Cold Callers

[mr_cellophane]

One day they will black list me

Them : Good morning I am from Eco Energy something or other
Me: I already have solar panels and a wind turbine (lies)
T: Is just to heat your water
M: Both I don't pay for electricity
T: What about gas ?
M: I have a gas well sunk in the back garden
T: Oh that's nice
M: ?
T: Do you only use electricity ? (obviously having you personal gas supply isn't on her script)
M: No
T: How do you heat your house ?
M: Gas
T: How much do you pay for that ?
M: I have a gas well sunk in the back garden (obviously not paid to listen)
Them : (loads more waffle she was talking so fast now I gave up listening)

I never got around to telling her I grow my own bio-desiel

 

[Markymark]

Them: Can I ask about your current supplier for phone bills/power bills etc etc?
Me: I would like to tell you about the discount I'm offering from my printing company this month
Them: No, sorry, I wanted to talk your energy bills
Me: ..and I want to talk about your printing bills, who is your current supplier?
Then: Why are you asking about my current supplier?
Me: Why are you asking about mine?
Them: Becuase we can save you money
Me: ...and so can I save you money with our fantastic deals, what is your typical print spend per month?
Them: *usually by now the phone has been hung up.

 

[Leedsbusdriver]

Get one of these phones<(Amazon link) Since we got the phone the cold callers get blocked automatically and the few that get through get blocked manually by me using the phone menu.
*Note you do need caller ID for the call block system to work.

 

[screenman]

Not all sales calls are a waste of time.

 

[TVC]

I had one last week that made me laugh out loud.
I'm used to the caller with a strong Indian accent introducing themself by a very English name, but this one announced herself as Beyonce. Pfttt how's Tupac and Shakira?

 

[Saluki]

I always say to them "hold on, I'll just get her" and lay the phone down on the sofa or somewhere, then go and make a cup of tea, walk the dogs or whatever. 20 minutes of them holding is our record so far, but that was way back in the 90s when they had a bit of patience.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

My 14 yo takes great delight in engaging in conversations that Kenneth Williams could have made monologues out of. He occasionally agrees to them calling back but barely ever remembers or tells us, we've had a few mutually bemused calls with people adamant they've spoken to me just last week and been assured I'd be happy to talk tonight before the penny drops.

I try to be polite with saying no to people tho, at the end of the day, they're just doing a job & that is more than plenty seem keen on doing.

 

[ASC1951]

I don't envy these people doing the job they do. The TPS gets rid of most of them. For the rest, a simple "Sorry, I'm not interested" works for me.

 

[pplpilot]

A great way to deal with them -


View: http://youtu.be/rBfsdkGeMc8

 

[Black Sheep]

A friend's son once asked a cold caller to hold, placed the phone near his backside, let rip and hung up.

I was babysitting at the time and found it hilarious.

 

[ianrauk]

l usually put the phone next to my hi fi speaker. Let them speak to Slayer, Pantera or Anthrax for a while.

 

[Hill Wimp]

Get one of these phones<(Amazon link) Since we got the phone the cold callers get blocked automatically and the few that get through get blocked manually by me using the phone menu.
*Note you do need caller ID for the call block system to work.

Can you get a mobile that does the same, ive had a rash of them recently ?

 

[Arch]

I don't envy these people doing the job they do. The TPS gets rid of most of them. For the rest, a simple "Sorry, I'm not interested" works for me.

We all agreed at work recently, that we'd rather do that job that involves scraping congealed fat of the inside of sewers, than do cold calling work.

I try to be polite but icy. The really annoying ones are the recorded ones, you can't even tell them to go away and stop bothering you.

Another thing that annoys me is when I pick the phone up and say "Hello?" and the person says, with no introduction "Hello, how are you today?" Well, as you're clearly not anyone I know, I'm fed up with being interrupted in the middle of my dinner by the phone ringing!

 

[EltonFrog]

I never engage with them, as soon as I realise it's a cold call I hang up.

 

[MarkF]

Somebody's got to do the work.

My kids used to sing their favourite songs to cold callers, there used to be a mad scramble for the phone between the 3 of them. The eldest usually won, he now cold calls for a solar company. Tough world out there for teenagers, you take what you can.