To swear profusely at the next "courtesy caller" who wants to speak to my OH who is at work dammit!!

[Ashantai]

ARRRGGGHH!!

I've just answered the 3rd call of the day from some eejit business wanting to speak to my oh. Poor woman just got the brunt of my anger cos i've had enough!!

I told her "He's at work, LIKE YOU ARE!!, what do you people do, hold a meeting and decide to ring me up at stupid times of the day just to annoy me??!"

I then ranted a little bit longer and then came over all apologetic, but it just winds me up.

The ones who ring and take about 5 seconds to actually speak, while i'm saying "hello, hello, hello, HELLO!!", piss me off the most and when they finally reply, i'm afraid there is most likely some expletive and i hang up!

Ok, i've counted to 10 and am now calm-ish!!!

If we get one of those callers I just say I'll go and get whoever it is they're asking for then put the phone down on the table and leave it there for a while. That stops them calling back

Regardless of which phone I answer I always say "I'm registered with TPS" even if I'm not haha, seems to get them off the phone...

Indeed, just say 'TPS'. (You don't even have to faff about signing up for it - penalties are such that UK call centres are trained to immediately get off the phone as soon as you mention it.)

Life really is too short.

There's no need to be abusive to some poor sad sod on crap money & a script, but maybe if we all just said 'no thanks - TPS', some of these companies might give up with the phone pesting.

It is noticeable that no-one ever comes on these threads to say 'Oh but it was great the double glazing people ringing me, I was in the market for someone to sign me up for rip-off credit. It saved me wasting 5 minutes online finding the best deal!'

I recently got three "silent" phone calls in one day, and got so annoyed that with the fourth one I waited on line until finally someone actually came on the line to talk to me.

It turned out to be EDF and I made such a fuss - demanded the manager, explained that we were leaving them because of their crap customer service, that this was just another example of it etc. That they forgot to try and pursuade me to stay, and actually appologised!

quint - brilliant!

I knew I'd get a bit of flak for my post, but I thought that people would be able to seperate not agreeing with me from being personally insulting!

ManIFeelLikeAWoman - I agree that its frustrating not being able to get into branches outside of working hours.

However, the part of your post that read 'If you disagree, I've got a suggestion. Why don't you post your own home number on this site and, when I think of something that I think might interest you, I'll phone you up and tell you about it at a time of my choosing? If it doesn't interest you, you can tell me there and then, and then I can wait until the next interesting thing I have to say and we can try again. I warn you, though, some of these calls may well be in the evening or at weekends when you're trying to relax, because when else am I going to catch you at home?'

I thought was just mean spirited. And I think you probably know that.

The FSA says that these calls must be made between 9am and 9pm on weekday. I personally think 9pm is much much too late, but them is the rules.

CoffeeCrazedMama- we do make these types of calls quite often! I wonder why we don't just automatically upgrade people to the better account, but it doesn't seem to work like that!

Everyone has the right to opt of out receiving marketing phone calls or letters etc (granted its not always clear and in the tiniest small print in the world!).

So, in summary - YABU to swear at people who are just trying to do their job. YANBU to ask to come off the marketing list if you don't want to be contacted.

I don't think anyone can argue with that. Can they?

Thanks for that link quint, i'm still cracking up

I must admit, duke, that i felt bad taking out my frustration on this poor woman, but even when i do tell these people that my OH will be in after 6, they never ring back!

I too wonder if there is ever a positive response to cold calling. If you want a service, you dont hang around waiting for someone to call you on the off chance do you?

Sorry, no - I don't think I'm being mean spirited at all. If I want information from my bank, I will ask them for it. If not, they should leave me alone. Businesses nowadays seem astounded that ordinary people do not structure their lives around the business's profitability. I'm sorry I don't call into my branch often enough - maybe take the hint that I don't want more contact than I already have? I certainly don't want someone trawling my account trying to spot more opportunities to sell me stuff. If you must contatc me, write me a letter, I'll read it, I'll probably throw it in the bin, no one gets hurt.

...& it wouldn't be difficult, would it, for banks to give an 'opt in' box to tick if you want the nuisance calls, rather than an invisible to the naked eye 'opt out'?

The FSA regulations are there to stop you venturing into yer actual unlawful harassment.

Abiding by them doesn't mean you haven't crossed a line into being a PITA when you ring at 8.30pm.

It would be slightly less unreasonable if one's local branch was open until 9pm, for the benefit of those of us who don't finish work before 5pm...

we hace caller id now so it id comes up international number we dont answer now or if it says caller id unknown (or something like that) i did answer the other day as i was expecting my work to ring and they are witheld number. alas it wasnt them but they wanted to to speak to dp, i told them he wasnt here can i take a message? then they asked if i was MRS* to which i replied no. as we're not married so im not!! they soon said goodbye!!

oneyummymummy, i just told my OH about your post
"Last time I got a call on my mobile phone, It was from one of those companies mentioned earlier that say they are from 02 when really they are not and your contract is not up for renewal.I get them ALL the time, and had got fed up. She said
02 "Im calling from 02, I just wanted to let you know that your 02 contract is due for renewal and we can offer you some really good deals....."

ME "sorry I don't have a mobile phone, so no thank you"

02 "Oh sorry to disturb you"

She had just called me on my MOBILE! I got off the phone and hadn't even really realised what i had just said. PSML.

This came after my dad told a double glazing company that he didn't want any free windows or conservatories as he doesn't have any windows in his house"

We will definatly be giving this response to the mobile companies who are just waiting to jump on me as soon as my contract is about to expire

I usually tell them he's not back until late 8pm, that usually shuts them up.

I must admit at the time i really didnt realise what i was saying, just trying to get them off of the phone, but I do use it every time now!! And I use the 'sorry my house doesn't have windows' one too. It really stumps them, normally they dont know what to say and just get off the phone. However I did have one guy who said, 'Well we do offer doors as well' (he was persistant, I'll give him that), I then told him 'sorry I dont have any doors either' (obviously just to amuse myself at this point), so he proceeded to enter into a 'discussion' about how I get in and out of my house then? Well I don't of course.......was my responce! He soon went away!

Sorry, Ashantai, but you are being unreasonable. Fair enough, you don't want to take cold calls, but there are ways to stop yourself from receiving them. The person on the other end of the phone is doing THEIR JOB. They probably have to stick to a script and have strict rules about what they are allowed to say and who they are allowed to speak to. Calls are recorded, so any deviation from the rules could result in them being disciplined, or possibly losing their job. In times like these, no one can really afford to lose thier job, can they?
Think of what a joyless job making cold calls is, and then think of how much worse you made that person's day by ranting at them. I've worked in an inbound call centre (complaints, for a large utility company that attracted A LOT of complaints) and never ceased to be amazed by how bloody rude people could be, just because they were talking to someone faceless on the other end of the phone. The person calling you up isn't personally choosing to call you, they are at the mercy of a machine, automatically dialling numbers, and it won't be in their power to stop he machine from calling you.
I'm lucky enough to not have to work in a call centre now, but always make the effort to be pleasant, because the call, and the policy of the company, is not the fault of the person on the other end of the phone.

Plus, and you probably realise this, being unpleasant is counterproductive, and probably won't lead to your number being removed from their call lists.

Dear FF

I think that, joking aside, most people on this thread would not choose to swear at a cold-caller without severe provocation (not, "good morning madam", "fuck yourself" IYSWIM).

However, you are disingenuous to compare an inbound call centre, where the customer is a willing participant, and being on the end of an unsolicited cold call over whose timing, relevance or content the recipient has little control.

Also - general question here, not just to FF - let's unpick this "just doing their job" line a bit. I would be interested to know who, on this thread, would follow that reasoning if a "cold calling" labourer came to their door offering to tarmac their drive and then persisting in offering alternative services or trying to book another appointment in response to a polite, "no thank you"? Are we only sorry for call centre workers because they have white collar jobs or do we genuinely believe in going out of our way to be polite during unsolicited sales calls?

Manifeellikeawoman.

Its really simple, if someone comes to the door and tries to sell me something (religion, electric supplier, anything). I say no thank you and close the door on them. If someone phones me up to sell me something, I say no thank you and hang up on them.

The problem comes when you say no thank you and then pause - as if they are going to say - OK, goodby. They aren't. A pause is an invitiation to continue.

If you hang up the phone or close the door, then they can't continue, as you have left.

It has nothing to do with class, or being rude, you just leave the conversation.

Oh yes, I might also say - I am on the Telephone preference service, goodby. But thats it!

What does annoy me is when they are not clear about what they want. Then I might be rude - if they pretend they are phoning from a company you buy from - or because there is a problem with your account.

I take greast delight in confusing cold callers when they ask for my husband.

He's not here - says me.
Oh when will he be in so I can speak to him - says them.
March - says me

Cue embarrassed silence on the phone - I'm sure they think he must be in prison or something! (He's in the military)

I think the point is that the very fact of answering the call is disruptive and intrusive, especially with small children in the vicinity, but that the call itself is given all the trappings of being important, making it hard to ignore outright.

A pause is an opportunity to breathe and a way of adding meaning to sppech. When talking to strangers it is NOT an invitation to continue except to the worst kind of thick-skinned idiot. As I have no wish to consort with cretins, I have no hesitation in being - not rude, necessarily, but blunt and short of patience. The onus is not on me to be kind. It is on strangers not to ring me.

Incidentally, I made no mention of class, but rather of job type. And its rtrue relevance is not so much the initial exchange, but what your repsonse would be the second time the same person(s) rang your bell, and the third, and the fourth ...

Sidge, I have done the same (Bloke also in the military).

I am not saying that it isn't annoying, what I am trying to say is that venting your frustrations on the person on the other end of the phone is unfair, they are just doing their job. MIFLAW - I would always be polite, whether it was someone on the phone or at my door. I live on a military base, so it isn't something that I have to deal with, but I believe that the CAB can provide a sign that requests that cold callers do not knock.

And I'm not polite because of pity, I am polite because I believe that is the correct way to behave. I think the onus is on you to take steps to ensure that you don't receive the calls, via the TPS. If you are really not interested, then say 'No thank you.' and put the phone down. They are not CHOOSING to repeatedly call you. It is a machine. The pause that you hear before they start to call is a beep in their headsets to tell them that a call has been connected, while the details appear on their screen. My point is that, in this situation, your issue is with the company, not the person making the call, and to take it out on the operator seems unfair to me.

If I hear the tell-tale pause I always hang up straight away. Why should I have to waste time on the phone because their systems are crap? On who on god's green earth thinks that cold-calling is a viable business practice? I've never heard of anyone who said - 'ooh what a good idea here's my account number'!

I am with Freckleface on this one. I have done this sort of job because I live in a deprived area and there was literally nothing else going. It is soul destroying, you get abuse from everyone and yes you can get disciplined for deviating from the script. The time wasters are the worst type of customer imo. A polite no thanks is fine. I am now at uni training for a much better career but I am always polite to call centre staff because I know how it feels like.

And ManIfeellikeawoman - they are not cretins either. I worked with a lot of people, some had degrees, some were single parents, some were very young and one was even private school educated shock horror. what they all had in common was though that they all had feelings and were just trying to do their jobs (albeit crappy, poorl paid jobs)Politeness dosn't cost a thing really does it?

My favourite call was when someone asked to speak to 'Mr Rustybear'

I asked which 'Mr Rustybear' as DS is 21 and gets more junk mail and calls than DH.

'I'm sorry, I can't tell you that'.....

Notalone - I didn't say they were all cretins. I said - quite clearly, I think - that strangers who take a pause after a polite "no thank you" as an invitation to continue are "the worst kind of thick-skinned idiot" and I pretty much stand by that. At that point, it becomes, not the company's fault, but the speaker's.

Politeness doesn't cost a thing, how very true. And a key example of politeness is taking no for an answer and going away.

Or is the onus to be polite entirely on me while they work to a different standard because they're "just doing their job" which is, effectively, making nuisance phone calls? Utter nonsense.