Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site x.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!cybvax0!frog!x!wjr From: wjr@x.UUCP (Bill Richard) Newsgroups: net.consumers Subject: Re: Telephone mailing lists Message-ID: <816@x.UUCP> Date: Wed, 23-Oct-85 18:04:14 EDT Article-I.D.: x.816 Posted: Wed Oct 23 18:04:14 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 25-Oct-85 02:49:35 EDT References: <1042@mtuxo.UUCP> <1468@teddy.UUCP> Reply-To: wjr@x.UUCP (STella Calvert) Organization: Charles River Data Systems, Framingham MA Lines: 46 Keywords: No = choice Summary: beware the robo-phone-pimp! This is STella, no mmatter what it says in the header! In article <1468@teddy.UUCP> lkk@teddy.UUCP (Larry K. Kolodney) writes: >I was once a telephone solicitor (actually a surveyor, but it the same idea). >Most of the people who work at these jobs are poor or uneducated. >They make close to the minimum wage, and work under pretty lousy conditions. >They are under tremendous pressure to get sales (or surveys). > >These people generally work at such places because they have to, not because >they enjoy annoying people. Beleive me, those calls they make are hurting them >a lot more than they are hurting you. > >If someone calls you up and you're not interested, please just say so >politiely. There's really no reason to extend the suffering of these >individuals. BEING OBNOXIOUS TO THEM WILL NOT STOP THEM FROM CALLING. They >call you based on computerized lists of numbers. They're certainly not going >to remember the next time who was obnoxious and who wasn't. Thank you, Larry, you make a good point. I too have been a phone pimp, and you're right on. When I get a call from a boiler room, I say, "I don't want to waste your time, because I've been a phone pimp. However, I do not buy over the phone, respond to phone surveys, or want to be rude to you. If you want to chat for a minute, it might relax you, and I'm willing to do that, but I don't want to waste your time." They usually thank me and go away. Sometimes, we talk for a couple of minutes. But I recently had an odd experience. I received a call from a machine that claimed to be representing AT&T. I firmly said, "I do not talk to machines!" and hung up. By and by, I got a letter thanking me for choosing AT&T as my long distance phone company. When I called to ask when I had done THAT, the human cited a date, the very date I received this call from the robo-pimp. And insisted that I had placed the call MYSELF! MCI (my co. of choice) was very "amused" at this when I told them, but my local phone co. eventually straightened things out. Has anyone else had similar experiences? Or was this just a coincidence? STella Calvert Every man and every woman is a star. Guest on: ...!decvax!frog!wjr Life: Baltimore!AnnArbor!Smyrna! !SantaCruz!Berkeley!AnnArbor!Taxachussetts Future: ... (!L5!TheBelt!InterstellarSpace)