And before I get started, let me say that I’m surprised MS Word’s spell-checker doesn’t recognize the term redux. I mean the MS Word spell-checker knows Mandelbrot, so why not redux?
I heard from Rachel again around 2:40 this afternoon. You know, the robocalling voice from Cardholder Services. Honey, if you’re reading this, I’m not falling for it. I won’t buy anything from you, or anyone else who tries to sell me something over the phone. If you buy something from these people, it only encourages a practice that needs no encouragement.
The rest of you, just haven’t done enough to stop this since I first posted about Rachel on December 15th. If you need more ideas than I suggested previously, try signing on to www.youtube.com and searching for telemarketer. There, you will find numerous recordings of Tom Mabe’s classic telemarketer prank. Mr. Mabe has made at least two CD’s of calls from telemarketers who then received his off-beat reactions. The classic prank involves Mr. Mabe telling the telemarketer that he’s called a crime scene, the guy he wants to talk to has been murdered, and the cop he’s talking to is going to call him in for questioning.
Since I have a terribly bad memory for names, another one I found on You Tube amused me a lot. The recipient of the call engaged the telemarketer for a few moments and then told her, that he had a bad memory and had forgotten why he called her. If you want a good laugh, Google the term “telecrapper 2000.” That’s where I found the particular You Tube video, and other funny things too.
I had a telezapper when they first came out, but it died in a few years, and I didn’t replace it. They’re still available, but there are also more sophisticated robocall blockers available now. I haven’t tried it, but I’ve read that pressing the # key sometimes causes telemarketing systems to drop your number from their call list.
And here’s a warning. On the weekend before Christmas, I stayed in a Hilton Hotels property, in this case, a Homewood Suites. I liked the hotel a lot, but from my experience since then, and from the things I’ve been reading on the Internet if you stay at a Hilton property, it appears you’re likely to get called by Hilton’s “Grand Vacation Club” which sells timeshares. I’m on the federal no call list which kind of tells all telemarketers that I’m not interested. Yet, one of the exemptions to that no call law is for people who have a business relationship with you. Hilton seems to interpret this as meaning that if I stayed in their hotel they have a relationship that allows them to call me and try to sell me a timeshare. The lady asked me if I was married, single or cohabiting. I said yes. She asked me again and I asked her why that was any of her business. She said she wanted to provide me with a trip to Las Vegas. I told her I am not interested. If that doesn’t work, I can always call the Homewood Suites I stayed at, and tell them they have a relationship that enables me to never patronize Hilton hotels again if they keep calling.
While I have had the same telephone number for more than 30 years, in the future, I’m going to give all businesses my Google phone number so that I can filter their subsequent calls.
Whether its a robocaller or a human telemarketer, I know that telemarketing provides jobs. However, the very concept is annoying, and an invasion of privacy. So I urge you not to buy anything from telemarketers, and either mess with them, or do what you can to block their calls, or all three.
