Cold calling ideas needed

Tropez

Go along with what they say but be sure you confirm everything with your dog/cat/fish.

Tell them you're in the middle of styling your pubic hair.

Pretend to be a police officer investigating a homicide and interrogate the caller as to how they knew the victim.

Purposely mishear a word and become extremely offended by it.

If you have a little bit of technical knowledge, pop over to ebaumsworld and find the various celebrity soundboards in order to answer the phone as Arnold Schwarzenegger or Joe Pesci.

ilovelondontown

Goldiegirl wrote: »

Why not just say no thank you and put the phone down.

They are only doing their job

I have to agree with this.

While I don't agree with the principle of cold calling, I have been one. In my experience the people doing the job are young, students or people who don't have much else as means to get money to get paid. (I was all of these when I did it)

Remember the person at the other end of the phone is only human. If someone in the street offered you a leaflet you didn't want you'd say no thanks, shake your head or just walk away, you wouldn't shout at them or blow a whistle in their face, so why do it on the phone?

Edited: When you politely decline what they are selling, ask to be removed from their call list.

lostinrates

Person_one wrote: »

I call Godwin!

Don't be mean to call centre staff OP, unemployment is high, times are hard, they aren't annoying you for fun they're doing it to keep a roof over their head and their family fed.

Say "I'm not interested, please take me off the list" and be more careful about who gets hold of your number.

Cal centre staff are often so surprised when I'm polite to them, or wish them well, its sad really.

I am polite to them too. (Often in the face of frustration) BUT, I am reg with telephone preference. Previous residents (here over five years ago) keep giving this number out occasionally( dementia issue I believe) which for various sensible reasons I don't want to change. It's particularly annoying when the same company calls, recalls and calls again when you have asked to be removed from their lists reminded them you are not to be called.

Three times in last two days the calls have not been 'sales calls' at least, but fraudulent calls....of the 'this is windows calling about your faulty pc....' I let them run for a while ensuring they mean my pc, and my phone number, and yes, definitely a windows problem here at this number and its very serious, Before asking them how this can be, when there is NO PC at this address. Then they hang up. This is not sales, its fraudulent...but to the recipient they often get lumped into the same box of annoyance.

welshbookworm

I'm rarely rude to cold callers, as it is a horrid job, BUT I will have a good giggle and tease them when they call if I am bored as they are getting paid something for disturbing me. If I'm lucky I get them to laugh as well

Sagz_2

I ask them to wait whilst I go and get whoever it is they ask for (usually me), and put the phone next to the radio - hope they like radio 4.

msb5262

You can just say, "I'm putting you on hold..." then put the receiver down, ideally near something playing "Spring" from Vivaldi's Four Seasons.
Walk away!

bylromarha

I have no sympathy with the regular cold caller if I have repeatedly asked them to remove me from their list.

I find asking them "Why do you think that?" a lot. Got the last one to hang up on me and have a competition with my friend to see who can get the longest call before they hang up on you.

Mrs_Imp

They have been harrassing me for 9 months, asking for someone who has never had this number. I keep asking politely for them to stop calling. They keep calling. Time for some fun.

pigpen

Register with TPS.. it stops most of them within a few weeks.

It is a $h!tty job that people do to put food on the table and keep a roof over their head. I hate them as much as the next person but these people are trying to raise families on the pathetic wage they are paid and treat like crap by their supervisors and given all manner of abuse down the phone.

If you blow a whistle down the phone you can actually make them deaf and they know exactly who has done it and you CAN and SHOULD be prosecuted.

My son worked in one (for Npower and the lottery people) for several months and was fired because he refused to force elderly people and vulnerable people to sign up to things against their will. He hasn't been able to find work since and has a 4 year old and a 1 year old to feed and house and clothe..

These are real people on the phone with real lives and very real bills.. Think about that next time you abuse them... There are far too any happy to b!tch about people unable to find work then abuse people doing their job.. would you think about doing stuff like this to someone in a shop trying to sell you something? Do you give the Big Issue seller grief??? ... what's the difference?

A lot don't get paid if they don't meet their sign up quota for the day.

Erinnire

You could pretend to be a sex line operator when they call, put on your sexist voice and say something like "I'm big busty holly etc... What can I do for you?" change it to suit a male sex operator as you wish.

I would be tempted to add that "calls to this line are charged at £1.50 per minute" in the beginning and see how quickly they hang up haha