Outsourced Support, Now Outsourced Telemarketing?

Sir_Dill asks: "I was a little skeptical of the whole chicken-littlish sky is falling attitude about outsourcing to India, that is until it hit home. Over the last couple of days I have started to receive at least two calls a night from an unknown telemarketing company. First it was discovercard and tonight its a mortgage company called Parsec (whose webpage doesn't work in Firefox). Each time they ask for the person whose name is associated with my phone number in Google (an entirely different story altogether). When I inform them that they have the wrong number, they read the same script each time and each time I ask them to take me off their lists. Its getting old and I am feeling a little helpless in regards to this...and the worst part is...it is not an offer I can't refuse...it is one I can't understand. Has anyone else experienced this? How did you handle it and does the National Do Not Call list even apply?"

Comments

If they are calling you anyways...

[turtled]

You should ask them to repeat the informtaion. Give them some hassling, ask them a bunch of questions... act like you are interested (if you have time and aren't already frustrated). Ask them if they know what fungus is on your feet. Keep them on the phone, then just hang up. You get a quick laugh... I don't have telemarketers calling (yet). I have had Vonage for 6 months and haven't really given out my number.

Re:If they are calling you anyways...

[CTalkobt]

I've actually listened to a guy's spiel and then when he was through complimented him on his speaking abilities and lied and told him I was the manager of a call burea in the NC area and asked if he'd like to move.

It was fun - wasted about 20 minutes of the guys time - found out how low of an income they were making etc.

Re:If they are calling you anyways...

[zogger]

I used to answer all calls in a heavy contrived accent, as if the telemarketer (usually) caller had just gotten a business with an immigrant running it (usually I used like an indo/pak accent). Confused heck out of anyone who didn't know me, and they would remove the phone number then automatically if they were trying to push something targeted to homeowners. My friends knew it was me so they'd go "hey, it's me" whatever so I could talk. Worked a charm it did.

Re:If they are calling you anyways...

[bechthros]

My favorite was when TimeWarner called me up to try to sell me voip. I worked in a datacenter at the time, so I'm not a network genius by any means, but I knew enough to give the poor telemarketer five minutes worth of a detailed explanation of why, based on the poor performace (tiling) of their digital cable channels and their RoadRunner service, and their obvious inability or unwillingness to provide the infrastructure needed to provide the services they were more than happy to take my money for (bigger, faster switches), I would be giving them money for a voip service that was virtually guaranteed to have skips and dropouts at about the same time hell froze over.

It was the only time in my life that a telemarketer hasn't argued with me. All she said was, "Thank you, sir. Goodbye." It was beautiful.

Just tell them you died.

[toygeek]

When they ask for whoever it is they want, just say "I'm sorry that person passed away last week... "

Re:Real live people?

[toygeek]

I've started getting (here in the UK) recorded messages, in an American accent, apparently from Florida.

Thats silly. Americans don't have accents!

Hello?

[AtariAmarok]

Ringgg!!! Ringgg!
[drop dinner fork and answer] Me: Hello?
Outsourced Telemarketer: Xddeedxx dffrt
Me: What?
Outsourced Telemarketer: Wuddub xuxvvux zazzxue!
Me: Oh?
Outsourced Telemarketer: Dferguh Zuul. Juju fvuv.
Me: Why, of course! I'll buy a hundred!