People reading this might be amazed, but I rarely have need for the phone, the landline. and it's not because I have a mobile, because I don't... Well I had one which was stolen last year but it was always turned off and the card was usually months out of date.
Most people I know are internet users, and I can reach them and vice-versa by just getting online.
Now what's happening is that the phone rings, and I know almost immediately that it's a phonecall from some Indian call centre, trying to sell me a phone or something that I don't need... and if I did, wouldn't buy it from them.
There's about three people who would phone me if they wanted me, and rarely do, prompting me to have thoughts about having the landline disconnected, as it's more of a bother than a use... and I have to pay a fair bit of money each month just to have it sitting there, ringing away when I'm busy doing something else, only to discover that yes, it's India on the line... again.
There is a practical reason for keeping the phone, and that is if there's an emergency, I can phone "Triple-0" a lot faster than it would take to boot up the PC and google up some help.
"Mr. Burglar, could you just have a seat here while I google the police, thanks, won't be long, My computer is a bit slow, so would you like a coffee? Tea maybe?"
However, there is a way around the call centre problem.
Maybe if enough of us learn this technique, the viability of having these places will drop out of favour.
When you get a phonecall from India, what do you notice?
You say "hello" and hear..... a long pause, nobody says anything, you hear a slight "shhhhhh" in the background, or in some cases, people talking [it sounds like an office environment].
When you hear that, hang up... don't wait for a response, if nobody answers immediately after you say "Hello" just hang up.
I do this roughly four times a day.
Wolfie!
22 September, 2008
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I know what you mean.
ReplyDeleteThere are various sites with suggestions on how to get back at telemarketers, but I've never had the patience.
An answering machine set to two rings helps a bit, but there's something satisfying about hanging up on a human (or something passing for a human.) On the rare occasion they actually call you back, you can let the answering machine pick it up.
Yeah, My cousin suggested I get a cheap answering machine.
ReplyDeleteShe lets the machine answer everytime and will only pick it up if it's a real phonecall.
My sister suggested a phone with caller ID, because it says "overseas" on the panel when you get one of these calls.
If she gets that, She just lets it ring out.
That would annoy me.
Reckon I'd be happier going for option one.
What really annoys me though are times when I've been feeling crook and I may have just fallen asleep, and I get a phonecall.
I wake suddenly and wonder if it's family wondering how I am or just someone in India.
It's a cow living alone.
Benny [My old malamute] would howl at the phone when it went, He answered it once by knocking the lot down with his paw. :)
Wolfie!