A small idea,. Simple, like the wheel

[laptop1]

Whenever a phone sales person/selling windows or what ever and calls you in the middle of dinner, don't get sore. Don't slam down the receiver. Don't hang up.

Just say, "Hold on, please." Then gently set the receiver on the table and go about your business.

Why will this change the world? Because the sales person will hold on, too. While the sales person is on hold, he cannot bug you or other people in the middle of dinner, can he?

No, he can't.

Phone sales person makes money because one or two calls in every 100 actually listen to the sales pitch and buy something.

But what if each unsuccessful call took the sales person a few minutes instead of a few seconds? What if a phone sales person could make only a dozen calls per hour, instead of several hundred?

Then it would no longer be cost-effective to bother people in the middle of dinner, would it?

No, it wouldn't.

Some minutes later, after the sales person decides you are not coming back and hangs up on his end, you will hear the distinctive wah-wah sound from your receiver, meaning it is OK to hang up your phone

A small idea,. Simple, like the wheel. You know what to do, the next time you get one of those calls.

 

[turtle trader]

Decisive proof that the simple ideas are the best. Bravo! I shall start 'setting down the receiver' forthwith.

Why don't we all e-mail this wonderful idea to 10 friends & family - harness the previously destructive power of chain mail to fight back against the evil time invaders?

 

[Tuffty]

The problem is you still got disturbed.

Try the telephone preference service.....

www.tpsonline.org.uk/tps/

 

[roguetrader]

Interestingly this has already been the subject of an advertisement for a certain brand of tea for several months now.

 

[laptop1]

Funny, I had one of those phone calls today, I said Hold on, please,," he said yes ok....over 1 min past lol, I could hear him saying Hello hello he then hang up.........It was a great felling made my day, lol.

 

[triplepack]

If its double glazing , I tell them I am just looking for some windows right now, and do they do sophets and
and cladding 'cos my woodwork is really rotten a full redo of the house. By this time they are frothing at
the mouth and drooling at the thought of all that commission.
Anyway part 2 is get them to call u back and then ask them to make an appointment with your landlord
they just hate it but it can be very entertaing when all u got is Emmerdale on tele.

Naughty I know but great fun.
tpack

 

[laptop1]

If its double glazing , I tell them I am just looking for some windows right now, and do they do sophets and
and cladding 'cos my woodwork is really rotten a full redo of the house. By this time they are frothing at
the mouth and drooling at the thought of all that commission.
Anyway part 2 is get them to call u back and then ask them to make an appointment with your landlord
they just hate it but it can be very entertaing when all u got is Emmerdale on tele.

Naughty I know but great fun.
tpack

I like that one, very funny, I will try that the next time they call.

cheers

 

[timsk]

Following on from Laptop1's suggestion in his opening post to the thread - here's a few more simple ideas . . .

1) Do you ever get those annoying phone calls with no one on the other end? This is a telemarketing technique where a machine makes phone calls and records the time of day when a person answers the phone. This technique is then used to determine the best time of day for a "real" salesperson to call back and get someone at home.

What you can do after answering: If you notice that there's no one there, is to immediately start hitting your # button on the phone, 6 or 7 times, as quickly as possible. This confuses the machine that dialled the call and it kicks your number out of their system.

What a shame not to have your name in their system any longer!!!


2) When you get those "pre-approved" letters in the mail for everything from credit cards to 2nd mortgages and similar type junk, do not throw away the return envelope.
Most of these come with postage-prepaid return envelopes. It costs them more than the regular postage if and when they are returned. It costs them nothing if you throw them away!

In that case, why not get rid of some of your other junk mail and put it in these cool little, postage-prepaid return envelopes? Send an advert for your local chimney sweeper to American Express - they might need one! Send a pizza coupon to HSBC ... in case their canteen packs up. You get the idea. If you didn't get anything else that day, then just send them back their blank application form ... after all, it is their form! If you want to remain anonymous, just make sure your name isn't on anything you return. You can even send the envelope back empty if you want to, just to keep them guessing. It still costs them, and it is their envelope after all ... you are just returning it!

The banks and credit card companies are currently getting a lot of their own junk back in the post, but folks..... we need to OVERWHELM them, in order to stop them.

Let's let them know what it's like to get lots of junk mail, and best of all they're paying for it ... Twice! Let's help keep Royal Mail busy. Since the Royal Mail is saying that e-mail is cutting into their business profits, let's help them so they will not need to increase postage costs again. You get the idea!

If enough people follow these tips, it will work ---- maybe you'll get very little junk mail anymore.

 

[trendie]

good idea timsk, re: using up the pre-paid envelopes.

I write "remove me from your mailing list - please" on whatever form it is, and post it back.
yep - make it cost them!!

 

[fibonelli]

I tell them that I already have what they're trying to sell me and cut them short if they start asking who, when, how, what......., works a treat. Though it depends on what they're selling of course!