she had given her cell phone number to a radio station, which eventually closed and liquidated its assets--which included selling off their list of personal information.
My personal method for dealing with it, on the rare event that it happens to my cell phone, is to have a one sided phone sex call. Chick or dude, I don't care, it's not like I'm really into phone sex, but it is a GREAT way to get removed from the list. I've never been called back by a company I greeted with phone sex. I know it isn't that employees fault, but unfortunately requesting to be removed from the list doesn't work. I have to make the decision that gets me off the list.
If there was an actual method that worked to one hundred percent block all soliciting calls, I would strongly prefer that. My goal is to not be called, and I would prefer to do that without having to ask, in a deep voice, what some man or woman in a cubicle is wearing. Unfortunately, I have people knock on my door despite a hand crafted sign that clearly states that we absolutely do not accept solicitors. Girl scouts are an exception, and our sign clearly states that only girl scouts may knock. We will always buy cookies to support girl scouts.
Some of us have to make a living calling out selling. I bet some of the high and mighty retirees had to do the same thing when they first began their career, and maybe beyond. I dislike talking on the phone or calling people I don't know. Heck, I rarely call my sweet mom, who is the best human God ever put on earth. But I do have to call call people I have a financial relationship with, all day, every day. And I know they might get tired of it, but it's my job.
Rarely do I get a rude answer. That is to their credit. But for some of you and your ideas how to deal with us "unsolicited callers", remember when you were trying to make a living and how you may have been annoying to customers or manager, or co-workers.
Don't want the call, no need to blow a whistle or threaten to litigate.
Good post!! Always good to have 'the other side of the story.' I do think about people that are just doing their job, so I make it as simple as I can. 'No thanks' usually works just fine for me.
Or if you're bored, make a game of it and see how long you can keep someone on the phone. Ask for more details, what happens under various scenarios, could you repeat that last part again, etc. Sure, it's a little mean, but less mean than calling up people during dinner to sell them some useless service.
Regards,
hikernut
Most of the calls I get are automated, except for the fake Microsoft calls. It's not a good idea to respond in any way to the automated ones, because then they know they've got a live one and can harass you forever. The Do Not Call list is worthless. No one enforces it. You can file a complaint with the FTC, which seems to work better. You can learn a lot from Googling the phone numbers.
"Hello, we're concerned about your septic tank. Is your septic tank healthy? Does your septic tank need a health provider?"
They went on and on in this vein.
They called every damn day.
I had never done business with them.
I reported them every day to the DNC site every day for 30 days, then gave up.
No spam calls on the cell. Now I've probably jinxed myself.
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