Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!texbell!vector!telecom-gateway From: tad@ssc.UUCP (Tad Cook) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Coping With Junk Calls: Like Nancy, Just Say No Message-ID: Date: 18 Sep 89 00:56:04 GMT Sender: news@vector.Dallas.TX.US Organization: very little Lines: 35 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 384, message 3 of 5 Here are some methods I have used with phone solicitations. I respond in a hurried voice, telling them that I got their call on call-waiting, while on a long distance call. If they ask, "Is this Mr. Cook?", I say, "No, he's dead!", and hang up. I got the idea after answering calls at my folk's house after my dad died :( If I am in my ham radio room in the basement, I tune in some weird sounding howling signal on shortwave (Radioteletype is nice!) and gradually increase the volume, acting distracted and unresponsive. When they ask what is going on, I tell them that I am receving some messages from overseas operatives, and they have called at a bad time. My favorite is when the long distance carriers call. I tell them that I recently did a comparison of their carrier with the one I currently subscribe to by using 10XXX codes, and that their bit-error rate and call setup time are unacceptable. They don't really want to get into a discussion of nuts and bolts technical aspects of the system, and they go away real quick. Another way to deal with solictors is to listen to the spiel, and tell them flat-out that I am not going to buy. Oh yeah....I just remembered another cute ploy.... I have call transfer on my line (hookflash, dial the number, hang up) and have transferred them to dial-a-prayer. :> Tad Cook tad@ssc.UUCP