View Full Version : How to deal with junk calls
How many of us are plagued by cold callers- often from call centres abroad- interrupting us to browbeat us into changing energy supplier or naming the make of every appliance in the home? I heard a really novel way of dealing with it. My friend says she answers the phone in as neutral a voice as possible- and then once she knows it is a junk call goes into her act.
She pretends she isn't the 'lady of the house'- but the lady's domestic staff. and she goes to town on the act. She has been the Spanish gardener (a la Manuel from Fawlty Towers); the posh butler Bowers (who says Madam isn't available as she has a private date with Prince Charles) or even the Thailand maid who speaks no English at all. it seems to work for her- all of a sudden her number appears to ahve been removed from the list.
anyone else have a strategy they wish to share?
i just lay the phone on the table and let them talk to their selfs costing them money .they soon get fed up and stop calling
I either hang up or if im feeling wicked I put the bairns on the phone on speaker phone and get on with whatever I was doing....it fustrates the caller as if asked the kids say im in the bathroom (I usually clean the loo while they are on the phone and if its a longer call start on the bath..)
Other than that I registered with TPS...it cuts down the amount of calls, but not the survey ones!
I just tell them my Brother in Law is a Tory MP and they hang up immediately, cant think why!!!
C3.....:roll:;)
I've registered with TPS but unfortunately it can't stop the overseas calls.
Friend tells me that one caller from overseas got really hagcked off and shouted down the phone 'Why are you wasting my time?!!!'
she says it was the best laugh she had all week
Friend of mine dangled a phone monkey on the line for half an hour. The guy was selling conservatories. The salesman wittered on while my mate kept agreeing and enthusing. Salesman thought he'd got a pukka sale for an expensive conservatory. My mate then told him he lived on the fourth floor of a tower block.......
I always start calls from phone monkeys with the phrase, "Excuse me, but have we been introduced?" in a cut glass voice. Tends to stop them in their tracks.......
Metalattakk
09-Aug-11, 03:50
The wife has fairly rare and particularly difficult to pronounce surname, well, especially to those who've never seen it or spoken it before.
So, when they 'phone up with the "Can I speak with Mrs...(and now they've seen the surname on their screen)...er...McIckithibilliffferr...?", I can honestly say, without any compunction on my part, that "Oh, sorry, there's no one of that name living here..."
Sometimes they 'phone back a couple of minutes later. It's usually her bank. :D
I just say who they are asking for (me) is dead. Silence......... and away they go.
father in law once got a call from a double glazing company which state that they fit windows free so he went along with them . they made a appointment to come around and measure up. then said the price ,he quote that you cold caller said you do it for free, the agent was livid that f i l had taken the piss and wasted their time what a shame
billmoseley
09-Aug-11, 15:24
just say your the morgue at the hospital and you will see if the person they are asking for has been brought in.
I am with TPS, but still get some calls. I always say "can I start by asking how you came about having this ex-directory, private telephone number?". Only once have I had someone call back and when I told them their unsolicited, unwanted call was being recorded for prosecution purposes they terminated the call.
I ask them if they would like to know what I am wearing , they usually go silent then start on theire routine again , so I ask them again and then ask them does their boss know that they are calling a premium rate number?, this usually has the desired effect of them
putting the phone down! But I must admit if we have visitors and I start they do wonder what is going on and then have a good
laugh lol
I used to work in a call centre, making these calls.
When you experience these calls from the giving end, you notice how differently people react when you call them. Some people would yell and shout, slam the phone down, say "just a minute" and then disappear. Others would in a polite way explain why they were not interested and we would terminate the call. Who do you want to be ?
I felt it worked best when I respected I was interrupting them and they respected that I was trying to do my job. The sooner we together could establish there was no chance of me selling them my products, the sooner we both could get on with it. (It may surprise you, but a lot of people do buy from telephone sales, and find the deals offer good value for money)
Telephone sales is a part of modern life and it is a sales channel that makes sense for some companies.
A couple of things to consider before deciding how to deal with these calls:
-Some companies may have something to offer that you may actually be interested in. Take time to listen to what they want to tell you. If it doesn't suit you, tell them when to phone back. Keep cool, ask questions before you decide.
-If you start blocking no caller ID calls, you risk blocking friends with no caller ID, doctors....
-These companies pay a lot of money for lists with your name on them. They are reluctant to take you off the list unless they know you are not a prospective customer. Take the time to disqualify yourself as a customer
-The call centre agent will be on some kind of target/commission, the sooner he/she understands you are not a prospect, the sooner they will hang up and move on to somebody who is interested. They may also mark you as not a prospect in the database, stopping you getting calls in the future.
-If you have been wasting their time, you p... them off and they leave you on the list for one of the 300 other call-centre agents to have a go at you and waste your time again. (this environment is highly competitive and you have no loyalty towards your colleagues/company (at least I didn't))
Here are some of my dis-qualifiers:
Double-Glazing, home-improvements: "I live in a static caravan", "We moved into our brand-new house last month"
Telephone/Mobile: "I started a 24 month contract with some other operator last month", "My employer pays for my phone"
Energy: "Locked in the next 23 months", "Just installed my own windmill, I am off-grid, or I am selling, not buying electricity"
Green_not_greed
10-Aug-11, 20:17
I had one this afternoon - a scam from an overseas sounding caller. Apparently a "computer company" trying to tell me that my computer had a number of serious error messages on it and if I would supply some account details they would deal with it. I told them I didn't have a computer. There was a pause at the other end, then "does anyone else in the house have a computer?". I said no. Then asked them if they knew that they were calling the very north of Scotland. They said no. I then told them that we were a remote croft without any electricity! They apologised and hung up.
secrets in symmetry
11-Aug-11, 00:21
I felt it worked best when I respected I was interrupting them and they respected that I was trying to do my job. The sooner we together could establish there was no chance of me selling them my products, the sooner we both could get on with it. (It may surprise you, but a lot of people do buy from telephone sales, and find the deals offer good value for money)
Telephone sales is a part of modern life and it is a sales channel that makes sense for some companies.
A couple of things to consider before deciding how to deal with these calls:
-Some companies may have something to offer that you may actually be interested in. Take time to listen to what they want to tell you. If it doesn't suit you, tell them when to phone back. Keep cool, ask questions before you decide.
-If you start blocking no caller ID calls, you risk blocking friends with no caller ID, doctors....
-These companies pay a lot of money for lists with your name on them. They are reluctant to take you off the list unless they know you are not a prospective customer. Take the time to disqualify yourself as a customer
-The call centre agent will be on some kind of target/commission, the sooner he/she understands you are not a prospect, the sooner they will hang up and move on to somebody who is interested. They may also mark you as not a prospect in the database, stopping you getting calls in the future.
-If you have been wasting their time, you p... them off and they leave you on the list for one of the 300 other call-centre agents to have a go at you and waste your time again. (this environment is highly competitive and you have no loyalty towards your colleagues/company (at least I didn't))
Oh dear, that's a real classic. Talk about missing the point entirely...
The point is that many of us despise your profession, and in the process we begin to despise the people that engage in it. Yes, that means YOU! I will continue to do my best to make your telephone life a misery, and I make no apologies for it. You are a social misfit and a public nuisance, and you deserve all the abuse you get from the public. Do you riot and loot now you've given up the day job?
That reminds me, I received a call from one of the faux Microsoft scammers yesterday morning. You know, the ones that insist you have a virus on your computer and want to help you remove it. They're a bit like you bignose, you must empathise with them.
I gave this joker the verbal runaround for what seemed like about 20 minutes. I played dumb and talked him round and round in circles. I got him so frustrated that he was getting angry because I wouldn't understand what he was saying. Eventually, he gave up and hung up before he blew his top.
I spent ages trying to get him to give me his bank account details, and I think I almost convinced him that he'd promised to send me a new computer to replace the one with the virus!
I look forward to receiving 300 calls from his call-centre mates. My wind up skills will be well honed after all that practice. :cool:
linnie612
11-Aug-11, 01:07
Surely there is a difference between cold calling and scammers?
Surely there is a difference between cold calling and scammers?
Yeah there is a difference. The problem is that us on the end of the line can't tell the difference. It is quite frankly irrasponsible of companies nowadays to cold call as they know full well that there are many people out there that are scamming people by phone.
I once had a call and like most of these it takes ages to connet once you pic up the phone. They guy at the other end eventually shouted down the phone at me "why you take so long to answer?" I shouted back "don't you dare talk to me like that, now p*ss off!"
I can't wait for them to call again so I can try some of these ones out
I just don't answer the phone. I actually unplugged it for a while until wifey wanted to know why the MiL couldn't get through. So I the resorted to unplugging it when she went out and plugging it in when she returns, and let her answer it.
Simple solutions are often the best.
My Dad came home from work one day. As he walked in, the phone started ringing.
He walked over to it, ripped the whole fitting out of the wall, opened the window, and threw it out into the street.
"What did you do THAT for" said Mum.
"People keep ringing us up" said Dad.
And that was it until he retired, and a phone crept back into the house.
But it knew its place.
Oh dear, that's a real classic. Talk about missing the point entirely...
.........
I gave this joker the verbal runaround for what seemed like about 20 minutes. .........
I spent ages trying to get him to give me his bank account details, ..........
I look forward to receiving 300 calls from his call-centre mates. My wind up skills will be well honed after all that practice. :cool:
I am quite happy thank you, managing and training salespeople (selling to businesses, not consumers, so we won't be calling you at home). One thing we spend time on is to qualify if the customer is likely to buy, if not we move on.
I thought the problem with these calls were that they disturb you, steal your time and block your line ? If you find pleasure in wasting your time talking nonsense to a scammer/tele sales agent, please go ahead. It will not reduce the number of nuisance calls you receive. Throwing phone out of window or leaving it off hook means the people you want to call you can't get through.
I like Green_not_greed's "We don't have computers in the north of Scotland". No computer, nobody to sell to/scam, no reason to call. This kind of answers won't remove all of these calls, but over time reduce their number. At least it has for me.
'Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a thousand battles without disaster.'" Sun Wu Tzu, the great military expert of ancient China,
A couple of things to consider before deciding how to deal with these calls:
-Some companies may have something to offer that you may actually be interested in. Take time to listen to what they want to tell you. If it doesn't suit you, tell them when to phone back. Keep cool, ask questions before you decide.
Rubbish why should I take time to listen to someone who I dont know trying to sell me someting I dont want. If I require anything I am quite capable of doing my own research.
-If you start blocking no caller ID calls, you risk blocking friends with no caller ID, doctors....
This is also Rubbish as I have all unknown calls blocked for years and it was the best thing I have ever done. All you you need to do is to advise all friends and companies that you want to call you to add 1470 in front of your telephone number.
-These companies pay a lot of money for lists with your name on them. They are reluctant to take you off the list unless they know you are not a prospective customer. Take the time to disqualify yourself as a customer
So what if they have paid a lot of money, I never sold them anything and it is a case of buyer beware. So this is a Rubbish also.
-The call centre agent will be on some kind of target/commission, the sooner he/she understands you are not a prospect, the sooner they will hang up and move on to somebody who is interested. They may also mark you as not a prospect in the database, stopping you getting calls in the future.
That is their problem not mine. You forget it is them doing the calling not us and they then deserve everything they get.
-If you have been wasting their time, you p... them off and they leave you on the list for one of the 300 other call-centre agents to have a go at you and waste your time again. (this environment is highly competitive and you have no loyalty towards your colleagues/company (at least I didn't))
Absolute Rubbish this, you are just trying to scare people into listening to a sales pitch they do not want or need. So if I do get any cold callers, I received one 2 nights ago as it was outwith the UK and these calls can not be blocked, I will waste their time as much as I can.
It is about time that companies realised that these type of calls are NOT wanted and if they insist on making them then they can not complain about getting the run around.
When you experience these calls from the giving end, you notice how differently people react when you call them. Some people would yell and shout, slam the phone down, say "just a minute" and then disappear. Others would in a polite way explain why they were not interested and we would terminate the call. Who do you want to be ?
I felt it worked best when I respected I was interrupting them and they respected that I was trying to do my job. The sooner we together could establish there was no chance of me selling them my products, the sooner we both could get on with it.
Why should you "have to disqualify me" as a customer? When I say no I don't want whatever you are selling, that should be enough of a "disqualifier", but it never is. That is why people get hacked of at pressure selling cold callers. That is why I "disqualify" cold callers as sales people.
mentallywinnie
12-Aug-11, 08:09
I had one of these calls yesterday..the usual hello how are you? I'm calling from....... could you tell me which brand of televisions you have in the house?
Me: Why?
because we're doing a survey to find out which make is the most popular in the uk...
me: Yea right! Why don't you ring the sellers I'm not telling you that info as you probably have my address and will come round when (if) I'm out and nick my telly!..I am ex-directory and TPS registered Bye!
Walter Ego
12-Aug-11, 09:08
Get a phone that displays the callers number.
If you don't recognise the number (or it is witheld
/international), let it go onto answerphone with the loudspeaker on. If it's someone who really wants to talk to you they'll leave a message, you can then intercept.
The cold caller drones never leave messages.
Job done and another cold caller gets nothing. Happiness and bliss abound.
Bigno48:
Regarding your waffle about the legitimacy of cold calling at home - If I choose not to watch adverts on the telly or radio, I change channels. If I choose not to read adverts in magazines I flip past them. If idiots come uninvited to my doorstep to profit from me, or call me uninvited to profit from me, I have to physically engage in a pointless conversation to dissuade the drone from his/her uninvited attentions.
This is wasting my time, I do not appreciate endless calls from people who I have no interest in. And I certainly have no pity for them after half a dozen calls from different drones around the world. On the odd occasion that someone gets past my screening - then I'll simply hang up without answering.
Business wise, then I'll answer and talk. Providing the call is relevant to my business, I'll discuss happily all day (if I have time). But when I'm at home - no chance. I could call my potential customers at home - but there's no way I will do that uninvited.
It's called having standards.
I once answered the phone and kept the guy on the phone for 30 mins or so without buying. When he was taking my details I told him my surname was Tea.
Now everytime I get a spam call it starts off "Hello, can I speak to Mr. Tea?" to which I say (in what I think is an excellent impression although my wife disagrees) "I pitty da fool that looks for Mr. T" and hang up!
I still get the calls, but they're much more enjoyable!
secrets in symmetry
15-Aug-11, 23:36
I am quite happy thank you, managing and training salespeople (selling to businesses, not consumers, so we won't be calling you at home). One thing we spend time on is to qualify if the customer is likely to buy, if not we move on.
I thought the problem with these calls were that they disturb you, steal your time and block your line ? If you find pleasure in wasting your time talking nonsense to a scammer/tele sales agent, please go ahead. It will not reduce the number of nuisance calls you receive. Throwing phone out of window or leaving it off hook means the people you want to call you can't get through.
I like Green_not_greed's "We don't have computers in the north of Scotland". No computer, nobody to sell to/scam, no reason to call. This kind of answers won't remove all of these calls, but over time reduce their number. At least it has for me.
I don't talk nonsense to scammers, I talk sense to spivs (and scammers) like you. There is some hope that some sense will rub off on you.
The last time one of your kind cold-called me at my work he lost his job. :cool:
cant fault TPS & MPS
and ofcourse a phone that displays the calles number and whocallsme.com
i often like winding up conservatory seller & double glazing sellers
even to the extent of having reps come around
they really get out of their tree when they find out i'm a council tenant!
dx
linnie612
16-Aug-11, 00:38
cant fault TPS & MPS
and ofcourse a phone that displays the calles number and whocallsme.com
i often like winding up conservatory seller & double glazing sellers
even to the extent of having reps come around
they really get out of their tree when they find out i'm a council tenant!
dx
I think we all enjoy doing the wind up bit now, and the more inventive the better. But why would you want them to come to your house?
Powered by vBulletin® Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.