to be 'abrupt' with this cold caller

[QualityTime]

I told him he had the wrong number and he replied.

Well, maybe you can help me madam, I am calling from teh consumber 'somethign bollocks' service and we are updating our database.
-Well no, I can't help you, as you have the wrong number

I once had a cold caller (door to door) a few years ago. DH (DP then)had just moved out and I was on my own with DD.

Me: I'm not interested and I'm busy now.

Him: Oh, well what time will you not be busy? 6 o'clock be ok? I'll come back then

Me: Erm, no you won't come back, I said I'm not interested.

Him: So I'll come back at 6 then. See ya.

Me: No you bloody won't or else I'll call the police.

Him: (walking down the drive) See you later!

The bastard then turned up at 6 and banged my door so hard it nearly broke! I didn't answer the door and rang DH who caught up with him further down the street. He threatened him with the police if he came to the house again and took his number thingy as well and phoned the company who rang me back and apologised!

Stretch that's horrendous!!!

I actually resorted to sthing I never thought I would... I was at the end of my tether... it was an Indian call centre, who phoned me 5 to 7 times every single day, for many weeks. I have kids to look after and do not have time to chat with cold callers, and am NOT INTERESTED.

Hubby got me a whistle... and I blew that down the phone once (after they'd called me 5 times that day already)... and I never heard from them again.

I am not holding my breath though, and I am always a tad apprehensive answering the phone.

Recently we kept on receiving phonecalls from a debt management company for a Mr X who had never lived at our address, our phone number is x-directory and we use TPS, they were politely told that Mr X didn't live here and they'd a wrong number - this happened a couple of times - they continued to call every couple of days - got to the point that I threatened them with the police for harassment!! Grrrr!!

Look next time they call asking for Mrs Young

you say hello in a sexy musky coice what services would you like today - now if its a man you say naughty boy, then carry on as if they have the local knocking shop tell them they really need to let you know which services they need and keep it going - complelty oblivious to anythign they actually say

if its a woman you say Mrs Young has eloped with the window cleaner and she still owes me money so how about coughing up - it sa large amount give me your name and address and I will send you the invoice - I bet they will delete you then!

DD2 has started a job af a call cnetre for a charity. She says she has to talk to a lot of rude people on the phone. While she unsderstands that some people don't want to give money or sign up for anything she wishes they would be polite about it. So now I try to be less abrupt with cold callers.

I paid for BT privacy at home for a long time, zero cold calls. God bless them. Well worth the money. I've had to remove that from my package lately, as I'm trying to save money in all areas of my budgeting

I'm always abrupt, polite but abrupt IYSWIM. Even TPS doesn't screen them all out I find.

YANBU

Thing is, mumeeee, I used to work for a call centre and we were told we had to ring at awkward times as people were not on their guard and stressed so will agree to anything! (I lasted 4 days!)
We also had to ring multiple times a week. So although I won't be abusive, if they refuse to take my first response of "No, thank you" then my 2nd/3rd/100th response will NOT be as polite.

YABU - That is someone who may only be able to get a job cold calling. Most people I know that have done cold calling hated it but it was the only job they could get at the time. It doesnt take much to say no thank you politely before ending the call.

If they have only rang once, I would be polite to them, after all they are only doing a job and as someone who worked in a call centre some years back, I do now how it feels.

But in my experience, the more times they call you, after you have told them to take you off the list, the more I feel, you are entitled to be rude to them.

I had a company called direct constantly calling me, even though I told them in the first instance I was not interested and as my house is Housing Association, it was out of my hands. I was assured that I would be taken off of their 'hit list'.

I was driving when they phoned for about the 5th time that week

I swiftly pulled over and yelled down the phone to this 'poor suspecting woman'. I asked her if she understood English, and if she did, why were they still calling against my wishes.

They didn't call again.

I am 37 weeks so slightly hormonal

If any cold callers phone asking for Mrs BiffandChip I say 'hold on, i'll just get her' then put the phone down and carry on with what I was doing. I check after a minute or so and they have usually given up. I get a perverse thrill out of knowing that they may have interrupted me but I am making them hang on. And I don't need to be rude either!

I wasn't rude! I lied and was abrupt but it was said pleasantly.
I ahve been there, as I have already stated, and have done the job (when it was all I could get), and coped wiht the abuse, if that is your job you need a thick skin.

We put all cold callers straight through to DD2 (aged three) now. She usually engages them in a conversation about sweets or her teddies and they hang up after a while. Put it on loudspeaker before you put the call through, it's often very funny listening to them try and interrupt her.

We put all cold callers straight through to DD2 (aged three) now. She usually engages them in a conversation about sweets or her teddies and they hang up after a while. Put it on loudspeaker before you put the call through, it's often very funny listening to them try and interrupt her.

Eh? What happened there, the post froze and now it's gone on twice two minutes apart???...

Like another poster to this thread we have caller ID display on our phone and if it is an international call we usually dont answer it.

If I am feeling sufficiently bored or naughty I sometimes pretend the person they want to talk to about company XXXX has died, moved away or whatever. But they still keep phoning.

My general tack is to just stonewall them with "no" repeatedly, they hang up pretty quickly.

I'm registered with TPS and still get calls coming through. The thing is, Proudfoot, like RavenAK says, why argue the point re TPS with the person you're calling? It's not like they're going to concede and then listen patiently to the spiel. If they're registered with TPS it's because they don't want to take cold calls.

The people who really annoy me are double glazing salesmen who come door to door. We've recently had new windows so I can triumphantly tell them that, then they stand back and squint doubtfully at the windows as if to say 'well they look old and shite to me'.

It's not that easy to get even a telesales job at the moment - DD went for an interview yesterday and it lasted several hours, even though all the candidates were students looking for summer jobs and would only be there for two or three months at the most.

DD got the job (they hired 5 out of the 12 there) and was told that the only things she mustn't do were to swear at the customer or hang up - apparently 'flirting' with customers is fine if it gets a sale ...

I think the company may be the same one that my friend's daughter walked out on last week, after being told by someone she called that 'people like you should be taken out and shot like the Jews...'

We're still getting calls from British Gas for DH's Nan 7 years after she died! I tend to tell them it's lucky they got me as it really upsets my DH but obviously I need to change tack as it's not working.

Liking the idea of letting them discuss LEGO and jellybeans with 3 year old DS

Or maybe taking a friends lead and answering the phone with "Joe's Crematorium. You kill 'em, we grill 'em"

I give the phone to DS (2.10) too!

The last time he commanded the phone he had a thrilling conversation:
'Hello man, whats the weather like today? Have you did a poo? My did a poo, in my pants. Have you did a poo? I got a Mummy and a Daddy, and a cat, she's a baby cat, called X, she's pretty. Did you got a cat, man?'
And on and on and on...

About 4 minutes later he said 'Mummy, I don't want to talk to the man, he's quiet'

I expected the man to have hung up but no, he was still going!