djbpitt@unix.cis.pitt.edu (David J Birnbaum) (09/06/90)
In response to a complaint about abusive behavior by telemarketers working for the Sierra Club, our Moderator commented: >[Moderator's Note: I can't help but wonder if the Sierra Club was >doing this or if they had farmed it out to some telemarketing >organization. If the latter, you really should not take it out on the >Sierra Club until you are sure they are aware of, and approve of the >techniques being used. The organization may have not known how >obnoxious their agents were on the phone. PAT] With all due respect, it is the responsibility of the Sierra Club, or anyone else who farms out their telemarketing, to monitor performance and techniques. If the Sierra Club is going to hire someone to call their members, the Sierra Club has a duty to guarantee that those members will not be bothered by unethical behavior by these Sierra Club agents. They should care about such matters as much as they care about raising money through telemarketing. And they have an affirmative duty to know about and disapprove of the techniques in question. I don't belong to the Sierra Club, have never received a telephone solicitation from them, and don't mean to single them out. No company that hires telemarketers should be excused for those telemarketers' unethical behavior because the company "may not have known." David