Being rude to door to door salesmen/those who ring up trying to sell stuff

[dune]

I've just had to get up off the settee to answer the door to be told "we are here to inform you that your exchange has been upgraded to improve your broadband". I replied "how do you know i've got broadband?" Bloke enquired "do you have broadband?" I replied "what's it gotta do with you and what company are you from?" He replied "we're from talk talk..." Door shut in their faces.

 

I've got a police sign on the door window saying nothing is bought at the door and telling anyone trying to sell something to basically f/ck off.

 

So Is it OK to be rude to these people?

[trousers]

Yes

 

HTH

[trousers]

My world record for keeping a cold caller on the phone is 37 mins.

[dune]

My world record for keeping a cold caller on the phone is 37 mins.

 

I had one ring up today saying they noticed I payed insurance for my SKY dish FFS.

 

Kept them on for a few minutes before I got bored and told them I don't have SKY and I don't have a dish.

[JackFrost]

My world record for keeping a cold caller on the phone is 37 mins.

 

That's impressive.

 

Personally if it is someone ringing and I have a lot of time on my hands I make animal noises down the phone until they go away. 3 mins 12 seconds is my record for that.

 

I remember seeing on youtube a recorded answerphone prank someone had designed for a cold caller to have a conversation withIt was brilliant.

[dune]

What annoys me is that I'm on that BT thing that is supposed to stop these calls. Waste of time that is.

 

And aren't these people breaking the law by ignoring the police sign i have displayed in the window of the door?

[bridge too far]

That's impressive.

 

Personally if it is someone ringing and I have a lot of time on my hands I make animal noises down the phone until they go away. 3 mins 12 seconds is my record for that.

 

I remember seeing on youtube a recorded answerphone prank someone had designed for a cold caller to have a conversation withIt was brilliant.

 

A former boss, who was a renowned prankster, caught me out with one of those. Post-It on my desk asking me call a number. I called and got met with a torrent of abuse that went on and on and on. It actually quite upset me, because I couldn't get a word in edge-ways to try to calm the 'caller' down.

 

He only owned up once he saw me in floods of tears (my dad had died only a couple of weeks before so I guess I was a bit 'fragile'). Looking back, it was actually quite funny.b

[thesaint sfc]

I wish you didn't have broadband.

[dune]

I wish you didn't have broadband.

 

Location: Everything I say is false. FACT.

 

Thanks Sweetie.

 

xxx.

[Dr Who?]

Yes it is cold caller to the door and on the phone.

 

The same as people who stand in your way on the high street, get out of my way and stop trying to get me to sign up to you bloody charity...........

[Colinjb]

I have in my front window, by the front door a sign saying this:

 

Please, No

 

Door to door salesmen

Cold callers

Charities

 

We will not buy from you, do not waste your time.

 

This works on most apart from the salesmen for Safestyle UK windows.... they get extremely short shrift.

[alpine_saint]

Its a tricky one.

 

Personally, I think its unecessary to be rude to them. At least they are off their arses, trying to earn a living, and not sitting on them at home claming benefits. And it isnt an easy way to earn a living either.

 

But if you really have a sign up saying no cold calling, I have more sympathy for being rude in this case.

[Jonnyboy]

Its a tricky one.

 

Personally, I think its unecessary to be rude to them. At least they are off their arses, trying to earn a living, and not sitting on them at home claming benefits. And it isnt an easy way to earn a living either.

 

But if you really have a sign up saying no cold calling, I have more sympathy for being rude in this case.

 

this

[Colinjb]

Yes, all credit to them betting off their arses, but please, leave me alone at my home addres, if I want something from your company I will come to you...

[Secret Site Agent]

I normally let them start with their spiel then I ask them if they are happy with their mobile phone provider and if they are interested in an 18 month free line rental, or if they are happy with their energy provider and if they would like the savings offered by having a combination deal, or if they have ever considered the benifits of installing solar panels with all of the government grants available. Just a bit of fun but it's quite hilarious sometimes when they are trying to get back onto their script and I keep diverting them back to buying something from me.

 

I also like to argue with Jehovas Witnessess by asking silly question s like Was the church without a witness for 18 centuries? Doesn't Isaiah 43:10 refer to Israel?

Doesn't 2 Timothy 3:15-17 and John 5:39 -40 prove the Scripture alone can lead us to salvation? Are they being obedient to Acts 1:8?

 

I have noticed that i no longer get cold calls or people asking me if I have heard the good word.

[dune]

I also like to argue with Jehovas Witnessess.

 

So do I. I brought up blood transfusions on one occasion and asked them if their child needed one to live would they consent. They actually said that the power of prayer is more powerful than anything else etc. So I told them that in that case I'm relieved that the authorities have the power to remove your child from you to administer the life saving transfusion as clearly you are not responsible parents.

 

Come to think of it that was the last time they called and haven't had them for several years.

[rallyboy]

I do enjoy messing with their minds.

For door-to-door I just stare and don't join in when they ask questions, which throws them as they are trying to create a conversation.

I also ignore ID cards when they wave them, they hate it when you don't interact.

 

I'm not rude, I just tend to tell them that I don't really have any interest.

If they persist, I act even more weird until they leave - it is fun!

 

The phone is different - zero tolerance - there is a company called Phruit Marketing that has been caught out selling random details of people out of the phonebook and telling companies that these people are hot leads for finance/conservatories/double glazing.

They ignore the TPS and are very annoying so I take action whenever I get a call.

[OVER THE HILL]

 

The same as people who stand in your way on the high street, get out of my way and stop trying to get me to sign up to you bloody charity...........

 

They are called Chuggers - charity muggers. A different mob every day in Above Bar,they are really annoying.

[dune]

They are called Chuggers - charity muggers. A different mob every day in Above Bar,they are really annoying.

 

Do you still get the great unwashed from the Socialist Workers Party?

 

I just just used to look down my nose at them like one would a piece of dog poo. They never bothered me.

[Jimmy_D]

Whenever I get cold called on the phone, when they start with 'are you having a good day?' or similar, I point out that I was until I got cold called and hang up before they say anything.

 

If it keeps happening, I'll ask them how they got my number, and as we're ex-directory they either go quiet and hang up, or tell me they use 'auto-dialler' software, in which case I ask them to add this number to a 'do-not-call' list.

 

I'm quite capable of finding good deals for stuff myself and have no time for sales people, especially ones that interrupt me on my own time.

[Golden Balls]

No need to be rude, but I guess if you have a sign up then that gives you a good reason to be.

 

A simple "I'm not interested, thanks" will do.

 

Although, If I'm bored, I do like mess with them a bit.

 

Like someone said, at least they're out there making a living. And a frigging hard/unrewarding living it is!

[Whitey Grandad]

A few weeks ago on a Sunday morning a bloke knocked on our door and asked us if we wanted to sign a petition against cold calling.

[Jimmy_D]

A few weeks ago on a Sunday morning a bloke knocked on our door and asked us if we wanted to sign a petition against cold calling.

 

[SNSUN]

I refuse to use anything nPower have to offer, after they once ripped my Dad off, who had done nothing to warrant it. My Dad was wandering around the Ideal Home show, and one of the blokes in the nPower booth asked if he would like more information on their products. He agreed and provided his address for them to post their information to, but before he knew it, they'd taken that address and changed all his bills to nPower, without his permission and without a signature. He was furious, he contacted the Ombudsman (I think it was) and wrote to whoever he could to get this noticed. (Apparently he wasn't the only one they'd done this to either.) This all leads me to say, regarding an nPower cold caller that knocked on his door, he gave them an expletive laden short shrift. (And my Dad rarely loses his temper OR swears.)

 

Generally I'm quite patient when someone knocks on my door - it's up to them if they want to see me in my boxers or with a stiffy.

[1976_Child]

I've just had to get up off the settee to answer the door to be told "we are here to inform you that your exchange has been upgraded to improve your broadband". I replied "how do you know i've got broadband?" Bloke enquired "do you have broadband?" I replied "what's it gotta do with you and what company are you from?" He replied "we're from talk talk..." Door shut in their faces.

 

I've got a police sign on the door window saying nothing is bought at the door and telling anyone trying to sell something to basically f/ck off.

 

So Is it OK to be rude to these people?

 

Typical tory.

 

Dune's got broadband so he couldn't give a **** about the chap just doing his job - just trying to make ends meet so maybe he too could afford broadband.

 

Selfish.

[SuperMikey]

I did door-to-door for a month over the summer, and it was the dreariest worst job i've ever had. 9 hours of trudging the streets of some backarse town trying to not get stabbed by the mental homeowners, 6 days a week.

 

Nobody enjoys that job, so try and be a little bit nice to them.

[trousers]

Typical tory.

 

Dune's got broadband so he couldn't give a **** about the chap just doing his job - just trying to make ends meet so maybe he too could afford broadband.

 

Selfish.

 

Typical non-Tory

 

These 'salesmen' are typically put out there by some of the big fat cat companies who know they can exploit the vulnerable by leaning on the sympathy factor of poor people trying hard to earn a living.

 

Sole traders I have sympathy for. Stooges set up by large companies I don't.

[pap]

I normally let them start with their spiel then I ask them if they are happy with their mobile phone provider and if they are interested in an 18 month free line rental, or if they are happy with their energy provider and if they would like the savings offered by having a combination deal, or if they have ever considered the benifits of installing solar panels with all of the government grants available. Just a bit of fun but it's quite hilarious sometimes when they are trying to get back onto their script and I keep diverting them back to buying something from me.

 

I also like to argue with Jehovas Witnessess by asking silly question s like Was the church without a witness for 18 centuries? Doesn't Isaiah 43:10 refer to Israel?

Doesn't 2 Timothy 3:15-17 and John 5:39 -40 prove the Scripture alone can lead us to salvation? Are they being obedient to Acts 1:8?

 

I have noticed that i no longer get cold calls or people asking me if I have heard the good word.

 

This reflects my experience in the main. Whenever I get cold called from overseas, I mess the caller up by mentioning things that they would be unlikely to know about. I once spent fifteen minutes on the blower with a lady who was trying to sell me a mobile phone insisting that another provider had called me the night before, only they had promised to chuck in a "free stoat" and I wasn't interested until her deal had some parity. Eventually, the poor lady asked "what is stoat", to which I replied "a small riverside mammal!" on a guff of laughs.

 

A good way to unsettle male callers is to ask them if they would like to go dancing. I nicked that from Charlie Brooker, who harrassed some tech support lines years back.

 

Oh, and I have been personally plagued with Jehovah's Witnesses. I have to say, my last response was very rude. "Yep, yep, it's all fun and games until a relative needs a blood transfusion". Bam.

 

Honestly, it's not being rude that's the problem. Every minute you're polite is another minute you let them prey on your humanity and ultimately get their way. I like to think I'm doing them a service by not giving them that opportunity. Hopefully, each knockback just adds one more notch to the "feck this for a game of soldiers" count. Might eventually lead to them finding a better way to make a living.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDW_Hj2K0wo

Edited 2 November, 2011 by pap

[Special K]

http://www.digyourowngrave.com/tom-mabe-telemarketer-crime-scene-prank/

 

this is the way to deal with cold callers. very good.

[keithd]

A man came to my door last night collecting for the poppy foundation via British Legion. I was genuinely gutted I didnt have any cash in the house, so I raided my 20p jar and dumped a load in his tin. Didnt take a poppy cos I picked one up last week, but genuinely felt for the guy. First time I've known the BL/Poppy people to go door to door, and am hoping he did some brisk "business" mainly due to the cause but also he complimented me on my cooking smells

 

I generally ignore the door once Im home from work, but glad I answered this one. On return home from work my answerphone generally has 3 automated calls telling me about that fall I had at work 2 years ago could benefit me financially and that big debt Im in can be eased if I dial 5. Cos I've been preselected. And whenever I've been home and actually fielded one of these calls, when I've dialled 9 to opt out I've discovered that does fak all! They still come thru.

[dingbattigger]

The poppy collectors are the only cold callers I will happily deal with ( we actually get 2 callers each year as we are on the junction of their 'rounds' and no-one seems sure which round we are on lol). I donate to both but only take 1 poppy. For everyone else I too have one of those signs but it appears those from TalkTalk casn't read. I have even contacted the company to be taken off their list of addresses, fat lot of good that was. Am now awaiting their response to my letter claiming harassment

[Whitey Grandad]

 

God's honest truth.

[Ken Tone]

I used to be quite rude to cold callers on the phone when I got a lot years ago, but the BT telephone preference service does at least keep the number down.

 

Now when one does ring I just get rid of them politely and very quickly. No one likes working in a call centre ... it's a really lousy job .... but in the current jobs climate many have no choice, other than the dole, and at least they've chosen to work rather than live off the state. So to be rude to the poor sods, or to play them along with silly games, is unnecessarily cruel. Put yourself in their shoes.

 

That said, someone who comes to a door that has a sign saying 'no cold callers' is just asking for trouble.

[Turkish]

I did door-to-door for a month over the summer, and it was the dreariest worst job i've ever had. 9 hours of trudging the streets of some backarse town trying to not get stabbed by the mental homeowners, 6 days a week.

 

Nobody enjoys that job, so try and be a little bit nice to them.

 

What a shame i was never in when you called, i'd have given you a warm welcome Mikey. xxx

[The Kraken]

I used to be quite rude to cold callers on the phone when I got a lot years ago, but the BT telephone preference service does at least keep the number down.

 

Now when one does ring I just get rid of them politely and very quickly. No one likes working in a call centre ... it's a really lousy job .... but in the current jobs climate many have no choice, other than the dole, and at least they've chosen to work rather than live off the state. So to be rude to the poor sods, or to play them along with silly games, is unnecessarily cruel. Put yourself in their shoes.

 

That said, someone who comes to a door that has a sign saying 'no cold callers' is just asking for trouble.

 

Yep this, I don't see the point in being needlessly rude to someone who is just doing their job by running through a cold-call list. 99% of the time an early, firm "I'm not interested thank you" will get the desired effect. I do have a problem with those that will persist and try and change your mind, which is akin to the door knocking despite the no cold callers sign, and they deserve everything they get.

[ecuk268]

We used to get a lot of callers at work asking us to answer a survey.

 

I always asked how much would they pay me, which seemed to mystify them. I explained that they were getting paid to do the survey but, without people supplying the raw data, the survey would be useless so we should be paid for supplying it.

 

That usually shut them up.

[Weston Super Saint]

My world record for keeping a cold caller on the phone is 37 mins.

 

Can't beat that, but pretty sure I'm close to equalling it!

 

I once kept a lovely lady from India on the phone whilst I prepared the kitchen, did the washing up, dried the plates, and tidied the kitchen afterwards. Just kept asking her to repeat things several times as there was lots of 'interference' and I couldn't quite understand her.

 

After I'd finished my chores I announced I wasn't interested after all, having got the price of replacement windows down from about £5k to £2k. We had only been living in the house for six months, and bought it brand new, so had no need for new windows anyway. They really should do better research!

[Patrick Bateman]

I lost my temper with a gas/electric salesman. I was cleaning my car in my drive (actually down on hands and knees scrubbing the alloys) at the time. He appeared and asked if I knew how much I spent on gas and electric and that he could guarantee me a much better deal. Having just changed 3 months previously to what was a very good deal, I politely told him I wasn't interested.

 

He then tried again. I said again that I wasn't interested.

 

He then said I HAD to sign to say he had called and had a folded bit of paper. I (still) politely refused.

 

He again was insistent that I HAD to sign and that he would wait for me to sign. I stood up and told him where I'd stick his paper and pen before he then left sharpish.

 

I hate these w*nkers. I am perfectly capable of finding my own deal, in my own time.

[SuperMikey]

What a shame i was never in when you called, i'd have given you a warm welcome Mikey. xxx

 

I can only imagine. I got quite a lot of abuse in that month, and overall I made £145 due to it being a commission-only job. Insult to injury really...

 

It was interesting to see the trust that people have in strangers though, some people would let you into the house with no worries but others would be much more cautious.

[SuperMikey]

I got a few calls the other day from a bloke in an Asian call centre telling me there was something wrong with my computer - i've had those calls about 3 or 4 times now. Starting to annoy me that is.

[Window Cleaner]

Well as long as you accept them being rude to you as when they call in to your workplace I guess it's OK.

[Turkish]

I can only imagine. I got quite a lot of abuse in that month, and overall I made £145 due to it being a commission-only job. Insult to injury really...

 

It was interesting to see the trust that people have in strangers though, some people would let you into the house with no worries but others would be much more cautious.

 

I wouldnt abuse you Mikey. I'd be very polite and welcoming. I actually invited in the Red Cross lady when she called, very pleasant she was to and i signed up for cause i believe in.

Edited 2 November, 2011 by Turkish

[markyboy]

I got a few calls the other day from a bloke in an Asian call centre telling me there was something wrong with my computer - i've had those calls about 3 or 4 times now. Starting to annoy me that is.

 

that was in the Echo the other day - the Windows scam. i just hang up

[Wopper]

Most of the c*nts on the phone cant even speak english you can understand.

[dune]

I did door-to-door for a month over the summer, and it was the dreariest worst job i've ever had. 9 hours of trudging the streets of some backarse town trying to not get stabbed by the mental homeowners, 6 days a week.

 

Nobody enjoys that job, so try and be a little bit nice to them.

 

Were you the Avon boy?

[dune]

I got a few calls the other day from a bloke in an Asian call centre telling me there was something wrong with my computer - i've had those calls about 3 or 4 times now. Starting to annoy me that is.

 

It's a scam that my brother idiotically fell for. They linked up to his pc and were on it for a couple of hours until he noticed what looked like money transfer - he told me western union came up. They said they'd debit 39 quid from his account and actually took 100 quid. I advised him to tell his bank and get his cards stopped and to take his pc to a geeky computor shop in town. Can't believe he fell for it.

[dune]

Was this your selling technique?

 

[SuperMikey]

Were you the Avon boy?

 

Unfortunately not, I was signing people up for grants for home insulation. Spent most of my summer up in dusty lofts in Totton while my mates were off seeing the world. Sigh.

 

If I bothered anyone over the summer with my house calls, I apologise!

[dune]

Unfortunately not, I was signing people up for grants for home insulation. Spent most of my summer up in dusty lofts in Totton while my mates were off seeing the world. Sigh.

 

If I bothered anyone over the summer with my house calls, I apologise!

 

Fair play to you for working. I did when I was at Southampton Institute.

[SuperMikey]

Fair play to you for working. I did when I was at Southampton Institute.

 

Appreciated. Always worked, the longest time Post-16 that i've been unemployed for was a month - and that's between leaving my old job at home and moving to Uni last year. Keeps you ticking over.

 

I think a lot of people my age will get a bit of a shock when it comes to being in the working world after they graduate, young people seem a bit cosseted.