Answering Machines Don't Count: The Dreaded War of the Telemarketer

It's me again -your favorite TM with more information from the world of telemarketing.

Today I will enlighten those of you who think that by telling the world your desire of not wanting to hear any sales calls from telemarketers. Those who feel saying, "If this is a sales call or a telemarketer, please do not call again or leave any messages".

You know who you are.

Guess what...IT DOESN'T MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

By law of the FCC and other regulatory bodies that govern the tele-sales industry, unless we speak directly to a live person, what you say on a recording has no weight or bearing on why we call you. We have to speak to, verify and clarify the agreement between the customer and the telemarketer.

We have to let you know that it will take a period of time, often thirty (30) days or more, to completely remove your information from our vast database, and that before the process is done we may continue to call with other offers we feel you may find of interest to you and your family.

Serious! We do have to do this.

As I am sure you are aware, a recorded voice cannot substitute your voice in confirming your wishes. It takes only a few moments of your precious time, but the result will be that you will not be bothered by the company that in continually inundating you with call after call after call.

Yes, it is a headache. Yes, we know you have "more important things to do with you time". And yes, we realize we are getting on your last nerves with our repeated calls. But this will stop only when you give us a brief moment of your time.

Refer to the paragraph three above this and that lets you know how long it takes to go through this conversation of cessation.

Whenever we hear an answering machine, we are trained and expected to "disposition" or end the call swiftly. So many times we don't even hear your requests to "stop the calls". What we may hear is, "You have -", and we click "answering machine" and go onto the next call the computer drops onto our monitors.

If we happen to hear your message, it is because we are killing time and want to give our vocal chords a rest. We do make a lot of calls everyday, and need a rest every now and then. In an average day, your typical TM will make over 300 calls, and speak to approximately 100 people.

Of the remaining calls made, about one-half will be answering machines.

Many people are under the assumption that we "dial" the calls.

We don't.

In our cubicles, we only have the following: a monitor, keyboard, volume control box and our headset. And some, like me, will have a bottle of water. Some companies allow their TM's to have personal effects, candy/light snack foods, or even a book or paper to read.

Not where I work. It's just the basics.

You'd be surprise how many times we hear, "Could you call back between X-X?" And we try to tell them we cannot schedule calls. But they don't listen.

All of that aside...

As TM's, we have a job to do - to sell you whatever our client tells us to sell. We follow as best we can the rules of the company, rules of the parent company that has contracted us to represent them via the phone, and the rules of the FCC and other governing bodies that have rule over us.

We have to greet you and ask for the person the offer is intended. Tell you why we are calling (when asked the reason for the call), explain what the offer is and await your response, if you choose not to take the offer, we rebuttal your response to attempt to change your mind. (by order of the companies we represent, we have to rebuttal you).

If at any time you interrupt us, we have to respond to your inquiries.

But if you tell us you longer wish to receive calls from us, we have to let you know the process stated earlier (30 day wait to be removed, etc.).

Believe me, there are many like me who would rather the calls be a short as possible, but when you (the recipient) badger us with, "Who are you?" "What do you want?" "Where did you get my number?" And a host of other questions, we are on the phone longer than either of us care to be.

And please, if we do not ask for you, don't ask a bunch of questions. It's none of your business. It is between us (the seller) and them (the potential buyer). Especially if the person is of age (legally able to sign contract for credit cards), then whatever we have to discuss is none of your concern unless we say otherwise.

Getting back to the reason for this article - the answering machine.

An answering machine is good for its intended purpose...to retrieve messages so you can keep in touch with loved ones and associates. It also keeps you abreast of what is being offered by various companies that may be beneficial to you and your family.

Answering machines are good for the purpose for which they are intended. To catch the calls you miss in the expanse of your busy day.

Some are sophisticated enough to have boxes where you can leave messages for specific people and they can retrieve them if they have passwords or codes to do so.

They can also aid you in "screening" calls, so you can listen to who's calling and choose whether or not to speak with them at this particular time.

But they cannot substitute for you when you want to let a TM know - DO NOT CALL ME/US ANYMORE.

(BTW - saying you're "not interested" isn't enough either - More on that later).

Let your machine do what it's supposed to do - hold your messages. Not give "blanket" messages to everyone, when it's meant for just one person or a select group of people.

You want people to get your message; you have to deliver it yourself. That way there will be no confusion in either its reception or its understanding of what it is you are questioning.

Direct gets direct. Indirect gets confusion.

Which do you prefer?