Cold caller etiquette

[Wallywobbles]

What's you etiquette for dealing with them. My dad (v politically incorrect) would ask them if they'd had sex last night. I don't think his calls lasted long.

I let them start (and occasionally do one of the bloody questionnaires) but mostly hang up after the first question.

Not UK here.

I'm always just polite and say no thanks, I'm not interested, bye, because although I agree many are either simply annoying or even a scam (which is wrong), there is a real person on the other end of the line who probably absolutely hates what they are having to do but need a job to feed their kids and this is all they can get just now. It might be their first day on the job or their last. I know it's fun to think of things you'd like to say to them, but they have heard every one of your unique and funny lines and they are neither unique nor funny. And for those of you that are rude or swear at them, maybe one day that will be you or a loved one being paid a pittance to be on the receiving end of that. Ask yourself - would you swear at a person you were face to face with or is it just because you are at the end of a phone and can't see their face?

'Recently you had a car accident.'

I say, 'Oh dear, I was unaware of it and obviously left the scene without giving my contact details. I know that's a criminal offence, so you should be reporting me to the police shouldn't you?'

Then I ring off.

Standard cold callers- I just politely ask them to remove my number from their database in line with GDPR. As a pp mentioned- I'm sure most of the people calling aren't enjoying the job either.

Those I strongly suspect are a scam (eg. calling for a problem with my computer that they want to help me fix)- if I have time and feel like it I will string them along, on the basis that if they are talking to me they are not conning someone more vulnerable. On one occasion I started by telling them that I'm not supposed to speak to strangers and could they call back when my carer was here in the afternoon. They were adamant that I would have big problems if I didn't do what they told me immediately. If I really was vulnerable enough to have a carer the bastards would have knowingly conned me. As it was I got sworn at when it became clear I was not.

“Security clearance is needed for telephone calls to this number. Do you have the security code?” is a good, short one.
Microsoft/Amazon/sky scammers I do string along. They are engaged in criminal activity so I will be as rude and obstructive as possible.

Sales cold calling I just say “No thank you”. As the poster upthread said from her own experience, it’s a soul destroying minimum wage job where you get called allsorts. No, they shouldn’t be calling me as I’m registered with TPS, but no one chooses that job for the lolz.

My elderly dad got fed up of being phoned by the same energy company who wanted him to take both his gas and electricity from them.
He always had a mischievous twinkle in his eye and so, having reached the end of his supply of patience, when phoned yet again he replied “ooh no - you shouldn’t be encouraging people to do that. It’s asking for trouble. You’ll never convince me that it’s safe to send electricity through a gas pipe - haven’t you considered the risk of an explosion?!” The caller tried to convince him that it was perfectly safe and that it wouldn’t change how his utilities were supplied but he stuck doggedly to “oh no - you’ll never convince me that it could be safe - it’s a terrible idea.” He was delighted that it proved to be the last call he received from the company in question.

I don't answer my phone unless I recognise the number.
If I do get caught out I hang up immediately.

Last time they phoned me about a car accident I asked them to remind me of when it was and what happened. They didn't quite know what to say when I said "well if you're that sure something happened to me, maybe you can tell me what it was?"

I don't generally like to waste time on them but sometimes I can't resist poking holes in their logic and hearing them get wound up.

I usually just hang up, but when DC were toddlers I have been known to pass the phone over to a 3 year old.

I have some sympathy that its a horrible job and that theyre just trying to make a pay check like everyone else. Just be a decent human being, let them know in a polite way that youre not interested and end the call like a grown up. If theyre persistent or pushy then definately be firmer, but its really not necessary to default to rude and aggressive the minute you realise its a call center agent.

Even the market research companies sell on your details, so they deserve all they get. None of these bastards have a legitimate reason for calling.

Not quite that bad. I can usually tell a genuine market researcher, or a pollster, from the others from the start of the call.
The genuine ones are rare, though.

And while I have nothing against the people calling, except clear scammers, as they are doing their job, I do not like it when I have to wait for them to finally speak when I answer the phone. If I can hear sound on the background and you don't speak immediately, I will just let you hang on without answering back or ask you bluntly what were you doing while calling me and making me waste my time.

I don't answer the phone or the door

Why do you interact with cold callers?

You're your own worst enemy

I say hello, then realise it’s a cold call, hang up and then block.

I’ve had enough of them. I get at least 2 a day.

I had one recently where they knew my name (I didn't confirm it), when I asked them what company it was and why they were calling me, he mimicked me repeating what I'd asked like a primary school kid and hung up on me 😅
I was outraged!!

I'm actually disappointed I rarely get them. Could do with annoying a scammer to blow off some steam