Slashdot Mirror
Telemarketers Sue Over "Do Not Call" List
Joey Patterson writes "CNN reports that 'Telemarketers expanded their legal challenge to the government's do-not-call list, suing a second federal agency over the call-blocking service for consumers that the industry says will devastate business and cost as many as two million jobs.'"
The list works. What a shame
will devastate business and cost as many as two million jobs Telephonus Marketroidae are getting closer to the Endangered Species List.
Was there a constitutional right to profit that I missed?
Wow, a lucrative publishing contract! I don't have to be evil anymore. --Meteor
I'm sure alot of people who work for telemarketers have their names on the list just so they don't get calls.
Gibble: Descriptive of an emotional state in which one's mind is scrabbling for some purchase on reality
one could argue that they never had a viable industry in the first place. I mean sure they were born during the gee-whiz days of telephone technology, but yesterdays novelties are today's nuisances.
...then later, then. Seriously, it should have been tackled long ago. What I'd like the government to do is say "OK, we'll compensate for those being laid off, but the list is staying." THEN we'll see the true side of the telemarketters.
FYI - if you work in email spam, better start looking for a job now while you have a chance...
Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
Another industry with a doomed business model resorting to litigation to address its (short-term) problems.
.
If I were a telemarketer, I'd be overjoyed at the prospect of a national do-not-call list. It should be seen as a list of people who aren't likely to buy anything from me, thus reducing the time I waste calling people who probably won't buy. The feds even pay to maintain it!
Also . .
The suit's argument that jobs will be lost is worthless. If they were motivated by providing jobs, I wouldn't get so many pre-recorded solicitations. I'm sure the industry would eliminate almost all their employees if they thought it would bring them more profit.
'I ain't a liar, baby, and I ain't proud I just want what I'm not allowed.' -- Violent Femmes, 36-24-36
They finally have to find a more dignified job.
The message on the other side of this sig is false.
Isn't this exactly like the candle manufacturers suing the electric utilities, claiming electricity will cause massive job loss? On the other hand, what are all those losers whose only skill is having a big mouth and being able to follow a script going to do for a living now?
"Freedom means freedom for everybody" -- Dick Cheney
They're stating that not only has the FTC been distributing their intellectual property over P2P networks, but that it was also illegally incorporated into Linux.
(What? This is a different lawsuit? I thought Slashdot only covered the RIAA and SCO!)
*sheds a tear for the pain and suffering of telemarketers*
If the RIAA can get their continued existance legislated, it's only fair the telemarketing field gets the same treatment...
-insert a witty something-
Exemptions included...calls on behalf of politicians.
So, even if I put up the telephone equivalent of a "Do not trespass" sign, the craziest of all businessmen are still allowed to call me?
Ceci n'est pas une sig.
Cry me a river.
If they (the Telemarketers) hadn't been so pushy uptil now, then the List wouldn't be necessary.
But they were, and so it is.
So 2 million high school&college kids/temp workers with no invested education for their job are out of work. They can go work anywhere else that doesn't require training.
Now how about the IT industry planning to fire 8% of it's US work force and move 3.3 million jobs to India and other Asian countries?
We need to sue/pass legislature/whatever to secure our jobs, damnit!
no comment
I'm confused. This means that half the people that buy products from telemarketers will sign up and therefore prevent themselves from buying new products?
Someone's being really stupid here. Is it the people that buy products & prevent themselves from buying more? Is it the telemarketers making this up? Or is it just me?
Practice Kind Randomness and Beautiful Acts of Nonsense.
Maybe those 2 million people can get jobs selling magazines door-to-door.
Oh wait. People hate that, too.
blog
Exemptions from the list include calls from charities and pollsters and calls on behalf of politicians.
But calls from people telling me, Vote for Dayton/Coleman/Ventura/ whoever else is running are the worst kind. And don't get me started on charity calls, It's bad when they try to sell something, it's worse when the ask me to give them something for nothing. Toughen the law even more, I say. Make those annoying "oops wrong number" calls a federal offense. I don't want my phone to ring for anyone I don't already know. In fact, add my family to the list. The only ones I want to allow to call me are single women.
SAILING MISHAP
You'd really think they'd notice the overwhelming response to the DNC registry and think "hey wait, maybe people really dont want to hear from us"...no such luck
If you can't see the value in jet powered ants you should turn in your nerd card. - Dunbal (464142)
'...cost as many as two million jobs.'
Another group of people who went to the 'RIAA School of Maths'
I have over 70 freaks, do you?
I have heard that, in the day of door-to-door salesmen, many such folk were actually thrilled to see "No Solicitors" signs, because they felt that such signs were indicators that the people there knew they couldn't stand up to a sales pitch. I'll bet the same logic might be applied here, so those of us who prefer not to be called might in fact have inadvertently invited twice as many.
What I don't understand is why the list officially does not apply to cell phones? I get sales calls on my cell phone, and it pisses me off. I pay for those minutes on incoming calls!
The CB App. What's your 20?
It beats me why the telemarketers are complaining. Currently about 28 million numbers have been registered on the national Do Not Call list, of around 313 million phone numbers in the US - that's less than 10%.
Until 100% of numbers are registered I would have thought the telemarketers would have loved this. A tool that lets them to avoid wasting time calling people who don't want their services. This should make their operation much more efficient - in other words profitable.
If they really believe they offer a valuable service, then clearly 100% of numbers won't be registered and they can continue to operate a profitable business serving those who do want their calls. Those who don't want to be called aren't. Win-win.
Sailing over the event horizon
how many of those 2 million jobs that they claim will be MIA are located in the US?
Uh...I'm pretty sure they pay the phone company for the calls...
Not that I think the do-not-call list is a bad thing...I'm registered. I think this is the death of an industry, but a death that I want to happen. An industry's right to profit should end the moment it interfers with my rights.
Warning: Opinions known to be heavily biased.
You are either a consumer, or you are with the terrorists.
Well, paraphrasing slightly, but I think you get the picture. If you can't be pressured into buying things that you don't want and don't need, then what's going to happen to all the people making those things, and applying that pressure? They'll have to get, you know, actual jobs.
I suggest they start making buggy whips, as most of us need them about as much as the current products and services that need to pimp themselves with unsolicited calls.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
"Hell has expanded its ongoing legal challenge to religion and is suing yet another church over the concept of salvation, which Hell claims is devastating its business and will cost millions minimum-wage demons their jobs."
It is as easy as that. Build a business on annoying people and then, when the annoyed people react, cry "But won't anyone think of the children (of our employees)?". The point is they shouldn't exist in the first place (the employees, not their children). It should not be everybody else's problem if you have a business model based upon a service no one wants (because if everybody wanted it we wouldn't be having this conversation, would we?).
*... of the world's smallest violin plays for the ATA.*
Anyone else feel like starting up a telemarketing scam for telemarketers?
"Hello, sir. Are you pissed since people no longer want to hear your sales pitch during their dinners? Would you like to hear about a technology which beats that nasty 'do not call' list? With our new technology, we are able to allow you to get around those laws and continue letting you peddle your crappy interest rate credit cards and stupid health insurance policies without the federal government finding out about it all! Are you interested, sir?"
"What? It sounds like you're eating right now. Well, just think about how surprised your potential clients will be when they have the same thing happen to them. If I can just get your name, address, telephone number, credit card and social security numbers, we can send our informational package to you for the low price of $159.99!"
-Jellisky
I can't believe how much the media and the courts let slip by. The CNN article should have been titled Telemarketers Attempt to Defraud Courts with fake job loss numbers and scare tactics.
I don't have a clue how many people the Tele-hacks employ, but I sure know that they never get any business from me. By using this list, I am saving them time - increasing their profits!
2 Million Jobs! You have to be kidding me!
Why can't the media see thru lies like this one, and the RIAA, and simply report that companies are lying in order to survive.
I live in Missouri where I have enjoyed the protection of a State Do Not Call List. I have received two calls in the (2 or 3?) years the list has been in operation.
Having a state do-not-call registry, I do not see how a national list will reduce the number of unsolicited calls.
You would think the national list will make it easier on telemarketers. It must be easier to deal with one list rather than 50.
A loss of two million jobs...of which a large number are convicts, currently serving prison sentences, who get paid below minimum wage, because it's a good source of cheap labor with American accents, and it's their only opportunity for work. See, e.g., http://www.stopjunkcalls.com/convict.htm
* mild mannered physics grad student by day *
* daring code hacker by night *
http://www.silent-tristero.com
Why even complain about the do not call list if those people listed on the do not call list basically are saying that they don't want to buy stuff from the telemarketers in the first place!
That's like me getting a list of girls who would never go out with me. I'd love to have that list , it would save me time. Then again that list might be bigger than the do not call list, but that is beside the point.
[alk]
This isn't about the government killing off an industry. It's about protecting the people who are "bothered" enough to request not to be bothered. If I called you every night at dinner time, and if you did not welcome my call, you would ask me to stop. If I did not stop, then by definition, I would be harassing you, and you would have some right to protection by the law.
The DNC list does not prohibit phone solicitations; it merely requires that solicitors prune their lists based on people's requests not to be contacted that way.
Most people in that line of work are paid by commission anyway, so I feel that I'm doing them a favor by having them not call me because I *NEVER* buy anything sold by an anonymous phone (or door) solicitor. Rather than sue, these folks should embrace the change for the better of all mankind!
The CB App. What's your 20?
You know, technically, the Federal government is for the people, by the people.
So if telemarketers are sueing the Federal government, then they are sueing both the people who buy their products, and those that do not wish even to consider them. In effect, we are looking at companies sueing consumers to force them to hear free speech. Fortunately, freedom of speech grants the right to say something; not the right to force others to listen.
It appears Ockham lost his razor and grew a beard.
You can sue anyone for anything, that's your right as an american citizen.
Civil cases have always been about someone trying to convince the judge that something isnt fair, and the judge proclaiming the most effective argument (ie loudest) the winner.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
Before everyone adds me to their Foes list, I want to say that I didn't last long: I quit. I was desperate for a summer job as a college student and thought that working indoors making a good wage was better than the crap jobs my buddies were getting pitching tar or whatever the hell they were doing in the heat. Funny thing is that I was selling premium television channels and I, personally, thought (still do) that TV was largely a waste. It took me a few weeks to develop my ability to sell something that I didn't believe in but pretty soon I was starting the heavy-sell over the phone. I was a hypocrite -- I personally thought what we were selling was crap.
Finally, one day I made a call and a very elderly woman answered the phone. I started into my sales pitch when she finally sobbed "Please, please, just leave me alone. My husband has died and I don't know how I'm going to pay my bills." And by god if I didn't have to bite my lip to stop myself from replying "You need some entertainment to distract you from your problems. Can I sign you up for the comedy channel?" Man, I was so programmed to try to turn a bad situation into a sale that it was just automatic! Fortunately, I still had some decency left and told her that I wished her best of luck and hung up. I quit the very next day. I still remember the look on the boss' face when I told him why I was quitting. I don't think he had ever had someone quit for moral reasons before. He was stunned that someone would voluntarily quit a high-paying, cushy job solely because of moral qualms. Because I had left before my shift was up, my ride wasn't there to pick me up. I walked all the way home in the rain. But I was happy. I had done the right thing.
Whenever I hear about the sob-stories of telemarketers, I simply remember back to those awful, awful people who I worked with those few weeks. Screw 'em.
GMD
watch this
you know i would like to sell crack on my corner, i hear it's quite lucrative
however, there is the small matter of the quality of life effect on my neighborhood, and my conscience about pushing an evil drug on people
where is the telemarketer's concern over the quality of life of the people they harass over the phone? and where is their conscience about wasting people's time?
who cares if it is 20 million jobs that are lost? telemarketing is an industry whose best place in the world is crumbling in the historical dustbin of defunct business models
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
This from a group that represents an industry that once called me at home no less than 60 times in a five day period!
"marketing will always exist"...got me thinking...
Luke struggles to remove a small metal fragment from Artoo's neck joint. He uses a larger pick.
LUKE: Well, my little friend, you've got something jammed in here real good. Were you on a cruiser or...
The fragment breaks loose with a snap, sending Luke tumbling. He sits up and sees a twelve-inch three-dimensional hologram of Leia Organa, being projected from Artoo. The image flickers and jiggles in the dimly lit garage. Luke's mouth hangs open in awe.
VOICE: Help me, you're my only hope. My name is OBI-WAN KENOBI, if you help me by transfering $12BN credits into your account, you too can have a 12 inch Organa like mine!
LUKE: Aaaagh!!*%^$_"$£!!!!!?
If there are jobs that we don't want done, then they should be lost!
-Rob
We've had a "Do Not Call List", called the "telephone preference list", in the UK for over 3 years now. It works a treat. I haven't had a telemarketing call for over a year and if someone does call you just tell them you are on the list and they leave you alone sharpish.
Has it been devastating to companies in the UK? I don't think so. Maybe just to the shady ones that can only sell stuff over the phone because no advertisers will deal with them. I don't know about you but I think this is a good thing.
Consider this to be a "popular vote," as opposed to one that requires representation. I have cast my vote, and it says "go away."
It's kind of like having a speed limit on the highway. Yes, it restricts your ability to go fast, whenever you want. And yes, it places a restriction on how fast you can deliver material goods - which can be translated directly into "lost potential money" because it takes longer to deliver your wares.
Safety requirements "cost jobs" for manufacturers of toasters. Sound level restrictions on cars "cost jobs" for manufacturers of glass-pack mufflers. Telemarketing is an industry that is subject to federal/state/local regulations, just like all the rest.
So cry me a river. Deal with it.
"This truly is a case of regulatory overkill," said Tim Searcy, ATA executive director.
"This [telemarketing] truly is a case of pushy sales overkill" said mobileskimo, Annoyed phone owner.
The telemarketing industry estimates the do-not-call list could cut its business in half, costing it up to $50 billion in sales each year.
Go make money providing society with something usefull.
Implementing the list could also eliminate up to two million jobs, the ATA said.
Stop getting paid for being a schmuck and go do something usefull.
Quality Service Management
Don't get me started on this one.
And we wonder why our economy sucks when people wake up and smell the garbage they've been tossing around. Well, duh, if we're not producing anything and just making shit up to sell to each other, how do you expect anything of real value to be added to our world?
"Last one in is a rotten goblin!" - Kepp
is a Do-Not-Sue list!
Two words:
Privacy Manager
We've got it at home. All calls coming from anyplace that doesn't display the originating phone number are dumped to a VRU. The VRU asks for a passcode. If no passcode is entered, the VRU prompts for the name. The VRU then calls us and gives us the option of 1)taking the call, 2)hanging up, 3)dumping to CallNotes.
Combine this with CallerID, CallWaiting CallerID, CallNotes, CallBlocker and Anonymous CallBlocker and very few calls get through.
The only calls that do publish their phone number to CallerID. Asking for a manager, getting their info and then informing them to remove us from their list or face a $500 fine next time they call is all it takes.
Sure, the entire package costs $80/mo but its worth it.
Cruising the internet on my TI-99/4A @ a whopping 300 baud!
$80 / month? That's NUTS. I just get plain caller ID and use my phone system with auto-attendant. I get ZERO telemarketing calls now and don't need an extra $60 / month of crap to make it work. One time $120 investment.
Whiners. Just like spammers, this is a case of people determined to make a medium not intended for advertising into one. Where does it stop? If they cannot call you, are they going to stand in front of my house and shout?
This is laughable. Like travel/insurance/real estate agents and media distribution, this industry sprang up because of a particular circumstance of the business environment. Now that its changing, all these business are crying foul. Not so. They are slowly being replaced with online/digital mediums for searcing and sorting, micropayments and validation services.
IMO, I hope these services die a painful death and the people involved with them go looking for work elsewhere. Economic disaster, true, but I think it'll be good for our population to be forced into newer concepts rather than propping up the old ones. A certain percentage may even train to be part of the digital industry's workforce. Sadly, some may become spammers (if not already).
We're content overloaded and most of it is junk food. There simply isn't enough quality out there to warrant getting it stuffed in our faces every way possible. Let's have a phone/Voip be for private conversations, not substance-free radio blather.
mug
Are you a frigging moron? If you were in arms reach I would just bitchslap you. If you feed your brood by calling me at home when I didnt ask you to in an innane attempt to sell me something I dont want, then you can all starve. Or you can quit being a frigging moron and get a real job. For the intellectually impared: You do NOT have the RIGHT to call me when I didnt ask you. If thats the only job you can get, then starve. Heartless? No, absolutely tired of bullshit telemarketing calls.
Sure, its annoying to get the calls, but someone feeds their family that way, is it RIGHT to screw them for a little convenience?
You know what? I've *never* purchased anything from a telemarketer. Ever. I've never even been slightly interested in doing so. If I want a product, I'm going to go and get it, not wait for it to come to me. In spite of the fact that I've never once purchased something from a telemarketer, I'm certain I've spent hours telling them to go away. That's hours of my time spent doing something that serves me no purpose and waste's someone else's time as well. How am I "screwing" them by telling them not to call me? Is it ok for them to inconvenience me to attempt to sell me crap I don't want so they can feed their family?
I take it a step further. I would never buy anything from these people because I wouldn't want to perpetuate the process. Even if someone called me this evening to offer a great deal on a product I've been hoping to buy, I'll gladly spend a little more money and inconvience just to break the cycle.
Who knows, maybe the poor soul on the other end of the line will finally get the picture and go out and find true employment.
So, where were all these women who can't say "No" when I was single???
"Live Free or Die." Don't like it? Then keep out of the USA
They claim that they will lose money by not calling people who have indicated that they do not wish to be called?
So they are really saying that people who signed up do not know what is good for them, and they really would like to buy what the telemarketers are selling? What an insult. The overwhelming response to the do-not-call list makes it difficult for these people to continue to pretend that they are not leeches.
"I am at a loss as to just what sort of job loss the telemarketing association is referring to."
Telemarketing, from what I understant, is the leading field of employment in terms of employing people who were previously on government-funded welfare programs. There will be a tremedous job loss, and it will be lost jobs for the poorest and least-educated people.
That's hours of my time spent doing something that serves me no purpose and waste's someone else's time as well. I think that second part is prtty important too. Why should telemarketers want to call people who obviously have no interest in buying their products? If their products are legit and they do have interested buyers somewhere, then they shouldn't be worrying about all the people who are going to hang up on them anyway. Every call they make that doesn't lead to a sale is lost money. Weeding out the futile calls should save them a lot of money.
If, on the other hand, their products are crap and NO ONE will want to buy it, save for the morons who can be talked into anything, then who cares if they can't sell them? I certainly don't. They need a better product, and a better marketing system.
This is just like the problem with internet ads. People spend so much time and effor (and money) on stupid methods of getting your attention (popups, animation, blinking, ads scrolling across the page, sounds, etc, etc, etc) because they know their products won't sell. They have no market, so they try to force their way into everyone's view hoping someone will bite. That's not how it works. Good businesses make products designed for a specific market and target their advertising to that market. I don't mind seeing an ad on slashdot for a compiler, and I'm likely to even click on that ad. That's good marketing. It's targeted well and it's a valuable product. There's no need for a popup there. However, I do mind seeing an ad (popup or otherwise) for a product completely unrelated to what I'm doing. An X10 ad popping up on my screen while I'm looking up programming references isn't going to lead to a sale. That's just ridiculous.
In summary, these people need to fire their marketing people (or maybe hire some if they don't have any) and try to actually sell a product instead of just throwing it out there hoping someone will see value in it.
if(!cool) exit(-1);
Early reports indicate that every cruise missile hit its intended targets except for one that leveled a Stuckey's in deepest, darkest New Jersey.
"It was something else," said Garden State resident Bibby O'Leary. "There were nutty cheese balls everywhere. May the gracious Lord grant me my wish to never look upon such a sight again."
"We gave the stinking pig-dogs a chance with the National Do Not Fucking Bother Me Resolution," said al-Sahaf. "We gave them every chance, but their black little souls were full of evil, and they had to be taught a lesson.
"Gurgle! Argh!" shouted American Teleservices Association executive director Tim Searcy from his hospital bed where he was being treated for extensive limb loss. "Millions of grandmothers will die for lack of employment, and rats will devour the children of the land! Telemarketing is the only thing keeping the cloven hooved man-goat at bay in his underworld!"
"There is ample legal precedent for governmental interest in protecting residential privacy," said FCC spokesbabe Bubbles McConnifer. "If those cock-gobbling leeches at the ATA don't like it, we can add them to the list of known terrorist organizations, and tip off the MPAA that the ATA is involved in heavy file sharing. Let's see how those weasels like that."
Related link:
Amateur photo of ATA headquarters.
--- Ban humanity.
The OCAA (Organized Crime Association of America) is suing the government over their "Anti-Theft" laws.
Their representative, known only as "The Don", says that the legislation cost their business 9.4 trillion US dollars last year.
"This is a staggering sum" said The Don
"That's the equivilant of the entire US GDP for that year. Do you know how many citizens can be employed with that kind of money?"
The White House refused to comment.
-1 Uncomfortable Truth
Hi, I'm calling you to tell you about...
Can I get your phone number?
Sure. 1-800-55...
No, your home phone number?
Wha... why do you want my...
So I can call you at home. It's only fair, no?
"Last one in is a rotten goblin!" - Kepp
Did I mention Drexel's mascot is "the Shaft?"
One night I did cold calling of Alumni. I called 100 names on the list, I had 1 donation. Most of the alumni I called were downright hostile. Many were unemployed. A good chunk were bitter that they hadn't even paid off their loans and they were already hit up for donations. (Ten years later, but who's counting?)
I felt so dirty that I swore I'd never do it again.
That said, I did help out our local PBS station during a call drive. At least there, people were calling US, with credit card in hand, after having already recieved the "product" so to speak.
The first rule of marketing is to have a product that will sell itself. Ideally you are only introducing the buyer to the seller.
"Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
--Dr.W.Edwards Deming
You should have every right to call me if you want to. Just as I have every right to put up a fence to prevent you.
Companies don't have rights. The constitution and the amendments, and for that matter most laws that govern human behavior don't apply to corporations. When did we get such a silly notion?
A telemarketer wants to sue me or the person who administrates the DNC for blocking his free speech? Go ahead. Just make sure you make your lawsuit personal.
Mr.Iwannabeabitch vs Mr.Bitchslapper.
Not
Telenagger Inc. vs MrBitchslapper.
Nor
Telenagger Inc. vs DNC.org
"Last one in is a rotten goblin!" - Kepp
Yeah, it's an off-the-shelf box. MANY companies make SOHO phone systems. On the low end, there is smething like the "VoicePro 206" that you can find fairly cheap on ebay, panasonic has the KXTA-624, and so on.
I just use standard analog phones with my unit - some decent 2.4G DSS cordless ones work great.
The TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991) (47 USC 227 and subsequent FCC regulations of CFR 64.1200) have outlawed several practices and create certain requirements for others.
Two things completely outlawed:
1) Junk faxes - unsolicited commercial faxes may NOT be sent without WRITTEN authorization of the fax machine/line owner. Period. There is NO EBR (established business relationship) that would exempt that. If you are sent an advertisement and did not specifically give your (express) permission, then it is illegal. Period. Do not allow yourself to be taken in by the BS of 'removal' numbers that are on the faxes. It is merely an attempt to legitimize the industry as much as spammers try to suggest remove address make them ethical.
2) Prerecorded commercial solicitations to your home may NOt be initiated without the EXPRESS permission of the owner. An exemption (unlike junk faxes) would be an EBR. Calls made for survey, political speech, or non commercial are exempt.
If you receive either of the above offenses, then you are immediately owed $500 per VIOLATION by the person initiating the call and on who's behalf the call is made.
That law provides a private right of action. Meaning you are specifically given the authority to sue them in court. While you cannot sue someone that litters on the highway, Congress provided this right. this pretty much makes you a private attorney general of your domain in regards to telemarketing.
Live calls are regulated. They must identify themselves by the caller's name, entity placing the call, and an address or phone number by which they may be contacted. This MUST be provided without your even asking. The company MUST have a DNC (do not call) policy in place before making such calls. They MUST provide you with a written copy of that DNC policy upon request. NEVER, ever allow the telemarketer say they will take your name off 'the list'. Specifically DEMAND that they ADD your name to their company's Do-Not-Call list (emphasis added).
The telemarketing is claiming the loss of millions of jobs. Yet they have not specified in what country. Do many of you not realize how many outbound call centers are in countries like India? The law by not affect that out-of-country company directly in terms of jurisdiction, but it does put liability on companies on who's behalf the call is placed. The only way a company can get by completely is if they are based and operate outside the country and have no business presence in any area under the jurisdiction of the US.
I have gone to court several times against telemarketers. If people knew their rights and enforced them by bringing suit in court as Congress intended, then a national list would not be necessary. the companies would simply not be able to operate.
Cave, wreck, and deep diver.
Exactly. They're never hawking anything I want anyway -- in fact, the interest level is about as high as for the average spam.
But "2 million jobs"?? Are they counting not only the boilerroom flunkies and their managers, but also everyone in every industry that ever used telemarketing? Even it that's so, I suspect this number was pulled out of their ass.
And most of said flunkies aren't making a living wage anyway. Back about 1985, I attended a "job fair" that proved to be a boilerroom recruiter. Now, they claimed that it was possible to make serious bucks. Well, I happened to be sitting where I could see onto the manager's desk, and the previous week's wage sheet just happened to be laying open where I could read it. ONE person had made the promised several hundred bucks. ONE other person had made about $100. But everyone else had made only $40 -- for the entire week.
Now, do we really WANT to preserve an industry that pays that poorly, even compared to India??
Come to think of it, if cheap internet-based long distance becomes an everyday reality, the next step is to outsource boilerroom telemarketing to India. And then how do you go about enforcing a Do Not Call list??
~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
Ah, and there is the holy grail of all telemarketing. You see, they realize that the majority of people want them drawn and quartered. However, the few people who can be talked into anything need to be reached at all costs. Guess what, many of said people are aware of their tendency to do this, so they would be some of the first people to get on the DNC registry along with the people who just hate telemarketing. They do this because they don't want their vulnerability targeted.
I apologize for not being able to find the study, but I once read one stating that if a telemarketer 'breaks the rules' and calls people who are on their company held DNC list, they make more sales than the people who are not on the list.
Aside from that, yes, it does make sense that they don't want to reach people who are not interested and never will be. But there is a group of people who may not be interested who can most certainly be talked into buying, and those are the ones they're gunning for.
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Which just goes to show who is really profiting from telemarketers: the phone companies. They've never had it so good. On the one hand, they're making a lot of money renting phone lines and dialing equipment to the telemarketers so they can bother you during dinner. Then that forces you to pay them extra to get caller ID (how many people would give up their caller ID if they weren't worried about telemarketers?) which has to be one of their highest margin services. Then they turn around and charge the telemarketers more money for the service that lets them block your caller ID, and you more money for the service that blocks people who block their caller ID. It's an arms race, and the phone companies are getting rich selling to both sides.
There's no point in questioning authority if you aren't going to listen to the answers.