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

Re:If they are calling you anyways...

[QMO]

Once upon a time, a telemarketer called me.
I asked to speak to a manager.
The manager came on and asked what was up.
I explained that I was doing my part to change the business model.
Then I hung up.

I don't think i changed the business model, but it was fun.

Next I will try to sell the telemarketer my old P233MMX that's sitting in the basement. (It's only US$3,200! A real bargiain! Tech support at only US$47.95/min for the first 3 min, US$97.95/min thereafter! etc. . .)

Re:Just hang up without expliantion

[j-turkey]

Just hang up on them the moment you realize what is going on. You both will be better off.

Actually, to make a difference, I'd go the other way around. When they ask for you, or the homeowner, or whomever, ask them to hold on while you find that person. Put the phone down, and walk away to do something else. If they hold for 10 minutes or more, you'll get a good laugh out of it.

This may tie up your phone line, but you're wasting their time (better than them wasting your time). Advertisers have to pay them, and you're decreasing their sales effectiveness. If enough people do this, telemarketing may be perceived as less effective.

Alternatively, politely and calmly ask them for their name, and the name of their firm (rather than being aggressive or letting them know what your intentions are). Then file a DNC complaint ASAP.

Re:National Do-Not-Call list

[tacocat]

I'm a company.

I hire a company in some other country to manage my Marketing or at least a portion of it.

They hire a spam/telemarketing company that is also outside of the US.

Since I'm not my contractors subcontract keeper I'm in the clear. I have plausible deniability of the behaviour of the third company and as such, am not liable under the DNC rules

Wake Up America!

Huh?

[Otter]

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.

Maybe I'm missing something but:

1) You were skeptical about the significance of the outsourcing issue until you decided that some telemarketing service is outsourced -- and that's the statistical evidence that won you over?

2) Nothing you mentioned suggests that the calling is outsourced anyway.

3) Even if it is, given that they weren't calling you before and now they are, the loss of a hypothetical telemarketing position isn't something that even Lou Dobbs would get too worked up over.