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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To put the phone down and finish the hoovering?

19 replies

BadDayAtTheOrifice · 21/01/2012 21:06

I'm hoovering and the phone rings. Its some bloke trying to get me to claim compensation for injuries I never received in an accident. I made it clear at the beginning of the call that I wasn't interested.
He then goes on for the next 6 minutes without drawing breath. He was talking so loud it was making the earpiece distort. 6 minutes. I tried to but in a few times to tell him to fuck off stop, but to no avail, I only managed a few loud sighs.
So I put the phone down without hanging up and finished my hoovering.
I'm feeling a bit guilty about it now though as the bloke was only doing his job and it was a bit rude. Was I BU?

OP posts:

LydiaWickham · 21/01/2012 21:08

YANBU - although, why don't you just say "I'm not interested, goodbye." within the first 30seconds? I can't believe you listened for 6 minutes!

Original poster

BadDayAtTheOrifice · 21/01/2012 21:10

Neither can I Lydia.

OP posts:

AgentZigzag · 21/01/2012 21:11

at you letting him listen to you doing the hoovering, bet that was the highlight of his night.

Just hang up, it's your phone and house, no need to justify it to anyone.

Kayano · 21/01/2012 21:19

I hung up once and they RANG ME BACK! I was

Anniegetyourgun · 21/01/2012 21:50

Oh, I did that yesterday (minus the hoovering), but being a dozy old thing I then forgot to replace the phone until several hours later and missed a rather important call

scarletforya · 21/01/2012 21:52

YWBVU

You should have put the phone down after the first 3 seconds!

JustHecate · 21/01/2012 21:55

We are conditioned to be so polite, aren't we?

We are allowed to terminate a phone call (and we don't HAVE to answer the door just because someone is knocking - the other thing people seem to feel compelled to do).

DexterTheCat · 21/01/2012 22:04

I just say 'no thanks' and put the phone down as soon I realise it's a cold caller. I know they're only doing a job but I don't want to speak to them.

I also do the same with cold callers at the front door especially as I have a big sign saying 'No cold callers'.

If I were Prime Minister I would make cold calling illegal especially ones at the front door. They're not only a nuisance they cause disproportionate anxiety for the elderly.

IUseTooMuchKitchenRoll · 21/01/2012 22:05

It is ok to put the phone down on these people.

Yes, he was just trying to do a job, but having the phone put down on you mid sentence is part of the job.

caramelwaffle · 21/01/2012 22:09

Two nights ago I had one of these calls. I let him speak for 30 seconds then put the phone under a cushion and went back to watching the television.
About ten minutes later I put the phone down.

minimisschief · 21/01/2012 22:11

i leave mine off the hook sometimes if someone has really inconvenienced me. Like 3 in the morning and it turns out to be yet another person who cannot dial a taxi number properly.

Original poster

BadDayAtTheOrifice · 21/01/2012 22:12

I'm usually very good at just saying 'no thanks' and hanging up, but I think in this case it was because he was ambiguous about what the call was about at the start. He asking me about the car accident so that threw me I think. I'm sure its a very deliberate tactic too. Bastards.

OP posts:

DoMeDon · 21/01/2012 22:12

YABU, but he was rude and you tried to be reasonable so boo sucks to him

weedoll · 21/01/2012 22:19

I think your fantastic!! Hilarious! Though I know where your coming from with the guilt thing. I am tortured by door to door cold callers hate being rude to them, DH had been coaching me on how to cut them off quickly, which I finally did one evening and felt so guilty that I then followed the poor guy down the road to apologise!

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 21/01/2012 23:00

I once hung up on a young man who wouldn't take 'No' for an answer (I can't remember what he was trying to sell me, but he was demanding my postcode, in order to take me off his list, and I was refusing). The phone rang again, a few minutes later, and I just had a feeling that it was the same chap - and so I answered the phone in french, and carried on the whole conversation in french - until he got frustrated with my cheerful insistence that I was unable to converse with him in english, and hung up.

corriefan · 21/01/2012 23:05

I've done the cold calling years ago, it was a hideous job. At first I felt offended by people hanging up bur I soon got hardened to it and was relieved that I didn't have to do the spiel. Saved time. It was just number crunching really. I was bad at it though. It got to the point where someone having a go at me was at least a break in the monotony! So no don't feel bad it might have made someone laugh!

OfCourseImAlwaysRight · 22/01/2012 00:22

i used to be a cold caller, hated it, esp during the hours of 7-9 and calling people when i knew they were going to be watching the soaps, a few of them turned out to be o.k and id end up chatting to them about all sorts.

boss lurking in the background upon hearing my laughter would be rubbing his hands together at the thought of a sale was not impressed when i told him i was laughing at what happened at the callers 40th bday party :) oh well...
i used to ove it when people hung up, id still give the spiel to the phone and love a few minutes of not speaking to someone

so...........the bloke was probably glad you hung up :)

OfCourseImAlwaysRight · 22/01/2012 00:23

or made him listen to the hoover..
you get the gist

fullofregrets · 22/01/2012 00:32

I make my toddler answer the phone in the daytime as it is often cold callers. Listening to him shout down the phone soon sees them off.
I know it is their job but it does get on my nerves. I can't believe they ever get anyone buy whatever it is they are selling but they must do else they wouldn't do it.

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