What to do with cold callers

[Slim]

Now you know what to do the next time someone rings to offer you double glazing.

Cold Caller Prank

 

[DomValente]

My way:

"Hello"
"Good evening, this is .........."
"How did you get this number ?"
"we're supplied with a list by..........."
" this is a secure number you should not have access to it"
"what do you mean"
"Sergeant trace this call"

CLICK

Job done

 

[mrs. sliver]

that's one way to do it!! :twisted:

 

[Losos]

Dom,

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Wish I had thought of that when I was in England

 

[A_n_g_e_l_a]

You can guess its a cold caller because there will be no number in caller dispaly. So in this case ...

In an American accent with a deep resonant voice.

"Yo! 9/11 security. How can I help you today?"

Interrupt any answer with ...

"Excuse me Ma'am/Sir ... you are calling a U.S. restricted number. It is strictly designated for use by the US Military Special Anti-terrorism Forces in Europe. You appear to have with held your number and that is US Federal Offense. Hold the line while I put on a back trace and book you a ticket to Guantanamo..."

Quietly put the phone down

 

[RogerM]

Whoops! I know I had seen it somewhere. Link deleted. But worth refinding. first heard it a few weeks ago and it still gets me going! :lol:

 

[Slim]

Roger, Have another look at my first post. :wink:

 

[nickson71]

I never have cold calls ..................... I never have a phone plugged into the socket .... easy

If family, friends, or work want me theve got my mobile number .... the window people don't

 

[Fecn]

Here in my office, for the past 3 years, we've played cold caller racing.

We have a fancy phone system with hold music and call waiting etc... When we get a junk call, we say 'One second, i'll just transfer you' and leave them listening to the hold music.

We found that most cold callers give up by about 45 seconds... so....We decided to change the rules a little to try and keep them on the phone a bit longer...

Now, when they're on hold, if they make it up to 45 secs, we drop back into the call and say 'He's just coming now.. i think he was in the loo' and put them back on hold once more.

The winning cold caller to-date lasted 3 minutes and six seconds - The award for keeping the caller on the line that long goes to an ex-employee Mark.

Can any of you beat 3:06 ?

Another favorite game here is the 'Pre-paid mystery mail game' whereby you take two different credit card offers, cut out any identifying details (name, address, serial numbers etc) and then put them in each other's pre-paid envelopes and send them back. - It's pointless, petty and great fun.

 

[filsgreen]

Don't really find this funny, cold callers are only doing a job so why take the p***. After all they have feelings and probably hate their job but have no other way of earning an income. Would you prefer them to sit on their backsides all day getting benefits?

If they annoy you that much why don't you take the advice from another member of the forum and get your number and address removed from their lists. You can't pretend that it's just a bit of harmless fun, put yourself in that persons shoes and see if you can see the funny side of it.

Not getting on my high horse, but I tend to treat people the way I would like to be treated.

Phil

 

[innesm]

Don't really find this funny, cold callers are only doing a job so why take the p***.

While you do have a smidgeon of a point, cold callers are the willing human shields for the cold calling companies. It's collateral damage.

 

[Terry Smart]

Not getting on my high horse, but I tend to treat people the way I would like to be treated.

Hmmm... but I'm not in the habit of phoning total strangers during the evening or weekend (always it seems at the most inconvenient time!), pestering them to try and get them to buy something they probably don't want in the first place (windows, conservatories, mobile phones etc), sometimes I'm afraid to say with limited language skills, then refusing to take no for an answer!
I know it's a job for these people and they may hate it as much as we do, but it's still a nuisance and an intrusion which is generally speaking unwelcome and sparks off the worst in people.
Selling is part of my job, but if I walk into a shop to get them to buy ourproducts I at least make sure that both are compatible and I try to do it in such a way as to not be a nuisance.

I'm always polite to these people and, all joking aside, would recommend this approach; they are still people. Sometimes though only rudeness or abruptness seems to work, which is a shame.
I used to say to customers 'I don't mind you saying no, so long as you don't mind me asking!'. These people would do well to bear that in mind.

 

[Terry Smart]

Oh, and for the record, registering with the Telephone Preference Society doesn't really seem to make a huge amount of difference - or maybe it does and I only get the few calls that slip through rather than the loads I would otherwise.
(This from the company with a link to tps on their website!).

Probably the best option is to have your telephone company put a bar on anonymous calls, so anyone with a witheld number can't get through.

 

[Dad]

...
Probably the best option is to have your telephone company put a bar on anonymous calls, so anyone with a witheld number can't get through.

We thought of doing that till we realised that my company withold the number, so I wouldn't be able to ring home from work... ] :roll:

However, we have found that the TPS almost works - probably only get one unsolicited call a year now.

 

[Terry Smart]

The most annoying thing about the anonymous call bar is that when you call it it just tells you it's there and you can't be put through ... instead of saying that if you redial, prefixing your number with 1470 it will put you through. This only works of course if you have asked your phone company to withold your number, sometimes company switchboards do it automatically for some strange reason.

 

[Slim]

Don't really find this funny, cold callers are only doing a job so why take the p***.

Sorry Phil, I didn't mean to offend anyone. I just though it was a funny clip thats all. :wink:

 

[filsgreen]

Not getting on my high horse, but I tend to treat people the way I would like to be treated.

Hmmm... but I'm not in the habit of phoning total strangers during the evening or weekend (always it seems at the most inconvenient time!), pestering them to try and get them to buy something they probably don't want in the first place (windows, conservatories, mobile phones etc), sometimes I'm afraid to say with limited language skills, then refusing to take no for an answer!
I know it's a job for these people and they may hate it as much as we do, but it's still a nuisance and an intrusion which is generally speaking unwelcome and sparks off the worst in people.
Selling is part of my job, but if I walk into a shop to get them to buy ourproducts I at least make sure that both are compatible and I try to do it in such a way as to not be a nuisance.

I'm always polite to these people and, all joking aside, would recommend this approach; they are still people. Sometimes though only rudeness or abruptness seems to work, which is a shame.
I used to say to customers 'I don't mind you saying no, so long as you don't mind me asking!'. These people would do well to bear that in mind.

I have to agree with you Terry in that they don't like taking no for an answer. If I find after being polite and refusing their product; I inform them that I intend to put the phone down.


Phil

 

[TonyW]

Slimjim81
I found the clip really amusing thanks for the link. It really annoys me when I get these calls offering prizes for competitions I have not entered. They must be thinking I am a complete fool (not the case as there are still some parts missing ) who can be easily conned.

I do understand the point that they are only doing their job - I just wish they could find another profession [-(

 

[spadge]

Oh, and for the record, registering with the Telephone Preference Society doesn't really seem to make a huge amount of difference - or maybe it does and I only get the few calls that slip through rather than the loads I would otherwise.
(This from the company with a link to tps on their website!).

In my experience the TPS works really well. Used to get loads of cold calls but have only had 1 in the last year since registering, and once I told them I was registered with the TPS they soon put the phone down.

Before I registered my standard reply was "I'm sorry I don't speak English" then put the phone down. Made me smile when I heard my 12 year old answer a call in the same way

 

[SeanG]

We are registered with TPS and it does knock out a lot of the calls, but the same companies ring on a nearly daily basis (one of them 2-3 times a day). I have tried politely asking to be removed from their list, I have tried politely turning down their noble offer of a free mobile phone, I've even tried quietly placing the phone receiver on the side so they can talk to thin air for a bit.

These repeat calls irritate me (esp when I've carefully wiped my plane with an oily tissue and gently placed it onto the bench to talk to them) but the ones that are very annoying are the silent calls "The other caller has cleared".

Most annoying though are the cold callers who just hang up as I say "No tha" I they aren't being polite why should I? :evil:


(feeling a bit better for the rant)