Great 'Best Cold Caller Rebukes' Hunt

peterft

andrewjf wrote: »

Additionally, inform them that they are breaking the law by calling you as a registered TPS member. Demand the company's contact details and tell them you are going to report them to OFCOM, and they should expect a hefty fine. I find this normally stops them dead in their tracks. Have to say though, I rarely receive cold calls now I'm TPS registered. It's very effective.

Agree about being TPS registered. Certainly has reduced the number of calls.

However it's the foreigners that still get through and it's great threatening them with the law. It get them really frightened before they eventually twig and ring off.

Sylvan

non.a.mousey wrote: »

My friends are free to call me whenever they like If it's inconvenient my phone will be off or I won't answer it. (No need for cutting wires...) They certainly don't have to arrange to speak to me by email.....

How lovely for you dear, that you can turn off your phone without having to cut the wire but you still haven't explained to the older generation how we can do so WITHOUT having to pay BT vast amounts to send out an engineer.

I ask you again, why should the onus be on us to put up with the cost and disruption involved in order to stop calls from people who have, in most cases, obtained our numbers illegally and have no right to use them?

non.a.mousey wrote: »

Really? Some of the people you know... poor you?

That, young lady, is extremely insulting. Not everyone can, or even wants to, participate in the shallow, faux-friendly, culture some of you neurotypical types are currently pretending to. That does not, by any means, make them worth less than you. (In fact, some of the people who have adverse reactions to an unexpected touch have been conditioned that way by their experiences protecting your way of life, which many would say makes them worth a great deal more than you.)

non.a.mousey wrote: »

Just to remind you - (obviously, based on the title of the thread...) this thread doesn't represent the majority of the population, who are quite happy to receive these market research calls, and quite happy to take part in surveys if/when convenient.

[/non.a.mousey]

I have read the entirety of this thread at least twice and so far I have been unable to find an assertion that this thread does "represent the majority of the population".
Let the sheep do whatever they like. They probably need the "human" contact and feel that your phone calls validate their worth - we have noticed they tend to get very upset if they can't make it to the pubs and shopping malls to mix with the rest of the flock (though I assume you take care not to phone them when their soap operas are being transmitted), but you and your ilk have repeatedly iterated that those of us with a little more discrimination can stop cold callers just by asking politely, and when disabused of that fallacy you proceed (in every instance) to tell us to buy expensive machines or turn off our phones.

The onus should not be on us, dear.

Is the next thing you'll be calling for legislation to force vulnerable people to wear signs on their backs bearing legends such as "Salesbots, Market Researchers and other panhandlers BEWARE - Do not tap me on the shoulder unexpectedly since I [am autistic][have PTSD/Down's/FAS/CPD/NVLD/insert relevant label here] and you may be injured by my reaction"?

Sylvan

ahem
Sorry folks, self-righteous bigoted types bring out the worst in some of us.:o

What I came here to say was:
How long do you think using soundbites from this http://www.realmofdarkness.net/sounds/ss/cookiemonster-soundboard.htm would keep them guessing?

Definitely one to keep handy

Plushchris

I would personally be insulted if any of my friends/family made me email them before calling.

Sylvan

Who said anything about making anyone do anything Plushchris? Some people love their friends and family and do their best not to cause them anxiety or inconvenience.

Plushchris

Sylvan wrote: »

I ask you again, why should the onus be on us to put up with the cost and disruption involved in order to stop calls from people who have, in most cases, obtained our numbers illegally and have no right to use them?

Absolute rubbish, how the hell did they obtain them illegally?

Sylvan wrote: »

That, young lady, is extremely insulting. Not everyone can, or even wants to, participate in the shallow, faux-friendly, culture some of you neurotypical types are currently pretending to. That does not, by any means, make them worth less than you. (In fact, some of the people who have adverse reactions to an unexpected touch have been conditioned that way by their experiences protecting your way of life, which many would say makes them worth a great deal more than you.)

And calling someone "young lady" isnt insulting? Being younger makes people worth less than you does it?


What makes you think you are worth more than anyone else? The fact that you are old? Dont make me laugh.

Sylvan wrote: »

but you and your ilk have repeatedly iterated that those of us with a little more discrimination can stop cold callers just by asking politely, and when disabused of that fallacy you proceed (in every instance) to tell us to buy expensive machines or turn off our phones.

The onus should not be on us, dear.

There you go again being insulting and patronising, Dear?

Sylvan wrote: »

Is the next thing you'll be calling for legislation to force vulnerable people to wear signs on their backs bearing legends such as "Salesbots, Market Researchers and other panhandlers BEWARE - Do not tap me on the shoulder unexpectedly since I [am autistic][have PTSD/Down's/FAS/CPD/NVLD/insert relevant label here] and you may be injured by my reaction"?

I'm not even going to dignify that crap with a response.


You probably get lots of calls from telemarketers (I hope you do) because of the rude way you deal with them and they just put you back in the list to get more calls. I know this happens from friends (REAL friends, ones that dont have to email me for permission to phone me) that have worked in call centres that have had to deal with hate filled bile-mongers like yourself.

Sylvan

Plushchris dear heart:

1: Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm sure I've heard of a piece of legislation that has the acronym "DPA". Ring any bells?
When asked for our phone number we always say "It's ex-directory". We only give it when assured it is absolutely necessary and won't be stored or used for anything other than the purpose for which we are supplying it.
This being the case any cold caller has, more than likely, received our data through a method that contravenes the DPA.
QED

2: I said nothing about youth being an indicator of worth. I merely called the person in question "young lady" because her naivete and style gave me the impression that she was young.

Who said I was old? Aren't you making the exact assumption of which you are accusing me?

3: I'm so sorry. I thought the current neurotyical fashion was to address complete strangers by falsely affectionate-sounding honorifics such as "Mate", "Love", "Darling", "Sweetheart", on a par with that dreadful habit of indiscrimate hugging and the ridiculous air-kissing. I normally call people "Dear", since I suffer from prosopagnosia and NTs seem to get SO upset when you get their names wrong. If the young lady/elderly gentleman/middle-aged neuter I so addressed is offended by the honorific she/he/it can tell me so, politely, and I will endeavour to make sure no-one in my purview calls her thusly in future. I believe, from her/his/its heretofore stated opinions, that this should be acceptable to her/him/it. N'est-ce pas mon vieux?

4: That human ordure, as you so delightfully call it, was a perfectly logical extrapolation, given the assertions of the person of indeterminate age and gender (You pc types make everything so cumbersome, don't you?:rotfl:)
She/he/it maintains that we have no right to be upset when our phones ring unexpectedly, several times per day, thanks to unscrupulous companies.
She/he/it further implied, nay, even postulated, that it was perfectly acceptable behaviour to unexpectedly tap a stranger on the shoulder.

non.a.mousey wrote: »

Cold calling is like tapping you on the shoulder and asking for a chat. You can ignore it, you can turn round and say no, or you can turn round and have a chat. It's up to you...but they're letting you know the offer is there.

When I warned her to be careful, since tapping random strangers on the shoulder can be exceedingly dangerous, she proceeded to say that anyone who happens to know people like that is to be pitied. That statement is extremely insulting (even discriminatory) towards a certain type of person.

She/he/it wants us to buy expensive equipment or turn off the phones, for the use of which we, not she/he/it, pay, if we don't want her/his/its ilk to metaphorically tap us on the shoulder.
The logical extrapolation from that position is that, if we will insist on leaving our places of refuge and walking down her/his/its streets, we should wear signs proclaiming our reluctance to be manhandled (I do apologise - that should probably be "personhandled", but it's such a ridiculously clumsy construction I can't quite bring myself to use it) - and since a polite request to be left alone has no appreciable effect on most of these people I assumed that they would feel that we should be required to supply the reason we would strongly prefer not to be assaulted.

Plushchris wrote: »

You probably get lots of calls from telemarketers (I hope you do) because of the rude way you deal with them and they just put you back in the list to get more calls. I know this happens from friends (REAL friends, ones that dont have to email me for permission to phone me) that have worked in call centres that have had to deal with hate filled bile-mongers like yourself.

Your reasoning is specious young/middle-aged/old man/woman/child/ET, since the only caller I have ever been rude to was a punjabi wallah that insisted on calling me repeatedly every day, for well over a week - and I think the rudest thing I said to him was "ullu ke pathe". You have been far more rude toward me in your post. If you feel your level of rudeness is acceptable then don't pass judgement on what you spuriously imagine mine to be.

By the way, since it seems to offend you so very much - my friends and family try to warn me, as far as possible, of imminent phone calls so that (a) I can get to the phone in time to answer it (which may involve manoeuvering into a wheelchair or, on a particularly bad day, calling for someone to pick up the phone and hold it for me) and (b) we can avoid waking/startling any sleeping babies/shift-workers/autistics/students doing important coursework. Is that acceptable to you, or should I request that they go against their nature and upbringing and learn to be inconsiderate?

Shall I also insist that my family should start running up and down stairs, instead of simply using IM, every time they want to ask me (or a sibling) summat? Would that accord more with your sense of propriety?

Sylvan

NevMetson wrote: »

Questioning whether to spend £60 or £70 quid to spend on Truecall, especially for an elderly relative?.......it's a no brainer!!

Gosh, it must be nice to have that sort of money to throw around.

By the way, I forget - can someone remind me please - what's the name (and ethos) of this site again?

Sylvan

Nev, think about it... If one doesn't have £60 or £70 to throw around then one certainly wouldn't have £20,000 to lose.

And don't knock flippancy - it can be the last resort of the truly desperate (and it's sooo much fun).

Bertville

We always tell them the house is rented and that we cannot change any of the services etc. This also works for callers at the door.