It has happened way too many times to be just a chance...I have been gone for days working on stuff and come back and get online to check webmail, etc. and then 10 minutes later or so I get a call. And the thing is, they only call for people that are in the apartment at the time being. How do they know this? My guess is they can somehow tell when people are online.

Anyway, this (Saturday) morning I went to go the bathroom at 8:15am...came back and quickly checked my email, weather, cnn.com, wral.com...and went back to bed. At 8:30am, the phone started ringing in our apartment...so I go out an answer it. It was a female trying to tell me to switch over to the college credit card plan bullshit...and she asked for me specifically (everyone else in the apartment was gone).

I was so angry...8:30am on a Saturday morning...

I said in a groggy voice "F*cking leave me alone...oh, and have a good day."

I am also on the DO NOT CALL registry...I mean, shit, what a great way to start a dreary Saturday.

[Edited on April 8, 2006 at 1:59 PM. Reason : b]

4/8/2006 1:58:38 PM

on the do not call website I think they have a space where you can report them if they call you. Have you told them that you are on the registry? They are not supposed to call you again if you tell them that. I'd put your number on the registry again just to be on the safe side

4/8/2006 2:03:36 PM

get vonage

4/8/2006 2:12:13 PM

Dont use landlines. Bellsouth likes to call you constantly if you have one, plus the n&o uses automatic dialers. Don't list your number with state, they'll give it to credit card companies and army recruiters.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm returning to my shack in the woods. If anyone asks, I was never here.

4/9/2006 6:42:42 PM

i can't remember the last time i got a telemarketer. then again, i only have a cell phone.

4/9/2006 7:47:57 PM

Quote :

"Telemarketers know when you are online and call "

uhh, you really think that?

4/9/2006 10:21:48 PM

most telemarketers are on automatic dialers and have no clue what you are doing and usually have no clue whom they are dialing...the system just dials for them and they start talking to the person whose name showed up on the screen

4/9/2006 10:35:48 PM

it must suck to be a telemarketer.

it also really sucks to get bugged by them. wonder what the success rate is for that business

4/9/2006 11:32:47 PM

doesnt have to be high considering what those people work for

4/9/2006 11:34:51 PM

if the only job i could get was being a telemarketer id kill myself

4/10/2006 2:56:40 AM

As far as PT jobs go, telemarketing usually pays pretty well (~$10/hr? +/-). For obvious reasons, it has crazy high turnover.

4/10/2006 4:35:47 AM

Quote :

"wonder what the success rate is for that business"

Just enough to keep them in business. Kinda makes me wonder what I dislike the most. The telemarketing calls or the people that obviously are out there saying "yes" to any offer made by a telemarketer.

Even if I wanted a service provided by a telemarketer I think I would decline over the phone and buy it through a different venue on my own time - just on the principle alone... not that a telemarketer has ever pitched something I wanted.

Remember that the companies you do business with and NFPs can call you even though you are on the do not call list. It doesn't make sense why they would though because it's not like someone that has gone out of their way to put themselves on a DNC list would want any calls from telemarketers. You would think that telemarketers would appreciate such a list because it cuts all the automatic "NO!"s out of their pool. You would think they would experience a higher success rate by sticking to the numbers that are not on the DNC list.

BellSouth does call us quite often. Always the same DSL pitch. It has almost driven us to the point of switching phone companies but I almost feel like every phone company would do this. You have to love the strategy though...

BellSouth exec #1: Hey, let's call our customers and see if they want some of our additional services, they must not be reading the mailers we put out twice a month.
BellSouth exec #2: But they are on the do not call list, we might end up annoying out customer base. I mean, these are the people that have a disposition to say "NO!"
BellSouth exec #1: It shouldn't annoy them because it is ok for us to call because we do business with them. I'm sure they will appreciate weekly reminders of services we offer.

4/10/2006 8:29:45 AM

just answer with the celeb sound boards, that got them to stop calling me

4/10/2006 12:27:19 PM

i unfortunately worked for a firm for like 6 months, the pay was decent for PT work, I just hated it. However, we were fundraising, and our branch raised at least $50-60,000 a week back when I worked, which was more than enough to pay as well as send the money to the programs...

4/10/2006 12:34:30 PM