Single in Stilettos

My day with the telemarketer

Yeah, so I'm at work. As I always am. Day in and day out. But today a weird thing happened to me today.

I don't like telemarketers... but who does? I try to be nice because half the time they're just college kids trying to make enough money to pay tuition. I understand what its like to have a crappy job and it doesn't help when people are mean to you... so I always try to be nice to the telemarketers. But today was just TOO much.

So, I'm at work and the phone rings... its a telemarketer. I can tell. I'd hung up on them at least 2 times earlier because they didn't answer the phone fast enough. I don't think I should be the one that has to wait for them to answer... shouldn't it be the other way around? Anyway...

SO, I answer the phone and this girl begins talking, telling me about their service (a phone book directory type service), I'm kind, she mentions that we're needing to renew our membership, I said that really wasn't necessary, and she said it was. She was giving out company a discounted price of $399.99, in which I say I'm not authorized to make that kind of purchase, she comes back and says of course I am!

I am?

Does she know something I don't know?

And how did she get that kind of information?

My boss told me I wasn't.

But she insisted I was.

She verified my name (I lied), position (I lied again,) and work address (I didn't lie). I was getting a little peeved by this point, and so she says she needs to transfer me to some guy, so she transfers me but she's still on the line. I can hardly understand a word either of them are saying, but I know it doesn't matter because I'm sure (fairly sure at least.... 90% sure.... okay, more like 85% sure) we don't do service with them. Why would we need advertising space? Our only customer is the government, and something tells me that they don't just open up a phonebook when looking for a good digital periscope architect.

But I could be wrong, I guess.

I explain to them that this office isn't the office that would make that kind of purchase, that they should contact our corporate office, she disagreed. She said that we had set up the account with her last year (a lie... I'm pretty sure). I tried to explain to her that we're a branch, not the headquarters... she disagreed with me again. Yeah, so I'm very frustrated at this point, my phone is ringing off the hook and I'm missing incoming calls.... translation: not good. Okay, so I get sick of this, I just say, "I really have to go, I have a conference call. Thanks. Bye."

Only imagine I said it really fast.

And hung up.

I answered the phone ringing off the hook. After about 30 seconds... the telemarketer called back. But this time I was on to them... I just let it ring. Phyllis (there's a Phyllis in every office... don't you find that weird?), the other admin, answered. Which worked out well since when I lied earlier I had given her name and position. hehe.

So I wait a few minutes, and then I call her. She's still on the phone with the mean telemarketers. They're trying to tell her that she has the power to make this kind of purchase. She clicks over to me, and I'm laughing! I tell her I'm sorry that I did that to her! She wasn't mad. She thought it was funny that the meanest telemarketers in the world have been able to eat up so much of our time. She finally said she had to go after they transfered her to accounting and were telling her just what to say to them so that the purchase could be approved. That peeved her. She said they could mail her materials, but she really had to go.

They called back a few minutes later.

We didn't answer.

Gosh, I hate telemarketers.

posted by Me @ 3:52 PM