Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.csd.uwm.edu!wuarchive!texbell!vector!telecom-gateway From: cosell@bbn.com (Bernie Cosell) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Coping With Junk Calls: Like Nancy, Just Say No Message-ID: Date: 8 Sep 89 14:46:59 GMT Sender: news@vector.Dallas.TX.US Reply-To: Bernie Cosell Organization: BBN Systems and Technologies, Inc, Cambridge MA Lines: 14 Approved: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 363, message 5 of 7 I find junk calls easy to deal with (I get the usual 5-10 per week) --- it is just a matter of taking a similar attitude as toward junk mail: finding a bunch of ways to quickly (and low-stressingly) dispatch with the things. One technique I've found that has worked perfectly for a month or two now is very simple: if *anyone* calls asking for me by name ("Is Mr. Cosell at home?"), I simply say "NO". The call usually ends about two seconds later and I'm done with it... no need for rudeness or aggression or anything. /Bernie\ [Moderator's Note: Absolutely! Why be rude and aggressive when you can simply lie about it instead? Personally, I prefer being rude, crude, lewd and aggressive, in the slim hope the caller understands English. PT]