haas@utah-cs.UUCP (Walt Haas) (07/12/84)
Unlisted numbers don't stop the telephoned advertisements. I had one for several years and got lots of junk calls - as far as I can tell, they just dial numbers at random. The other night three-fourths of my phone calls were advertising things I didn't want. What a pain in the neck - junk calls take a lot longer to get rid of than junk mail. I haven't yet stooped to being rude to the poor sucker that's getting paid to make the call, but I'm ready to try anything else within reason. Cheers -- Walt
eagan@phoenix.UUCP (Marianne D. [Sarno] Eagan) (07/13/84)
I wonder if writing to our congressmen would help move them to pass a bill to declare junk calls illegal? I consider it an invasion of privacy, In response to those who said they keep the person hanging to waste their time, at first I thought that was cruel, but the more I think of it, the caller certainly KNOWS what they are doing--they are disturbing you in your home (or whereever). So, why NOT waste their time! I think in the future I will 1. ask for the name of their company 2. tell them to please hold on. 3. contact their company and tell them how I feel.
etan@tellab1.UUCP (Nate Stelton) (07/16/84)
Warning: This line not intended for human consumption. If read, induce vomiting.
My father had an amusing approach to telephone solocitors. Whenever
possible, he would tell them he was a supplies vendor for a product that
he thought the caller's company might be interested in, and try to sell
THEM something! It was amazing how polite and cooperative the callers
usually were to this.
-etanburt@axiom.UUCP (Burt Janz) (07/19/84)
Frankly, I just hang up on 'em. I consider ANY of those junk phone calls OBSCENE and don't even give 'em the time of day. And I don't care HOW bad they feel! Burt Janz
chuqui@nsc.UUCP (Chuq) (08/05/84)
>If you really don't want to hurt their feelings (e.g. by hanging up as soon >as you know it's junk) get a telephone answering machine. You can listen >to the calls that come in and answer the ones you want. I would much rather hang up on someone I know than force my friends to listen to my machine while I'm home. I find it somewhat annoying (but understandable) when someone does that to me. -- From the depths of the Crystal Cavern: Chuq Von Rospach {amd,decwrl,fortune,hplabs,ihnp4}!nsc!chuqui nsc!chuqui@decwrl.ARPA Dreams, dreams, enchanter! Gone with the harp's echo when the strings fall mute; with the flame's shadow when the fire dies. Be still, and listen.
larry@hpfclp.UUCP (larry) (08/16/84)
If you really don't want to hurt their feelings (e.g. by hanging up as soon as you know it's junk) get a telephone answering machine. You can listen to the calls that come in and answer the ones you want. Larry Fenske
barrett@hpcnoe.UUCP (barrett) (08/20/84)
About how to handle receipt of obnoxious junk telephone calls, there are
several strategies. The one that I tend to use is:
1) Excuse me, I have to check on something for a moment, can
you hold a second?
I then go back to bed and leave the phone off the hook until I hear the
click.
These calls typically come on Saturday or sunday morning. If the
person on the other end is talking a mile a minute after I say hello, then
I just don't say anything and go back to bed and wait until they hangup.
It is amazing how long they will talk sometimes before realizing that there
is no-one listening. If they call at a particularly bad time (before
8 am on sunday), then they get the all out polite treatment as follows:
Hello?
Hi, I am calling for obnoxious widgets incorporated and am
glad to inform you that you have just won a prize; all you
have to do is buy the wonderful-widget. This little gem....
<at this point, I let them finish while I rest my eyes and
go back to bed, this time with the phone to my ear>
Well, Mr. Barrett, how many should I sign you up for?
Well, I am really kind of undecided at this point, is there
anything else I should know about your product?
<They then go into another 2-5 minute monologue,and then...>
Does that help?
Yes. It does indeed. Can you think of ANYTHING at all else
that I should know about this product, or ANY OTHER product
that you are selling?
<this can cycle for quite awhile; you can terminate
the process at any time as follows, or see how long it
takes the person to become exasperated and hang up on YOU!>
Thank you, you have done an excellent job in informing me
about your product (line). I now know that I will never
need it and can tell everyone I know all about it. Bye.
The last strategy was used after a good friend of mine, who worked
as a telephone solicitor informed me of how they are evaluated: by the
number of calls that they make. He said that being hung up on was just
fine since he could go on with the next person very quickly. The strategy
of hanging on as long as possible has the side effect of saving some other
poor person from being awakend with this crap, and reducing the effectivness
of phone soliciting in general. In that way, it may eventually be eliminated
as a means of trying to sell products.
Before I get tons of hate mail from people:
It is unfortunate that the poor telephone solicitor on the other end of
the phone line is caught in the middle here. One strategy may be to try
and climb the buerocratic ladder to get to a responsible person by asking
to speak with the solicitor's boss. I used to try to be polite to them,
but too many calls waking me up that didn't even give me a chance to get
ONE single word in for 5 minutes became too annoying.
It would be nice if I could have a way to prevent soliciting occuring to
my home at all by informing the phone company, and whoever gives out
the phone numbers could delete mine from their lists. Solicitors then
would be warned and would get whatever treatment a trespassor would get.
Does anyone know of a way to prevent soliciting in advance?
Dave Barrett
hplabs!hp-dcd!barrett