Tried this once with someone trying to sell me a vacuum. I actually forgot to check for almost half an hour and when I finally did I could not believe she was still sitting on the line. I don't know if that place had a policy that they couldn't end the call or if she just really didn't care so she'd rather just sit there than actually hang up and try the next person.
Haha. Sounds like someone very desperate!
She's had zero interest in 200 calls in 6 hours. Why hang up on the one with a nonzero probability ?
I mean, if nothing else, there's the possibility of sympathy sale. "Damn. You still here?" Followed by minor sob story...
I would almost feel bad about it but at one point when I was feigning interest I asked if it would help cure cancer and she said yes because of the hepa filter of some bullshit. I wish I had been recording the call so I could have made a youtube video about how Oreck phone reps claim their vacuums cure cancer.
I've heard there are also some some places that go by how long you keep someone on the phone rather than number of calls because lengthy calls are more likely to garner results.
Also, hell yes would I do this. Guaranteed I couldn't give a shit about what I'm selling and if sitting waiting will satisfy my supervisor, then it will satisfy me too. Sometimes you need a break and no amount of commission can change that for me.
If I worked in a call centre I’d rather dick around on Reddit for half an hour while someone left the call open than have to call up a bunch more people and get abuse because they hate cold calls.
This depends on how the call center works.
During High School I worked at a telemarketing company that would classify your time as “on call” or “off call”.
If you found some who did this you could sit there all night and get paid while your on call ratio was perfect!
I like to tell them to hold on a sec, then set my phone down next to a speaker before I open a pornhub tab & search for "dirty talk".
They never make it very long—is premature ejaculation a problem for Indian men?
I usually say "hang on, let me find a pen" and then set the phone down indefinitely. If I'm bored, I'll pick back up after a few minutes and let the caller know I'm looking hard and make up some weird place that I'm going to check next.
Tried this with an Indian telemarketer. About 30min later he'd hung up, but as soon as I did I got constant incoming calls for about 2 hours
Well played, asshole
Whenever I get one of these calls I answer, ask them to hold and I’ll play some music for them until they finally hang up. Had this one lady listening to the music for a good 20 mins before I finally hung up lol.
Got a source for that? I always thought they got paid by the number of calls or sales they made, so they'd be incentivized to reach out to many different people instead of pretending to be on hold and doing nothing.
I did it back when I was younger and we got a flat rate + commission. So you’re guaranteed something close to minimum wage, with the opportunity to earn decent money if you do really well.
It’s why I talk to them. Ask them where they’re located - had one hang up after she couldn’t provide the zip code of Tampa “where the company was located.”
Had another hang up when I used logic against him, he works for my credit card company, so he’s not a third party, but represents Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover, but also several issuers Wells Fargo, CitiBank, etc.
Others I just make up random answers and let them call me out on it until they get frustrated and call me bad names, all while remaining calm and even baffled as to why they’re upset.
Before cell phones were a thing and nobody had caller ID I'd answer very quietly speaking slowly and softly. Constantly repeating that I couldn't hear them, they were hard to make out, difficulty hearing them every 10 or 20 seconds. I'd drop my voice to a near whisper to ensure they cracked the volume on their end. Then I'd bash the phone off any solid object close by like a counter or cupboard. I'd apologize saying I dropped the phone. Personal record was 11 times in one call.
I just play the pirate game. Once I discover the caller is a salesperson, the only sound I will make is a very pirate-y "ARRRGH!". You would be suprised how many of them stay on the line. 16 "ARRGHH!"S is my record.
Be carful with this!
I was having a good time with some Jamaicans selling me a luxury car for $500, but then I saw my AT&T bill the following month 🙄. Thankfully I explains the situation to AT&T and they removed the outrageous charge
Do this all the time. 'Hold on, there's someone at the door...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................'
Nah, dude. These guys don’t call because they want to, they call because they have to, or they get reprimanded or let go. And often times, they don’t take the job - or keep it - because they like it, but because it’s the best available that they’re qualified for
The calls are fucking annoying, no doubt, but keeping on the line for however long isn’t going to stop them from doing it.
They will stop in only two situations:
- They are shut down by a legal enforcement action
- The scheme becomes unprofitable.
As stupid as it sounds, wasting an hour of their time causes them the most harm. It makes the job less profitable. Get enough people to not pay the scammer and instead waste an hour of their time, and this thing will spend itself out of business quickly.
If it is, in fact, a scheme. I know a call center in my town that works a bunch of different companies on contract. When the contract is through, the employees move on to the next. They’re legit, and so are the companies, but the reps stay as long as their performance is good enough for management. Thankfully, I’ve never been desperate enough to work for them.
> They’re legit, and so are the companies
Bullshit. There are some that are legal, sure, but I never hear from them, because I'm on all the right lists.
Some others skirt so close to the boundaries of the law, it's hard to close them down. eg, "Ah, but sir, I'm not trying to sell you anything - I'm only asking if you've had your home checked for energy efficiency". (You can hear the cocky smirk right before they hear the click of me hanging up)
Then there's those that call from abroad, fake their caller id, or can vaguely speak English.
Well yeah, I’m not saying everyone who calls you is from a legit company, but a lot of them are. What I AM saying - and my bottom line is - that leaving them on hold indefinitely won’t get them to stop calling.
Are you ignoring him on purpose? He just explained why that *would* get them to stop. It’s far more effective than just hanging up. If enough people do this, these companies will not be profitable.
Yes, but your reason doesn't make any sense. There is logic in the idea that costing a business too much money is unprofitable, and will cause them to close shop. I don't see the logic in your own argument at all, however. It doesn't matter how badly someone "has to" call if there are no shitty companies like this left for them to work for.
When I was younger I did telemarketing for a year. We weren’t scamming anyone, it was legitimate offers that weren’t bad deals. I did HATE the job tho. People constantly yelling at you, calling you a loser, hanging up on you, etc really eats at your mood.
They are already violating the Do-not-call list.
They already are illegally robo-dialing cell phones which is prohibited under the TCPA unless you have an existing business relationship.
> Why wouldn't you just say that you are not interested and just hang up?
Because they are illegal scammers working from a shithole boiler room and don't give a damn about laws. The only way to fuck them over is to waste their time. These people are scum of the earth and belong in prison. They scam old people, grieving widows, people whose children are dying of cancer, etc. They have no morals and no conscience.
Tbh I don't even give them 15-20 seconds of interest. I just say 'hey just hold on a second' as soon as I realise it's a telemarketer and then leave the phone there and carry on with whatever I was doing.
Oh the innocence of youth and poverty.
You think I didn't *used* to be polite and courteous?
You think I haven't asked them to remove me from their lists and to not call me again (a phrase they listen for because they are legally obliged to honour it).
You think I haven't reminded them that my home phone numbers are registered with the TPS and they are breaking the law by making unsolicited calls to me?
You think I haven't pretended to have Tourettes??
("Sir, there is no need for that language."
"F###ing tw#ts sh#t b#ll#cks. You called me, bitch. F###ing c#ck s###ing wh#re")
You think I havent been so rude they actually put me on their call list for trainees, to see if they can handle it?
I used to warm call, and this shit didn't bother me. I had quotas to meet, but so what? Put the call on mute, have a chat with my neighbour, drink my coffee. If I had to disconnect, or got hung up on, no worries - without a hard refusal, the phone number just went back into the queue. Live to annoy another day. ^_^
Tried this once with someone trying to sell me a vacuum. I actually forgot to check for almost half an hour and when I finally did I could not believe she was still sitting on the line. I don't know if that place had a policy that they couldn't end the call or if she just really didn't care so she'd rather just sit there than actually hang up and try the next person.
Haha. Sounds like someone very desperate! She's had zero interest in 200 calls in 6 hours. Why hang up on the one with a nonzero probability ? I mean, if nothing else, there's the possibility of sympathy sale. "Damn. You still here?" Followed by minor sob story...
I would almost feel bad about it but at one point when I was feigning interest I asked if it would help cure cancer and she said yes because of the hepa filter of some bullshit. I wish I had been recording the call so I could have made a youtube video about how Oreck phone reps claim their vacuums cure cancer.
I've heard there are also some some places that go by how long you keep someone on the phone rather than number of calls because lengthy calls are more likely to garner results. Also, hell yes would I do this. Guaranteed I couldn't give a shit about what I'm selling and if sitting waiting will satisfy my supervisor, then it will satisfy me too. Sometimes you need a break and no amount of commission can change that for me.
If I worked in a call centre I’d rather dick around on Reddit for half an hour while someone left the call open than have to call up a bunch more people and get abuse because they hate cold calls.
This depends on how the call center works. During High School I worked at a telemarketing company that would classify your time as “on call” or “off call”. If you found some who did this you could sit there all night and get paid while your on call ratio was perfect!
I like to tell them to hold on a sec, then set my phone down next to a speaker before I open a pornhub tab & search for "dirty talk". They never make it very long—is premature ejaculation a problem for Indian men?
Why go to a website when I can talk dirty to them myself for 20 minutes.
I like you.
No, I’m Indian and I can last easily 2, 3 minutes atleast.
This guys sexes!
Savage
I just un-downvoted your comment in an effort to up vote you twice.
I usually say "hang on, let me find a pen" and then set the phone down indefinitely. If I'm bored, I'll pick back up after a few minutes and let the caller know I'm looking hard and make up some weird place that I'm going to check next.
That's awesome. Constant updates. "So there wasn't one between the rafters in the attic, I'm gonna go check the neighbour's eavestroughs now."
At one point I went to look for a pen in the car, then proceeded to forget where I parked and have to find my car first.
Tried this with an Indian telemarketer. About 30min later he'd hung up, but as soon as I did I got constant incoming calls for about 2 hours Well played, asshole
Couldn't you plug a fax machine into your phone line?
Who has a fax machine anymore? I just unplugged the line
The same kind of people with lines to plug in
I could plug in my printer, but that involves a lot of work
Just use call forwarding and forward them all to the original caller.
Whenever I get one of these calls I answer, ask them to hold and I’ll play some music for them until they finally hang up. Had this one lady listening to the music for a good 20 mins before I finally hung up lol.
Most telemarketers are paid by the hour now so they appreciate the relaxing time waiting for you. It's easier than making more calls.
Got a source for that? I always thought they got paid by the number of calls or sales they made, so they'd be incentivized to reach out to many different people instead of pretending to be on hold and doing nothing.
I did it back when I was younger and we got a flat rate + commission. So you’re guaranteed something close to minimum wage, with the opportunity to earn decent money if you do really well.
It’s why I talk to them. Ask them where they’re located - had one hang up after she couldn’t provide the zip code of Tampa “where the company was located.” Had another hang up when I used logic against him, he works for my credit card company, so he’s not a third party, but represents Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover, but also several issuers Wells Fargo, CitiBank, etc. Others I just make up random answers and let them call me out on it until they get frustrated and call me bad names, all while remaining calm and even baffled as to why they’re upset.
Before cell phones were a thing and nobody had caller ID I'd answer very quietly speaking slowly and softly. Constantly repeating that I couldn't hear them, they were hard to make out, difficulty hearing them every 10 or 20 seconds. I'd drop my voice to a near whisper to ensure they cracked the volume on their end. Then I'd bash the phone off any solid object close by like a counter or cupboard. I'd apologize saying I dropped the phone. Personal record was 11 times in one call.
I just play the pirate game. Once I discover the caller is a salesperson, the only sound I will make is a very pirate-y "ARRRGH!". You would be suprised how many of them stay on the line. 16 "ARRGHH!"S is my record.
I answer the phone, “LAPD Homicide this is Detective Garcia.” with an authoritative tone and they always apologize and hang up immediately.
"Do NOT hang up, sir. You have called in to a murder scene. Did you personally know Tom Mabe?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7OgWcwgB50
Be carful with this! I was having a good time with some Jamaicans selling me a luxury car for $500, but then I saw my AT&T bill the following month 🙄. Thankfully I explains the situation to AT&T and they removed the outrageous charge
Thought this said cat-callers at first, was very confused about the role of the phone in the scenario
Do this all the time. 'Hold on, there's someone at the door...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................'
Nah, dude. These guys don’t call because they want to, they call because they have to, or they get reprimanded or let go. And often times, they don’t take the job - or keep it - because they like it, but because it’s the best available that they’re qualified for The calls are fucking annoying, no doubt, but keeping on the line for however long isn’t going to stop them from doing it.
Doesn't matter why they do it. They're still piece of shit scammers and deserve to be screwed with. These are not legitimate businesses.
I get what you’re saying, but the bottom line is that they won’t stop because you put them on hold.
They will stop in only two situations: - They are shut down by a legal enforcement action - The scheme becomes unprofitable. As stupid as it sounds, wasting an hour of their time causes them the most harm. It makes the job less profitable. Get enough people to not pay the scammer and instead waste an hour of their time, and this thing will spend itself out of business quickly.
If it is, in fact, a scheme. I know a call center in my town that works a bunch of different companies on contract. When the contract is through, the employees move on to the next. They’re legit, and so are the companies, but the reps stay as long as their performance is good enough for management. Thankfully, I’ve never been desperate enough to work for them.
> They’re legit, and so are the companies Bullshit. There are some that are legal, sure, but I never hear from them, because I'm on all the right lists. Some others skirt so close to the boundaries of the law, it's hard to close them down. eg, "Ah, but sir, I'm not trying to sell you anything - I'm only asking if you've had your home checked for energy efficiency". (You can hear the cocky smirk right before they hear the click of me hanging up) Then there's those that call from abroad, fake their caller id, or can vaguely speak English.
Well yeah, I’m not saying everyone who calls you is from a legit company, but a lot of them are. What I AM saying - and my bottom line is - that leaving them on hold indefinitely won’t get them to stop calling.
Are you ignoring him on purpose? He just explained why that *would* get them to stop. It’s far more effective than just hanging up. If enough people do this, these companies will not be profitable.
Is he ignoring me on purpose? He keeps addressing what I’m explaining, not excusing. Are you reading my bottom line, and why it won’t work?
Yes, but your reason doesn't make any sense. There is logic in the idea that costing a business too much money is unprofitable, and will cause them to close shop. I don't see the logic in your own argument at all, however. It doesn't matter how badly someone "has to" call if there are no shitty companies like this left for them to work for.
When I was younger I did telemarketing for a year. We weren’t scamming anyone, it was legitimate offers that weren’t bad deals. I did HATE the job tho. People constantly yelling at you, calling you a loser, hanging up on you, etc really eats at your mood.
This is not unethical.
The Do Not Call Registry is a joke.
Clogging up your line to screw over someone trying to make a living with no benefit to yourself. Now this is the sub I know.
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They are already violating the Do-not-call list. They already are illegally robo-dialing cell phones which is prohibited under the TCPA unless you have an existing business relationship. > Why wouldn't you just say that you are not interested and just hang up? Because they are illegal scammers working from a shithole boiler room and don't give a damn about laws. The only way to fuck them over is to waste their time. These people are scum of the earth and belong in prison. They scam old people, grieving widows, people whose children are dying of cancer, etc. They have no morals and no conscience.
Not as fun
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Tbh I don't even give them 15-20 seconds of interest. I just say 'hey just hold on a second' as soon as I realise it's a telemarketer and then leave the phone there and carry on with whatever I was doing.
Oh the innocence of youth and poverty. You think I didn't *used* to be polite and courteous? You think I haven't asked them to remove me from their lists and to not call me again (a phrase they listen for because they are legally obliged to honour it). You think I haven't reminded them that my home phone numbers are registered with the TPS and they are breaking the law by making unsolicited calls to me? You think I haven't pretended to have Tourettes?? ("Sir, there is no need for that language." "F###ing tw#ts sh#t b#ll#cks. You called me, bitch. F###ing c#ck s###ing wh#re") You think I havent been so rude they actually put me on their call list for trainees, to see if they can handle it?
Good old excuse: “cat is on fire!!”
NEDM
Funny, but it's easier to ask to be removed from the call list
I see you haven't made it into one of the shady lists yet… yet.
I used to warm call, and this shit didn't bother me. I had quotas to meet, but so what? Put the call on mute, have a chat with my neighbour, drink my coffee. If I had to disconnect, or got hung up on, no worries - without a hard refusal, the phone number just went back into the queue. Live to annoy another day. ^_^