How do you handle telephone solicitors?

There is a script that you can use in case of a telephone solicitor.
It works the same way. The ultimate goal is to find out how much
money they make for this easy work. Believe it or not, it works !!!

I have Caller ID so I can spot them right away. The number shows up as "Unavailable". So I just let the phone ring. It only rings about 4 times anyway, since as soon as another person they have on "autodial" answers, they give up on me. I used to hang up on them or interrupt them. I still interrupt them at work. I'm like ... uhhhhh, do you have any idea that this is a business???? We sell the *insert local newspaper here*! Why would we want to subscribe to it??

I like the list, though. Maybe I'll have to start answering the calls so I can try these!

I worked as a telemarketer for one day I think... so I do feel some sympathy for these people... I try to tell them that I'm not interested as soon as possible so I don't waste their time. I also ask to be removed from the list... even though telemarketers usually have no control over that.

if i hear that short pause and click before they pick up to greet you, i hang up. i have become more and more amazed at the times of day and night that they call....

Jettles.. they are allowed to call up until 9:00pm in OH, KY, IN, and WV... I used to work at a Collection agency.

jettles: They're not supposed to call you after 9:00 pm. One night I was sitting here working on my computer (probably answering surveys) and the phone started ringing (I have 2 lines). I got up and looked at the caller ID and it said "Unavailable" meaning it was a solicitor. I looked at the time, and it was 8:59 pm!!! I kid you not!

Usually my husband or I will make up some kind of rude answer to their questions. Like one time they called for him and I told them he was grounded and wasn't able to come to the phone. Another time they called for me and he told them I had ran off to have an affair with his sister. I don't mind if they call in the day time cause I work and am never home to answer the phone but when they call in the evening I get ticked off. I know they have a job to do but don't bug me in my free time. I work all day and don't want to come home and have to listen to them.

i act like i'm interested then when they get to an important selling point i do a 180 on them...

sometimes I tell them I'm dead.

I mostly listen to what they have to say until they're done, then I tell them repeatedly that I'm not interested.

I scream and throw the phone across the room :)

LOL I like that, romkey! I think I'll try it next time!! Yours are great, too, lexxusm.

Lizabeth - It annoys me most of all when they call me at work. Grrrr!

Or when they ask you how you're doing today, be honest with them (instead of just saying "Okay" or "Fine").

SueBee: Just the other day in fact, someone called and asked to talk to the "owner or manager". I said I was the manager. So they tried to sell me a postage meter (you know, so you don't have to buy stamps - all you do is run the envelopes through and it adds up how much you owe). Anyway, this is a retail store. We have no use for a postage meter. But instead of just telling them that, I told them to call our company headquarters, since all purchasing needed to be approved at a corporate level. I know what HQ probably told them. But I figured I might as well let the bigwigs deal with them - I have enough dealing with irate customers and employees every day.

Lizabeth - I've gotten that same call at work! (I'm a retail manager, too but for a small company ) The worst ones to me are asking me to change long distance companies. Most of of our long distance calls are toll-free numbers so nobody can ever save us any money. It's just a big waste of time.

SueBee: I'll tell you what. Next time a solicitor calls my store, I'll say, "No thanks ... and don't bother calling SueBee. She's not interested either." I get those "do you want to change your long distance company" calls, too. I do the same thing with them - tell them to call corporate HQ. They must love me after I send them all the solicitors!

Lizabeth - LOL My boss (the store owner) and I pass the buck to each other sometimes, too, since we're almost never there at the same time. Do you think they actually bother to call your corporate office? I imagine a lot of them just move on to the next randomly generated number.

i recently changed my name. if someone calling asks for "ms. so-and-so" i know it's someone who doesn't know me and just tell them that no one by that name lives here. i used to tell them a relative was in construction, insurance, whatever they were trying to sell and i had no need for their service.

SueBee: Some of them actually ask me for the number to the corporate office, and I happily give it to them. A couple of them even asked me who they would speak to. I told them, "Whoever answers the phone."

I have Caller ID. If I do not recognize a phone number then I will not answer the phone under any circumstances. Voicemail kicks in on the fourth ring, so I don't even have to listen to it ring for long.

Phones are evil and vile devices of Satan.

sometimes when I am in a particularly pissy mood I will give solicitors at work the home phone number of my ex-boss.

Best I heard (but haven't tried yet) is to say while breathing heavily, "What are you wearing?"...

pcpr... Yuck... I used to work for DirecTv (a satellite dish programming company), and once a lady called me while she was very obviously having sex to order the Playboy channel.

First, I take a wide stance. Then, I grab them around the ribs just under their arms, flip them up, and then throw them down through (between) my legs. Their momentum carries their bodies through, but since I have a death grip on their skin, they tend to fly right out of it. I use their skins as hats, and set them free to find some bactine.

That's what you meant by "handling", right?

Often, there is a delay before they say hello (as the computer connects me to them). If I recognize that delay, I hang up the phone. Otherwise, I wait until they take their first breath and say sorry.

I love when they call for my husband and ask for Mr. (My Maiden Name). Cracks me up.

As soon as I realize it's a solicitor, I interrupt and say something very polite and VERY firm, such as (speaking very quickly as though I'm on speed, so that they cannot interrupt me back):

SOLICITOR: Miss Mello, I'm calling from Big Bank...

MOI: Oh, that's really wonderful for you, thank you for calling but I'm not at all interested. Have a nice day, though and good luck with your other sales. Bye.

grmbrand - Not exactly but, hey...whatever!

they: that's really funny!I wonder why she couldn't have ordered it before or after instead of during...

pcpr.. that's a thought.. maybe I should have asked her?

Mostly I'll tell them I'm not interested, sometimes I'll say "My wife won't let me buy things over the phone anymore." which always makes them leave me alone.

I never get as far as the solicitor - I hang up as soon as I hear a pause at the beginning of the phone call.

It depends what kind of mood I am in. Sometimes I hang up, sometimes I try and tell them nicely to go away.

i wait for them to stop for a breath and tell them i'm not interested. I hate interrupting anybody.

I used to be very polite with solicitors, but I've had so much of my time wasted by so many of them who won't take no for an answer. It's just gotten to the point where it's totally exasperating to me. There are days when I've had 3 or 4 calls at work, and more when I get home. Now I just say "no thank you" and hang up without waiting for a response.

I've never had all that many. I do remember one particularly obnoxious one though who just wouldn't give up... they'd gotten me out of bed to answer the call and I was *not* in a good mood, the only thing stopping me from screaming abuse at them is that I'm generally fairly polite; they certainly deserved it :) (I ended up hanging up on them, normally I don't have to)

I say something like "I'm not interested" and hang up... usually something polite, sometimes something hurried.

I'll tell them I'm his brother and that he's dead for quite a while.

I grab my megaphone...

I try not to be openly rude to telesales people as I do some political work here in London which involved some telephone canvassing. But I do ask them to take me off their list and if they phone me again I get very angry with them.

I hate it when they call I ask to be removed from the list and if they call back I am told you can sue them for harassment

I like to wait until they are midway through the spiel, and then interrupt them to ask for details. 'I'm sorry, how long did you say it was good for?' They seldom are able to answer the question, and try to figure out where in the script they should pick up and continue. If they can answer my questions, I let them finish, otherwise I hang up.

Recently I tried to interrupt someone, and she kept on going, so I said 'This must be a computer. Is anyone there?' She stopped to say yes, there was, and I told her that she was doing a great job of reading the script. We chatted for a minute, I complimented her on her voice and tried to pick her up over the phone, and we parted on good terms. I think she forgot what she was trying to sell. I sure did.

I really get aggravated when they call during dinner or early in the morning when I have a chance to sleep in, so I'm usually not very nice to them when they call.

It depends very much on my mood of the moment. Sometimes I let them ramble incessantly, sometimes the receiver slips from my hand onto the cradle.

I've done it before, so I try to be polite. A friend of mine used to ask them to hang on and then yell "Billy!!! Get back in the box before I get the hose on you!!!" They'd usually be gone when she picked up the phone again.