Abe <noone@nowhere.com> wrote: >> I got an automated call from a candidate last night. I emailed his >> office and (truthfully) told him that I had planned to vote for him >> but I will not support any candidate who ties up my phone with >> recorded messages that do not allow me to immediately disconnect. >> I noted that had there been an emergency I would have lost about >> 30 seconds. To his credit he replied this morning but expressed >> consternation that I could not spare 30 seconds to listen, >> obviously missing the point about a potential emergency. They were never gunna cancel the campaign once you pointed that out. > I think if you hang up for 5 or more seconds, the call > will disconnect even if the telemarketer hasn't hung up. 'think' again, it takes longer than that, basically so you can unplug a phone and move to a different socket and plug it in again and have the call still there.

In article <1161725081.731055.260860@e3g2000cwe.googlegroups.com>, "rick++" <rick303@hotmail.com> wrote: > > Between the Do Not Call law and the privacy manager I get very few > > sales calls. > > Unfortunately political campaigns are non-profits and clogging my phone. I am on dozens of organizations' phone lists, both political and non-political charities. I simply don't answer my phone unless the Caller-ID display indicates the caller is someone I know. Hell, even if the caller is someone I know, I still feel no obligation to interrupt whatever I might be doing to answer the phone. Stop being a slave to your phone and those calls won't clog your phone line.

> non-political charities. I simply don't answer my phone > unless the > Caller-ID display indicates the caller is someone I > know. Hell, even if > the caller is someone I know, I still feel no obligation > to interrupt > whatever I might be doing to answer the phone. > > Stop being a slave to your phone and those calls won't > clog your phone > line. i'm the same way. If i don't feel like answering the phone, i don't. in fact, i may be one of the few remaining people who doesn't even have caller ID. It's just not that important to me to see who's calling. If i answer & it's somone i'm not interested in speaking with, i'll let them know. And if the call is important to the caller, he/she will leave a msg.

George Grapman <sfgeorge@pacbell.net> writes: > I got an automated call from a candidate last night. [...] > I noted that had there been an emergency I would have lost > about 30 seconds. So get call waiting. Problem solved. Is this a great country, or what? There's nothing you can't get here in the Big PX. Your objection comes across as a bit sanctimonious. If you don't have call waiting, you potentially miss an emergency call every time you're on the phone -- especially when you engage in the sort of extended, casual chitchat with friends and family that we all use our telephones for from time to time. It seems to me that if you were as concerned about missing emer- gency calls as you profess to be, you'd limit the number and duration of your own calls to the absolute minimum. And it's possible that you do just that -- but it isn't terribly likely. So why not just be forthright about what really bugs you, and tell the candidate that his automated calls are objectionable because they're annoying and intrusive? Seems to me, that's plenty good enough. _My_ objection to automated calls is a bit different. I've been getting an awful lot of election-related phone spam of late. There was yet another automated message on my answering machine when I came home last Friday evening. Being tired after a long day, not to mention sick of telephonic political pestering, I listened to just enough of it to determine that it was yet another recording and then hit the Delete button. The next morning I read a transcript of the recording in a local- interest newsgroup, ba.mountain-folk; it turned out that everyone in my community had received it: "This is the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's department with a recorded message. It's 7:20pm on the 20th of October. We're calling to notify the residents of the Boulder Creek area that we are looking for an armed and dangerous, wanted subject who may be on foot in your area. His name is Bobby Dean Wilson. He's a white male in his 40's. He's approximately 5 feet, 9 inches tall and he has a stocky build, with shaggy, reddish-blond hair and a moustache, and no clothing description at this time. He is considered armed and dangerous. If you see him or anyone suspicious in your area after receiving this message, please stay inside or remain in a safe place, and call 9-1-1 immediately. Thank you." Neat, eh? Granted, I probably should've listened to the message a _bit_ longer than I did, but I was tired after a long day, it was Friday evening, and I was in one of those "Leave me the the hell alone, world" moods. Maybe this raises a good reason to consider outlawing automated phone calls not of an emergency nature. If people get inured to them to the point where they delete them without even listening to them, there's a certain "boy who cried 'wolf'" dynamic at work that will eventually cause somebody to miss something he really does need to hear. Geoff -- "The best delineator of high status is the tossed salad." -- Vance Packard

Shawn Hirn <srhi@comcast.net> writes: > I simply don't answer my phone unless the Caller-ID display > indicates the caller is someone I know. Hell, even if the > caller is someone I know, I still feel no obligation to > interrupt whatever I might be doing to answer the phone. I'm the same way. A lot of people just can't wrap their brains around the idea that I don't have the usual quasi- Pavlovian response when my telephone rings. It's funny to watch them squirm: "Uhh...aren't you going to answer that?" I'm the one who pays for my phone, and the sumbitch is there for _my_ convenience -- not the rest of the world's. Ever noticed that with a lot of people, every new incoming call is more important than the one they're already on? I don't get that. In the case of customer-service people, I'll even go so far as to say that it pisses me off. "Why are you so eager to get me off the phone? Why is the next customer any more important than _I_ am?" I also don't get the way so many people will interrupt a face-to-face conversation in order to answer the phone. As far as I'm concerned, unless I'm expected an important call, a person I'm speaking with in the flesh takes prec- edence over anyone who calls me on the friggin' phone. That's just good manners. Geoff -- "The best delineator of high status is the tossed salad." -- Vance Packard

"George Grapman" <sfgeorge@pacbell.net> wrote in message news:NPK%g.17487$vJ2.1269@newssvr12.news.prodigy.com... > Shawn Hirn wrote:ion to interrupt >> whatever I might be doing to answer the phone. >> >> Stop being a slave to your phone and those calls won't clog your phone >> line. > > Hard to ignore the phone when I work at home. > -- Get a job in an office then... --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0643-3, 10/25/2006 Tested on: 10/25/2006 10:15:10 AM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com

You guys are missing the opportunity to have fun at THIER expense! Yep..thats right. keep a recorder connected and ready to go.When they call have fun with them! I love to talk with them like i am 95 years old, hard of hearing and stump-stupid hahaha..its a riot! Here is the ticket....screw up words bigtime...example..... Mortgage=mortuary Donation=Damnation Free offer= send it right over, THANK YOU! (then hang up) A good one...20 seconds into their speil....you say "HELLO!" starts them over...and over...and over Try this one too...tell them to "Hold the wire! i'm looking for my hearing aid" flip the receiver over so you can still hear, listen for the snyde remarks hahaha Here is the trick, get them to hang up on YOU! you can do it! Dont be "nasty" just completely waste thier time.Keep THEM on the phone as long as you can. Being "OLD/CRAZY" drives them completely nuts.I have had telemarketers hang up on me, usually saying some like "Oh for the love of god!" before terminating the call.. Something like this is FUN......... TM= Hello, is this mr jones? YOU= this is mr jones........ TM= good evening mr jones, i am calling on behalf of ugly women...how are you tonight? YOU=What is your name? TM= This is David..... YOU=Hi david, i am 92 years old,i have no friends anymore, they all died and so did my wife.Will you be my friend?(say this like you have no teeth and or drunk) TM= er..ah..well....ok mr jones...... YOU= THANK GOD! your a nice boy david, hold on a second david, my bag is leaking again..... TM=CLICK! try it..its fun...you have nothing to lose and the collection of recordings is a riot at family gatherings.... When someone nutcase drops a truckload of lemons on your lawn.......make lemonade!

"Porgy Tirebiter" <biteme@gmail.com> wrote in message news:zLO%g.9$wX.8@newssvr12.news.prodigy.com... > > You guys are missing the opportunity to have fun at THIER expense! > Yep..thats right. keep a recorder connected and ready to go.When they call > have fun with them! I love to talk with them like i am 95 years old, hard > of hearing and stump-stupid hahaha..its a riot! > Here is the ticket....screw up words bigtime...example..... > > Mortgage=mortuary > Donation=Damnation > Free offer= send it right over, THANK YOU! (then hang up) > A good one...20 seconds into their speil....you say "HELLO!" starts them > over...and over...and over > Try this one too...tell them to "Hold the wire! i'm looking for my hearing > aid" flip the receiver over so you can still hear, listen for the snyde > remarks hahaha > Here is the trick, get them to hang up on YOU! you can do it! > Dont be "nasty" just completely waste thier time.Keep THEM on the phone as > long as you can. > Being "OLD/CRAZY" drives them completely nuts.I have had telemarketers > hang up on me, usually saying some like "Oh for the love of god!" before > terminating the call.. > Something like this is FUN......... > > TM= Hello, is this mr jones? > YOU= this is mr jones........ > TM= good evening mr jones, i am calling on behalf of ugly women...how are > you tonight? > YOU=What is your name? > TM= This is David..... > YOU=Hi david, i am 92 years old,i have no friends anymore, they all died > and so did my wife.Will you be my friend?(say this like you have no teeth > and or drunk) > TM= er..ah..well....ok mr jones...... > YOU= THANK GOD! your a nice boy david, hold on a second david, my bag is > leaking again..... > TM=CLICK! > try it..its fun...you have nothing to lose and the collection of > recordings is a riot at family gatherings.... > > When someone nutcase drops a truckload of lemons on your lawn.......make > lemonade! > I have been known to start the call just as they want, then just set the phone down and walk away. Once I came back about two minutes later and he was still talking. Set the phone down again and left for about five minutes and checked again. He was just hanging up. Bet he was pissed. Maybe that's why "Abe" doesn't like me. He must have been that telemarketer... --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0643-3, 10/25/2006 Tested on: 10/25/2006 2:29:24 PM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com

"Porgy Tirebiter" <biteme@gmail.com> wrote in message news:zLO%g.9$wX.8@newssvr12.news.prodigy.com... > > You guys are missing the opportunity to have fun at THIER expense! > Yep..thats right. keep a recorder connected and ready to go.When they call > have fun with them! I love to talk with them like i am 95 years old, hard > of hearing and stump-stupid hahaha..its a riot! > Here is the ticket....screw up words bigtime...example..... > > Mortgage=mortuary > Donation=Damnation > Free offer= send it right over, THANK YOU! (then hang up) > A good one...20 seconds into their speil....you say "HELLO!" starts them > over...and over...and over > Try this one too...tell them to "Hold the wire! i'm looking for my hearing > aid" flip the receiver over so you can still hear, listen for the snyde > remarks hahaha > Here is the trick, get them to hang up on YOU! you can do it! > Dont be "nasty" just completely waste thier time.Keep THEM on the phone as > long as you can. > Being "OLD/CRAZY" drives them completely nuts.I have had telemarketers > hang up on me, usually saying some like "Oh for the love of god!" before > terminating the call.. > Something like this is FUN......... > > TM= Hello, is this mr jones? > YOU= this is mr jones........ > TM= good evening mr jones, i am calling on behalf of ugly women...how are > you tonight? > YOU=What is your name? > TM= This is David..... > YOU=Hi david, i am 92 years old,i have no friends anymore, they all died > and so did my wife.Will you be my friend?(say this like you have no teeth > and or drunk) > TM= er..ah..well....ok mr jones...... > YOU= THANK GOD! your a nice boy david, hold on a second david, my bag is > leaking again..... > TM=CLICK! > try it..its fun...you have nothing to lose and the collection of > recordings is a riot at family gatherings.... > > When someone nutcase drops a truckload of lemons on your lawn.......make > lemonade! One that works very quickly: simply say "Do you know that Jesus loves you?" Unsettles them every time. LT

"C. Massey" <chuck@host.invalid> writes: >I have been known to start the call just as they want, then just set the >phone down and walk away. Once I came back about two minutes later and he >was still talking. Set the phone down again and left for about five minutes >and checked again. He was just hanging up. Bet he was pissed. As soon as you know its a telemarketer, try to sell them something. Telemarketer: I don't want any of your crappy calendars! Me-in-my-best-Apu-voice: Thank you, come again. <hang up> -Mike

Logan Shaw <lshaw-usenet@austin.rr.com> writes: > Wow, based on that article, you've got to be the same Geoff > Miller who used to post to alt.peeves in the early 1990's. > Am I right? But of course. I'm still around, blighting the net. > (And should I flaunt the fact that I have such a good memory? > Or is that flout, and not flaunt?) *BLAM!* Geoff -- "The best delineator of high status is the tossed salad." -- Vance Packard