This made me laugh so hard!

Keavy · Post by **Keavy** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 8:29 pm

http://howtoprankatelemarketer.ytmnd.com

Tinacat · Post by **Tinacat** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 9:06 pm

Bob and Tom is awsome

Rinni · Post by **Rinni** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 10:19 pm

lmao that's friggen hysterical

mmm need to remember that one

Keisuna · Post by **Keisuna** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 12:54 am

That's awesome. It makes me glad I only have a cell phone and not a house phone. Stupid Telemarketers.

Gabryel · Post by **Gabryel** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 8:35 am

Wow.....just...wow rofl

Post by **Karou Ariyen** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 10:20 am

Rofl

Pheonixhawk · Post by **Pheonixhawk** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 10:54 pm

I honestly thought that prank call was pretty f**ked up. After all, the dude was just doing his job...

It already sucks having to sit in a stupid office, trying to call people who hang up on you in mid sentence or ignore you or just lose thier temper etc etc. Being a tele-marketer is not fun at all. And then as if your job didn't already suck enough, you get pranked and feel like you could be arrested for no apparent reason. Im just hoping the guy didn't take it too personally...

Keavy · Post by **Keavy** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 11:42 pm

I personally don't like getting unsolicited calls and there are other jobs out there.

Post by **Alya Mizar (Tsybil)** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 1:55 am

People who make unsolicited marketing calls deserve anything they get.

When I get them and I am not in a mood to play with them, I simply tell them to remove my name from their list. When I am feeling playful, they had better be on their mental toes. They never are though.

I like getting them to hang up on me.

Okuza · Post by **Okuza** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 2:05 am

Heh, usually I just set the phone down and let them drone on. If I'm feeling like having some fun, it's "Oh, that's *just* what I was looking for! .. oh, sec, another call, hold on, I'll be right back!" Then I see how long I can string them on. The more time they waste on me the better. ^^

Pheonixhawk · Post by **Pheonixhawk** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 6:07 am

*sigh*

Post by **Sugami** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 12:18 pm

Funny stuff

luckily I don't have to deal with those things as it's always "Can I speak to the head of the household?" or whatever and that is not me so my parents get to deal with them.

Closest would be my mobile network trying to stop me from getting off contract, they tried twice offering "cheap" contracts but not cheap enough

Igihstehr · Post by **Igihstehr** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 11:25 pm

I have to say that I have to agree with PH. My job keeps me on the phone all day long (I answer the phones in a laboratory in a hospital). It's bad enough when you have a sucky job, but when people torment you (like power-mad @sshole doctor's) when you're just trying to do your jobs really it sucks more than anything else in the world...

Remember that when you're having your fun that it's a real person on the other end and if they could possibly find any other job they probably would...

Okuza · Post by **Okuza** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 2:16 am

Answering phones as a job is fundamentally different than cold-calling people. If you take a job that you know pisses people off, then you deserve all the grief you get.

Igihstehr wrote:when people torment you (like power-mad @sshole doctor's) when you're just trying to do your jobs really it sucks more than anything else in the world

This is one thing that just really irks the hell out of me. Not you, Igi -- some for the doc -- but mostly at the utter idiot that creates a job and then doesn't give the person who's job it is the power to do the job; eg. airline terminal -- passenger just yelling his head off at attendant because plane is overbooked and they're kicking him to different flight. Attendant has zero power to do anything to fix the problem and yet that's her job. I'm assuming it's the same kind of thing for you fielding calls from some doctor that wants you to turn the lab's schedule on it's ear to get him his results faster. Your job to sooth him (maybe only implicitly part of job), but you don't control lab schedule.

Pheonixhawk · Post by **Pheonixhawk** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 2:25 am

Okuza wrote:Answering phones as a job is fundamentally different than cold-calling people. If you take a job that you know pisses people off, then you deserve all the grief you get.

But what if it IS the only job that person can get, and really really really doesnt want to do it? Lemme guess. Sucks to be them? -.-

Keavy · Post by **Keavy** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 4:03 am

Pheonixhawk wrote:
Okuza wrote:Answering phones as a job is fundamentally different than cold-calling people. If you take a job that you know pisses people off, then you deserve all the grief you get.
But what if it IS the only job that person can get, and really really really doesnt want to do it? Lemme guess. Sucks to be them? -.-

Jobs are out there. Most people aren't looking hard enough or aren't willing to do the alternative.

You always have a choice.

Pheonixhawk · Post by **Pheonixhawk** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 6:27 am

Not necessarily. Sometimes, simple things in life play a role, such as time, death of family, etc etc. For all we know you could be forced to take a crap job because your apartment would be taken away in a week, and say for example the crap job pay's daily like McDonalds or something (yes I know they don't pay daily) and a decent amount, and youve been waiting on your job application to be approved from the non-crap job that you are qualified for. Problem is, it takes 3 weeks for the process. You don't have 3 weeks, and the crap job could easily pay off the bill. Wouldn't you take the job to no risk being kicked out? So you take the job, and people make fun of you all day long, thus making you miserable. Now for an extra twist, they play a super cruel trick on you, because the previous a-hole did something jacked up, like spit in thier drink or something and thier out to get revenge on all people who work at McDonald's one at a time. Do you honestly believe you deserved it? I sure don't.

True one could say, the guy should of saw he had trouble paying the bill and applied for the job earlier, but then again you could also say, that dude was just trying to do his job to make a living.

Post by **Karou Ariyen** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 11:26 am

I still find that hillarious. But You Have To Do What You Can To Survive.

what do I do besides car mods? Body Shop Manager. I'm responsible for making part calls (mostly involves me shooting my blood pressure at unsafe levels ;;) and managing my team's hours and wages. No I don't like it, but heck, if pays the bills right.

If you dont like being a telemarkter, that's cool. You're just trying to survive. But honestly you must expect to get pranked or get people who want to give you an enema with a 9mm. Just roll with the punches is my advice to them. and for the love of Promathia, get a new job

Keavy · Post by **Keavy** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 3:43 pm

I have a job where my pay depends on the people I work with.

Basically it works like this: A doctor dictates a medical report. I type the dictation then send it to them. They have to review it to make sure I didn't misspell any words or misinterpret what they said and if its fine, they sign off on it and I get paid for the work. If not, they flag the mistakes for correction, I correct it, and send it back for review.

Problem is if the doctor is busy it can be days or weeks before they sign off on my work delaying my pay for the work.

Does it suck when a doctor is too busy to sign off? Yes, but that is part of my job. It also sucks when they keep sending it back (Some find one mistake, flag it, send it back, then find another, send it back, etc) but again, part of the job.

I am well reimbursed for the annoyance when I finally get a sign off.

Its like the guy in "Clerks" who points out that the contractors who were working on Death Star II knew what they were getting into and therefore the Rebels who led the charge to destroy it in the name of intergalactic peace were not responsible for their deaths.

Tianshii · Post by **Tianshii** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 12:03 am

umm.. first off, no one was injured in that little clip so---
I thought it was hilarious!!!!
I've TRIED to be POLITE to those people...
me: i'm not interested
them: but wait! blablablabla
me: no, really... i'm not interested *hang up*
THEY CALL BACK!!!

I try speaking spanish to the english callers... moments later, I get a call from a spanish speaking person... I say I do not understand spanish.... English calls again...

I say, please remove my number from your call list.... THEY ARGUE WITH ME.
EVERY time I try to be nice, they are simply more annoying.
If they just hung up when I said I was not interested, they wouldn't piss me off as much...
What I REALLY hate is when I would get these damn calls at like 8/9 in the morning... I'M SLEEPING.
Not because I wanna sleep in... because sometimes I don't get home from my job until midnight or later.

I finally got so pissed off and fed up with these type of calls, I SHUT OFF my land line and use only my cell phone....
Several months into that, I got ONE frikkin call on my cell.
So I made it so I do not get ANY calls on my cell but from numbers that are stored in the address book & my voice mail is something like:
Wondering why this went straight to voicemail? It's because your number is not in my phone. If you are calling to sell me anything or to get me to donate to something, don't bother calling ever again because you will NEVER EVER speak to me. (then in a happy tone) Everyone else leave me your number please so I can add you!!!

Post by **Alya Mizar (Tsybil)** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 1:40 am

Your script Tianshii:

Telemarketer: Hello!! I'm calling about blah blah blah.

You: Hi can I have your name please?

TM: (If they don't hang up at this point) Mark or Mary Doe.

You: Thank you Mark. and the name of your company again please?

TM: Company name.

You: Thank you very much, please remove me from your lists and never call me again. If anyone from your company ever does I will be able to take civil action against your company, them, and you. Have a nice day. /click

Pheonixhawk · Post by **Pheonixhawk** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 2:56 am

How can they argue with you if you hang up on them?

Secondly thats a different story. If you tell them no, and then they call right back, then by all means prank, maim, etc etc. Simply because of a fair warning. But right off the bat I consider just being a jerk..

Post by **Sugami** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 12:58 pm

Tianshii wrote:I try speaking spanish to the english callers... moments later, I get a call from a spanish speaking person... I say I do not understand spanish.... English calls again...

poor Tianshii *patpat*

Tsybil wrote:Telemarketer: Hello!! I'm calling about blah blah blah.

You: Hi can I have your name please?

TM: (If they don't hang up at this point) Mark or Mary Doe.

You: Thank you Mark. and the name of your company again please?

TM: Company name.

You: Thank you very much, please remove me from your lists and never call me again. If anyone from your company ever does I will be able to take civil action against your company, them, and you. Have a nice day. /click

Can you do that?

Post by **Alya Mizar (Tsybil)** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 2:56 pm

Sugami wrote:Can you do that?

Yes, yes, no, and no.

You can say anything you darn well please true or not. Well maybe not threats of violence.

If you request that they never call you again and they do, you CAN take civil action against the company. In some states the state can take criminal action. I am unsure about Federal laws, I think they allow for federal civil penalties.

You cannot take civil action against the individual callers. I don't know about managers.

Another good line to throw in:

You: Hi Mark, do you mind if I record this conversation for legal reasons?

If they say yes, follow with:

You: Hello this is name, I am talking with Mark Doe of the Grommet Telemarketing Corp. Mark you have agreed to this recording, correct?

But mostly they hang up after the request.

This is why people can sue the ********.

Tianshii wrote:I finally got so pissed off and fed up with these type of calls, I SHUT OFF my land line and use only my cell phone....

No one should have to shut their telephone off to get privacy.

Tinacat · Post by **Tinacat** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 10:51 pm

All i have to say is, dont complain about outsourceing these jobs, if you are rude to telemarketers.

Thu Oct 19, 2006 11:45 pm

I WILL complain about outsourcing these jobs.

You can't sue a telemarketing company in India.

Tianshii · Post by **Tianshii** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 1:30 am

Pheonixhawk wrote:How can they argue with you if you hang up on them?

well... as I said

Tianshii wrote:me: no, really... i'm not interested *hang up*
THEY CALL BACK!!!

---------------------------------------------------

Tsybil wrote:No one should have to shut their telephone off to get privacy.

I didn't shut it off only to avoid the soliciting harassment. I recently changed my cellphone plan, and the min. I get with that cover whatever calls I need to make... and I can make them from anywhere at any time

So, I finally just decided that the land line was not worth the $40 a month I was paying.

As far as trying to get their name, I tried that twice and got what sounded like seriously FAKE names...
Oh and I forgot to mention... Once one called and said "Who Is This"
me: Who might YOU be?
them: so-in-so with blabidybla company
me: hmm that sounds fake. where did you get this number...
them: we are not allowed to give that information out
me: remove this number from your call list immediately. i'm going to hang up now, whatever you do DON'T CALL BACK. *click*
that seemed to do the trick for THAT one....

Another cool thing about my cell phone... It seems, so far, that after I changed the message and blocked all numbers but those in my address book--- I haven't had ANY voicemail messages from them!!!

Pheonixhawk · Post by **Pheonixhawk** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 2:05 am

Just forget I said anything. Im sorry for caring about a person who got pranked because he was just doing his already shitty job.

Okuza · Post by **Okuza** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 9:46 am

Noooo, that's not quite how it works. We'll all write it down and bring it up much later in a totally irrelevant conversation to torment you at the worst possible time. It's a Mithra tradition.

Tinacat · Post by **Tinacat** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 4:49 pm

I care to phoenixhawk