things that make you go "hmmmmm"

[Pinhy]

> Andy Rooney's tips for telemarketers
>
> Three Little Words That Work !!
> (1)The three little words are: "Hold On, Please..."
> Saying this, while putting down your phone and walking off (instead of
> hanging-up immediately) would make each telemarketing call so much more
> time-consuming that boiler room sales would grind to a halt.
> Then when you eventually hear the phone company's "beep-beep-beep" tone,
> you know it's time to go back and hang up your handset, which has
> efficiently
> completed its task.
> These three little words will help eliminate telephone soliciting.
> (2) Do you ever get those annoying phone calls with no one on the other
> end?
> This is a telemarketing technique where a machine makes phone calls and
> records the time of day when a person answers the phone.
> This technique is used to determine the best time of day for a "real"
> sales person to call back and get someone at home.
> What you can do after answering, if you notice there is no one there, is
> to immediately start hitting your # button on the phone, 6 or 7 times, as
> quickly as possible. This confuses the machine that dialed the call and
> it
> kicks your number out of their system. Gosh, what a shame not to have
> your
> name in their system any longer !!!
>
> (3) Junk Mail Help:
> When you get "ads" enclosed with your phone or utility bill, return these
> "ads" with your payment. Let the sending companies throw their own junk
> mail away.
> When you get those "pre-approved" letters in the mail for everything from
> credit cards to 2nd mortgages and similar type junk, do not throw away
> the
> return envelope.
> Most of these come with postage-paid return envelopes, right?
> It costs them more than the regular 37 cents postage "IF" and when they
> receive them back.
> It costs them nothing if you throw them away! The postage was around 50
> cents before the last increase and it is according to the weight. In that
> case, why not get rid of some of your other junk mail and put it in these
> cool little, postage-paid return envelopes.
> One of Andy Rooney's (60 minutes) ideas.
> Send an ad for your local chimney cleaner to American Express. Send a
> pizza coupon to Citibank. If you didn't get anything else that day, then
> just
> send them their blank application back!
>
> If you want to remain anonymous, just make sure your name isn't on
> anything you send them.
>
> You can even send the envelope back empty if you want to just to keep
> them
> guessing! It still costs them 37 cents.
>
> The banks and credit card companies are currently getting a lot of their
> own junk back in the mail, but folks, we need to OVERWHELM them. Let's let
> them know what it's like to get lots of junk mail, and best of all they're
> paying for it...Twice!
>
> Let's help keep our postal service busy since they are saying that e-mail
> is cutting into their business profits, and that's why they need to
> increase!
> postage costs again. You get the idea !
>
> If enough people follow these tips, it will work----
>
> I have been doing this for years, and I get very little junk mail
> anymore.

[Gixxerdale]

I like it Now where is todays junk mail?

[mr_resistible]

Awesome. I'm going to start doing that right away. I get about 10 credit card apps a week.

Here is something I did to a telemarketer once it was halarious. They kept trying to sell me there "Packet of information" and I kept inturrupting there monologue and aksing all kinds of questions about what kind of information was in the packet and if it was a packet of coupons, or if it had to do with siding, or rising energy costs. I asked so many questions the guy finally passed me off to a supervisor after about 30 minutes. Then he started going throught the same script bla bla bla....and I asked the same questions. He finally got irratated and asked for my wife. My wife??? I thought. I'm not married. ( I forgot I had my moms name on my phone bill for some reason or another.) And he goes yeah you wife...Linda. So I said. "Do you mean my mom?" .........CLICK?


Another good one is when someone trys to sell you siding. Listen to what they have to say then complain about their prices telling them that they are WAYYYY to over priced. Then after they lower their prices tell them you have a brick house and you don't need any.

[Pinhy]

i like having a cell phone only and no home phone...i get almost NO sales calls, though my credit card company always wants me to sign up for something. i ask them to look at my balance (like 400$) and then say "does that look like i need credit protection?"

.

[stevie c]

Good advise, especially the automated call one.

[drgibson]

When I get adds in my bills they go back with my payment.

[nhoel]

Normally, telemarketers tell you that there is a toll free number should you wish to stop the service. When I hear that from them, I immediately and gleefully ask for the number. Of course the telemarketer would insist that you don't need it yet since you haven't subscribed to their service but keep on insisting anyway. It's really a good way to annoy them!!!

[bodie27]

Ooooo that is awesome..cant wait to start mailin some crap back to them. I usually reply to phone marketing by pretending to be a marketer myself and trying to sell them somthing..its really funny cos it throws them right off and I'm gettin so good now lookout cos maybe i should do it too! JOKING!

[Scourge]

Caller ID works just fine for me. If I don't know who it is and they fail to leave a message, oh well.

[inspiron]

I just have a sticker on my mailbox - "no advertising". Basically, any mail that isn't explicitly addressed to me shouldn't be in my mailbox. This simple sticker has reduced the amount of paper that I have to recycle by about 60%.

[Pinhy]

Originally Posted by Scourge

Caller ID works just fine for me. If I don't know who it is and they fail to leave a message, oh well.

ditto...i dont answer too many numbers that arent in my phone already. however once i didnt and answer a number that came through as 011---------- (011 being an over sea exchange and is what i see when i get a credit card call from a caller in the india plant or where ever it is) but then after it let me know i had a message. they NEVER leave messages so i check voice mail and it was my friend who was visiting her family in France!

anyway...

.

[drgibson]

Originally Posted by inspiron

I just have a sticker on my mailbox - "no advertising". Basically, any mail that isn't explicitly addressed to me shouldn't be in my mailbox. This simple sticker has reduced the amount of paper that I have to recycle by about 60%.

I'm not sure our mail delivery person can read.

[Pinhy]

i just had a conversation with our mail lady this weekend (shes rather cute actually) and she told me my neighbor put a not in his box asking to not get junk mail...but she is supposed to deliver mail, its her job and federal law says she cant decide what is junk and what isnt for someone else. so he is now being a pain in the butt and putting the envelopes of coupons and such back into the OUTGOING mail slot on the mailbox bank (i live in a townhouse/condo complex). she sint happy with him

.

[Adrenalin_Junky]

Originally Posted by drgibson

I'm not sure our mail delivery person can read.

Ahhh hahaha~ some around here dont look too bright either? Kinda like they've forgotten to look both ways before crossing a street a few times toom many. . .