Waking up to telemarketers’ same old ditty
Haven’t slept much this past week. Server trouble. Looks like the worst is over but it still needs monitoring unless I am okay with the blogs disappearing for long stretches everyday. And I am definitely not okay with that. When I couldn’t get up this morning, Speedy took pity and packed the girls’ lunch boxes. Oh, I tell you — the luxurious feeling after getting eight straight hours of sleep is priceless! But, you know, the fairy tale feeling rarely lasts that long.
I keep my iPhone on the bedside table. The moment I open my eyes, I check the status of the server. And that was what I did when I woke up about an hour ago. Status was not good. CPU load was too high. I went up to my study to get to my laptop even before I could fix myself a cup of coffee. Minutes later, with the server status stable and looking good, I heard the phone ringing downstairs. One of the helpers answered it, then she came up to tell me that someone wanted Alex’s cell phone number. Huh? I went down, passing the helper on the stairs and telling her never to give out telephone numbers to strangers.
I lifted the receiver and there was a young woman’s voice at the other end of the line.
“Yes? Who is this please?” I asked.
“Yes, ma’am, I’d like to get the fax number of Mr. Alex Veneracion.”
Mr.? Alex would have sassed her.
“Why? Where is this?”
“Ma’am, this is the [Something] Golf Leisure [something]…”
“Where did you get Alex’s number?”
“From the Golf Show, ma’am…”
Golf Show? Alex going to a golf show? Too funny.
“Miss, Alex is 14 years old and a she.”
“Oh… (pause) No one there plays golf, ma’am?”
I didn’t tell her Speedy does.
“No. Please don’t ever call again.”
Gee, unless someone’s been using Alex’s name and giving out our home phone number, I don’t know where she could have gotten her information. Alex… golf? LOL Unless PSP games count, she definitely isn’t interested in golf.
I really don’t like telemarketers. And I especially don’t like them when they’re the first people I talk to when I wake up in the morning.
And… speaking of Speedy, I think I’ll get him a lifetime supply of this.
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hahaha!!! so funny dat my new job here in dubai is telemarketing…but i understand ur side, me too have an experience of being nasty ’sometimes’ to them…maybe i should learn d ‘approach’ dat won’t make d other person on d line upset…
by d way m a new reader of ur blog, i learn a lot from dem…m a mother of 3girls, we move here in dubai from pinas last june08 coz my hubby works here..
more power to u…and to all moms out der!!!
I get a lot of calls from telemarketers everyday. I think they got the numbers from the credit card companies… anyway, a girl telemarketer even said “f*ck you” to me when I said I do not have the time to entertain her call. I was so shocked I couldn’t even think of any comeback. We do not have a law against telemarketing like in the US huh, Connie?
Gay, I blame the companies that telemarketers work for more than the telemarketers themselves. Telemarketers should be forewarned about invading the privacy of the people whose numbers they call so they should be psychologically prepared to get nasty responses. On an individual level, telemarketers should learn to call at appropriate times. Early in the morning, meal times and nearing bedtime… they should know better. And they should understand when someone tells them “NO” and respect that. Some get really pushy.
Soul, no we don’t although companies aren’t supposed to give out private information of clients. The story goes, however, that enterprising employees sell these information at good prices.
this is a funny story on an otherwise irritating scenario. a lot of these people who work via the phone are really undeserving of their pay. i hope they’ll learn how to do those soon.
the news that some banks in germany are selling their data banks rocked us these past week, i would say they sold those for a very good price indeed. the telemarketers here are mostly robots now… you dont talk to real people only voice recordings, easier to deal with
” I blame the companies that telemarketers work for more than the telemarketers themselves. Telemarketers should be forewarned about invading the privacy of the people whose numbers they call so they should be psychologically prepared to get nasty responses.” – Ms. Connie V.
You’re right, it’s the telemarketer company’s responsibility to train their employees well and they should put more emphasis on ‘effective people skills.’
mayroon ditong website where you can send your number para hindi ito ma target ng mga telemarketers. pero hindi 100% effective kaya mayroon din kaming answering machine sa bahay para filter sa mga unwanted callers.
sa susunod, tell them that you’re busy and ask the telemarketer for his home phone numbers so you can call back.
Hi Connie,
I had a similar experience with telemarketers. One rang and told me she wasn’t selling anything but was just conducting a survey on alcoholic beverages and could she speak to a Mr. Kevin C.. I asked her, are you sure you want to speak to Mr. Kevin C.. because he’s just 9 years old and has never had an alcoholic beverage in his life. Of course she apologised. I can’t for the life of me understand how she got my son’s information. The only thing I could think of was that my husband signed my son’s name in a raffle at the mall.
Also, someone rang me up on our 2nd telephone line that isn’t given out to anybody except very close friends and relatives and my son’s school for emergency purposes. When I heard the stranger on the line, I bellowed “HOW DID YOU GET THIS NUMBER?” And promptly replaced the handset. Never rang me on that phone again.
We’ve installed an answering machine on our 1st phone and it works really well in screening calls. Usually call centres automatically stop their call if an answering machine answers it.
Here in Australia, we have a do-not-call register. We registered our number with this facility and our unsolicited calls have dropped dramatically. Of course, the only concession is that calls from government offices and charity organisations are allowed.