Telemarketing - Why do we live with it?

"I try to be understanding with the people on the other end because I know that feeling, but after a while a guy just runs out of patience."

I, on the other hand, have no sympathy for telemarketers, especially telemarketers from the same organization that I have specifically told to take me off their list. It is obvious that they do not do so, especially how often I tell them to take me off their list and they just hang up. 

Telemarketing contributes to the lessening of manners and thus civility in our civilization. It starts at the the beginning of the phone call when they start by asking for you by your first name instead of "Mr." or "Ms." fill-in-the-blank. I was taught that people should be addressed as "Mr./Ms. (or, back in the day, "Miss" or "Mrs.") until they give you permission to call them by their first name. I even had a teacher my freshman year of high school who would slam me against the wall and/or locker if I used his first name. I didn't agree with the technique, but did agree with the sentiment. 

Then telemarketing companies continue the erosion of civility by refusing to take you off their call-lists when you aske them to do so. This is, however and in my opinion, reflective of business in general. It is my opinion that the polite thing to do when someone tells you that they are not interested in what you have to say is to not bother them anymore. Yet telemarketers keep going. They'll keep talking to you, which forces you to hang up on them without ending the conversation...which is impolite in itself. Then they'll refuse to take you off their call-lists, which is not only impolite but is, frankly, the behavior of a stalker. I think this stems from the base of getting three No's before ending a sales call. 

So, in my anger at the lack of civility and the corrosion of our society, I treat telemarketers with the same discourtesy that I receive. I hang up on them 90% of the time. About 9.9% of the time, and these numbers are not official, I get into an argument and ask them to explain their rude behavior, which inevitably leads to them hanging up on me. 

And every once-in-a-blue-moon, when I have time on my hands and feel like really messing with them, I will try to lead them down the primrose path and make it sound like I am interested in their product/service/charity and extend the phone call as long as possible. I find portraying myself as stupid and uncomprehending to be an excellent technique to waste as much of the telemarketer's time as possible. 

Yes, I know that individual telemarketers are not responsible for the policies of their employers, but the worse behavior I see from companies and charities the more willing I am to battle back. Especially against the people who do the Hilton/Wyndham Hotels scam and a charity that collects for police officers and starts the phone conversation with, "Is Steve there?" and when you tell them they have the wrong number, they don't miss a beat and launch into, "Oh, well maybe you can help me then..."

Screw those people. 

I completely agree Seastape that telemarketing is a rot and cancer of our culture. Nobody is winning in telemarketing except for the select few people who are actually making a profit at the very top of these marketing schemes. We obviously lose. The telemarketers lose. These are horrible jobs that there is no real defense for their existence. Not even the call center bosses are making real money.

The only "winner" is the doosh sitting on his yacht collecting millions because he figured out a way to dupe the lowest common denominator into buying insurance for their car. Which YOU KNOW will not be there for them when they actually need it. That is itself is also a terrible implication for our culture and society.

There is just no good reason to allow this to continue. Especially as we become increasingly reliant on our phones. In my case, it is literally creating risks in my day to day life. Frankly, IMO your right to make money stops at adding real risks to my daily life. I have already hit my head, or tweaked my back, and etc etc doing what I have to to answer these garbage phone calls. I feel like it's just a matter of time until I really hurt myself, or lose a finger or something because of these calls. I don't have the time to eff with them, and I have taken to just hanging up on them, but I can't really afford to not look at my phone and answer. My phone does a pretty good job of filtering out "potential spam" calls, but even then some of those call have turned out to be legit. Unless it's some 1-800 number, I am compelled to answer.

Again, put one of our representatives in my shoes for a day, and I guarantee there would be changes.