Telemarketing ?

[jack merchant]

Having encountered quite a bit of hostility towards telemarketers in these forums and in RL, I think it's time to come clean.

I am, for 10 hours a week, a telemarketer.

It's not that I like it - in fact, every fibre of my being and beliefs is vehemently opposed to the very concept of it. But what's a man to do when there are precious few other jobs to be had ?

It's not a very nice job either - although I am fortunate enough to have very nice colleagues and the team leaders are really rather sympathetic too, the sheer hostility and rudeness that I quite frequently encounter on the phone is enough to make anyone feel a little ill. It's not even as if our product is all that evil (I could never do it if it were) - we are calling people to get them interested in a free assessment of their personal finances (with the goal of getting them to refinance the mortgage/ plug the pension gap/ get additional disability cover if it's profitable for them and us to do so of course ). The assessment takes 15 minutes, is conducted at a time of the client's choosing and can potentially save tons of money, yet the minute people hear the word '' financial" they've as good as hung up already.

Which is understandable.

However, people working the phones are much like everyone else. Few of us would do it if we had a choice, but there are
bills to pay and a living to be made. You can do it if you're a high school dropout and you can do it if you're physically disabled. We telemarketers are sorry for taking up your time, but does taking up your time really make us lower than pond scum ?

 

[Leha]

Every word you mentioned is perfectly logical and understandable . I never blamed telemarketing guys for their job , I blamed the man who invented this hell . Man , it's so annoying to spend , say , Civ precious moments on the conversation you don't need .

 

[wildWolverine]

While I'm not a fan of the whole telemarketing (edit: really, I can spell) thing, I am usually very polite when speaking with them -- I even realize that their company rules usually state that three refusals are necessary before giving up (although I find that annoying, it is most definitely not the fault of the person I am talking to on the phone). I also realize that calling between 4:30 and 7:00 pm is probably a strategy based on the fact that most people are at home eating dinner at that time. However, I think that telemarketers would experience much less hostility and markedly more success if in fact they refrained from calling during dinner times, and called afterward, say from 7:00pm on...

Not everyone can hate telemarketing, or it wouldn't be worth it for companies to utilize the technique!

Anyhow, that's my two cents.

 

[Tsukemono5]

I'm agreeing with WildWolverine on this. I try to be polite when I'm answering telemarketers, but my answer is, was, and always will be a "No." I don't feel it's right to employ "Annoyance Strategies" and bugging people at their homes. If people want it, they will buy it. If not, they won't.

 

[Aphex_Twin]

Originally posted by jack merchant
I am, for 10 hours a week, a telemarketer.

You make it sound so naughty

I really can't say telemarketers are bad since noone has figured out they can do it in Romania. Still, I think it would be pretty annoying to have people call you all the time asking for a deal (it's like telephone spam or something...).

But, if someone will call and say their name is Jack Merchant, then maybe I'll hang up 1 minture later...

 

[jack merchant]

Originally posted by Aphex_Twin

But, if someone will call and say their name is Jack Merchant, then maybe I'll hang up 1 minture later...

Thanks ! You won't regret it .

FWIW, we call between 6 and 9:30 pm....still enough to catch a goo number of people at dinner .

 

[Benderino]

Originally posted by jack merchant


Thanks ! You won't regret it .

FWIW, we call between 6 and 9:30 pm....still enough to catch a goo number of people at dinner .

You people make me sick!

Anyway, do you have any good stories to tell us?

 

[Aphex_Twin]

Yes, Jack... tell us more !

 

[BomberEscort]

TELEMARKETERS :die: BomberEscort

All that needs to be said...

 

[BomberEscort]

BTW, How do you telemarkers feel about the no-call lists...

 

[superslug]

Originally posted by jack merchant
I am, for 10 hours a week, a telemarketer.

Dude, you gotta make a living doing something, you know?

I never get rude with telemarketers, I just don't answer the damn phone. All my friends and family know it's faster to get in touch with me by email.

 

[jack merchant]

Last week, I get a teenage son on the line, he tells me his dad is in the garden (enjoying the glorious Summer weather). He goes to fetch his dad and what does he then tell me ? His dad is 'busy' .

Or of the sadder variety - I talk to a wife, she's actually interested but has to ask her husband. Her husband says no. End of story (a case of floppa's quote here ).

Also, I routinely tell people who complain about too many calls how they can opt out of a number of telemarketing databases (make one simple phone call to a certain number). But half the time, they just yell, I don't want to have to do anything ! Make it stop ! They aren't even interested in finding out how to reduce the aggravation .

The trickiest thing is that you're not supposed to hang up until the callee has - so often, you get to hear their reactions.... However, it also happens the other way around - and we will refer to not very nice people in not very nice ways ! Always embarrassing to call someone a really cool guy when they're still on the line .

 

[Quiet Sound]

We have found a telemarketer. May we burn him?

 

[Benderino]

I wish I could be meaner to telemarketers, but I can't. I'm too polite. I realize that it isn't their fault...however, Jack, there are plenty of other more worthy professions out there, that I'm sure you are far better qualified for.

 

[funxus]

Isn't it more efficient to do a TV (or radio) commercial? Most people will se or hear it, they will get the whole message and won't 'hang up' in the middle, those who really are interested can get in contact with the company (on a free-of-charge number or the net), the employees won't have to waste time talking to people who hate them over everything else and the people themselves will be happy that they don't receive annoying calls in the middle of dinner. There must be something wrong with this, or else I wouldn't get the calls...

I too try to be mean to the telemarketers, but the worst I can do is to tell that the person they're looking for isn't at home, even if they are. I sometimes can't do that.

 

[jack merchant]

Originally posted by BomberEscort
BTW, How do you telemarkers feel about the no-call lists...

Personally, I think it's a good idea - the only problem is that it's not good for employment, and people doing telemarketing are often from weaker social groups (the uneducated, physically disabled and the like) so the do-not call list hits those groups especially hard. That said, it wil probably spread to the NL too....

There is one really nasty feature of the do-not-call list for what I've heard - political parties/ PACs can still have you called. Which makes it a patently hypocritical feel-good measure as far as I'm concerned. If telemarketing is an invasion of the privacy of the home, so is the marketing of political campaigns.


@Benderino: the economy is so lousy at the moment here that finding a better job is very difficult. I'm looking, though.... as I said, I don't particularly enjoy being a telemarketer.

@Funxus: I can only surmise that telemarketing is in fact effective - otherwise, no telemarketing could stay afloat. Also, when I call and someone is interested (it does happen!), we'll schedule an appointment right away. Few people jot down phone numbers from watching television commercials I think.

 

[Benderino]

Originally posted by funxus

I too try to be mean to the telemarketers, but the worst I can do is to tell that the person they're looking for isn't at home, even if they are. I sometimes can't do that.

Same here, or just hang up. But even that I find hard.

@Jack, what would you say is the ratio of people who have actually accepted your product (or whatever) to the people who say 'no thanks' or just 'no'?

 

[jack merchant]

Phew, good question ! The response rate is 1-2% at best I think. Fortunately I get paid on an hourly basis, not a bonus basis (though we do have a target for number of appointments made - and thus far, I'm not meeting it).

 

[wildWolverine]

Originally posted by funxus
Isn't it more efficient to do a TV (or radio) commercial? Most people will se or hear it, they will get the whole message and won't 'hang up' in the middle, those who really are interested can get in contact with the company (on a free-of-charge number or the net), the employees won't have to waste time talking to people who hate them over everything else and the people themselves will be happy that they don't receive annoying calls in the middle of dinner. There must be something wrong with this, or else I wouldn't get the calls...

Unfortunately, you hit it with your last statement. Because its a free market, the calls must generate a justifiable response based on cost to make them and revenues garnered. The same stands for spam. As long as their is a profit, the calls/emails will be made/sent. The entire populace would need to band together and refuse tele/e-marketed products to truly end usage of the technique. Obviously, that will never happen, so we are stuck with them.

This seems a little odd, but what about this train of thought: say that 1 out of 100 people will buy a product from a telemarketer. With the advent of no-call lists, ~85 of those 100 people will sign up for the list. Therefore, the telemarketer has a 1/15 chance of a successful call. Won't this just make telemarketer calls much more frequent for the people not on the list? Eventually ALL non-buyers will be on the list, and much higher percentage of telemarketing calls will generate sales. So in effeft, the no-call lists ensure the survival of telemarketing (even if it is at a smaller scale).

 

[jack merchant]

Originally posted by wildWolverine

This seems a little odd, but what about this train of thought: say that 1 out of 100 people will buy a product from a telemarketer. With the advent of no-call lists, ~85 of those 100 people will sign up for the list. Therefore, the telemarketer has a 1/15 chance of a successful call. Won't this just make telemarketer calls much more frequent for the people not on the list? Eventually ALL non-buyers will be on the list, and much higher percentage of telemarketing calls will generate sales. So in effeft, the no-call lists ensure the survival of telemarketing (even if it is at a smaller scale).

Actually, that is assuming that only the ones who never buy anything over the phone sign up for the do-not-call lists. However, more people appear to buy things over the phone than you think '(don't have the link with me though) so it will drive sales volume down. Also, the people who remain able to be called will be so driven to distraction by the number of calls they will get that rapidly, they'll join the do-not call list too.
Finally, less phone numbers to call means less telemarketers are needed, so it still is bad for jobs.