Why do people think it's acceptable to be rude to telemarketers?

Question

I ALWAYS get confused with telemarketers, and in reality, I'm an appointment setter for a dating service. The people I call filled out a profile and requested our information, but when I call them back, they act like I"m a telemarketer and get all rude with me. Why have people come to think it's acceptable to speak to telemarketers the way they do? Almost ANY other job does not have to put up with people talking to them that way, why should telemarketing be any different?

Also, just so you know, telling them "i'm not interested" and hanging up doesn't stop the calls, because if you do that, they have no idea if they're talking to the right person or not, and will call you back. best way to get them to leave you alone is NOT to say "stop calling me" "i'm not interested" or things of that nature. Just simply say "please put me on your do not call list". This has been around for a LONG time, people KNOW it exists, so WHY the need to continue to be rude?

Answer 1

I totally feel for you and apologize for people's bad behavior. There's no excuse for rudeness, even to uninvited telemarketers, no matter how much the general public rationalizes it.

I work in a call center for city gov't. People actually do the calling to us, we don't call them. By the time they've reached us, they've had to wade through lots of other depts because they called the wrong ones and were referred to the wrong ones. They also had to be on hold for a long time because our call volume is high. When they finally do reach us, they figure that since they're so frustrated, they have full rights to be insulting and rude to the operators, and we're supposed to take it with a smile and a bow.

Bad behavior, pure and simple. There's no justification for it, ever.

Call center work is stressful, having to deal with temper tantrums from the general public. Why are people rude to telemarketers? Because they just ARE, that's all. I don't care if telemarketers make one feel invaded in their own home, a telemarketer is just doing his/her job, trying to make a living. As in all professions, they have kids to feed and bills to pay. Do they intend on interrupting when you're doing something important? No, they don't. Do they need to put food on the table? Yes, they do.

I am patient with a telemarketer, because I know they'd probably wanna be doing some other line of work, and maybe they're having a hard time finding better work so they are telemarking for the time being. They get enough crap from the rest of their callers, so I tell them "no, thank you" and move on hanging up or being rude.

Answer 2

I was a telemarketer for 3 years. I would get told to go to hell and whatnot. One day I even had a guy call back., talk to my boss and start yelling at him. Now that I have my own family and am a stay at home mother I know how frustrating telemarketers can be. I do not ask for them to call my house yet they do anyways. I have asked to be put on their do not call list and they call me back the very next day. I am even on the national do not call list and it seems I get more calls from telemarketers than I did in the past. If telemarketers do not want to hear a rude comment from people then they should find a new line of work.

Answer 3

I used to not answer telemarketer calls, and when I did, I asked them not to call again. Now I answer all of them, I listen to their spiel, I tell them why I am not interested, that I will never buy anything over the phone, and not to call me anymore,that I work shift work, and they just woke me up.Lately, this has been working, probably because it has the ring of truth to it, and it is the truth.
The call that made me change my mind was this. It was always the same number on the callerID. The calls would start about 9am, and continue until 10pm, at least one an hour, sometimes more.[my community was blessed, the telemarketer place was located in our mall]. Then they would back off, then there was one call, the next day two, and so on. This went on for years. One day, I had has ENOUGH, and I answered. The voice on the other end said Hey! I got her!, not into the phone, but to someone else. Then there was a large discussion, congratulating the person, and some more conversation I could not hear. I hung up. So, telemarketers everywhere, was this good behavior? Is this what the client is paying for? It is nothing more than a big contest to see if you can get someone to answer the phone?
I am sorry, I am sure there are people out there who physically can't do any job but one to make phone calls. But for the rest of you, why are you a telemarketer? What do you get out of it besides a paycheck? You get screamed at, cursed at ,phones slammed in your ears, there has got to be something else you are getting out of it. Is it a feeling of power of some sort,, that you are in control, that you are pleased to have disrupted someone's day, life, sleep?
I got a call the other day. It was from Norton Antivirus, The caller did not know if I had a computor, wanted to know what kind of spy protection I had. No way am I going to tell a stranger what is on my computor! I told her no, I was not interested, I was happy with what I have, and I will not be buying anymore Norton products, explained that I can't, my computor does not like them, it had intefered with the working of my computor, had crashed it, and it was expensive to restart it, and I did not want to do this again. She started to talk again, she had never heard this[sure, I found an article online about it, and the person who fixed my computor said it was common] and I gave her the above story.She did not apologize, no OK I won't call again, nothing.
I am not rude, I do speak firmly when I ask not to be called again. But this is why people are rude to telemarketers! Because the telemarketers are often rude. They play games, they do not listen, they call back repeatedly after being told not to.
I grew up, got my own house. And the calls began. The local paper called me almost every day, sometimes repeatedly, sometimes once or twice or 3 or 4 times an hour. With the same question:"did you recieve a copy of the paper Today? "Would you like to subscribe? No, NO, and quit calling here. Eight years this went on. Until one day, no more calls. They had sold the paper to another company.I still, to this day, will not subscribe to the paper, after all these years.
And as far as any other job not having to put up with that kind of abuse, that is not true. I am a nurse, and a charge nurse. There is no brand of rudenes, meaness, physical attack, yelling and screaming that I and my coworkers and friends have not been subjected to. A lady threw a suitcase at a security guard because the patient asked her to leave and called security. I was acused by a family once of stealing their mother;s polyester pants. Mother was a size 2. I am not. They said they saw me do this, I had just arrived on the division from home.Come to find out, the lady had wet her pants [it was not the ladies fault, it was her disease], and the day nurse, who is African American, and much smaller than me, who wears a wig,[ I.m not, andI don't] had taken them off the patient, rinsed tham out, and hung them in the bathroom to dry. As she was hired to do.
It is also our society and culture. We isolate ourselves behind cell phones and computors, where we can, and do ,.say whatever we want. We are virtually anonymous online. Our parents do not teach manners, our schools do not, we do not learn them.
As long as corporate America thinks telemarketing is a valuable marketing tool, it will continue.
How do we make it stop? Stop buying the products, stop answering the surveys. Start telling the caller that you will not ever buy over the phone. If we all do this, it will stop. Somebody out there is buying the products, or would have stopped already.
So, if you get a call, and you are truly interested in the product, call the company on your own.
Thank you for asking this question. Please forgive any spelling errors. Spellcheck is not working, again.

Answer 4

I usually just don't answer the phone, but when I do I simply tell them I'm on the do not call list. People get rude because sometimes they have been known to call on a weekend morning at 8 AM! or during dinner time during the week !!! I don't know why anyone would want to be a telemarketer because you are right, people are rude. It would be a hard job, but you have to understand as the person on the other line we don't appreciate unwanted calls to try to get our money!!!

Answer 5

Because telemarketers are people you don't want calling you. They call you at inconvenient times and ask you to spend money. And they do it all the time!!!!

It is unfortunate that you have a job that gets confused with telemarketing. It is the telemarketing industry that ruined it for the rest of the world.

Perhaps you haven't been harassed by these people who call all hours and times and then even when you say you aren't interested they call back. Have you ever been harrassed by a car salesman or any kind of sales person at the mall for example. It is annoying and unfortunately, it is accumulative.

One telemarketer is just like any other. A stranger pushing their opinion when it hasn't been asked for.

Sorry that people are rude. Perhaps your company should change their calling policy. Afterall, if someone wants you to find a date for them...they should know the name of the company when you say it. I don't harass American Express when they call. I don't harass my job when they call. It is all in the presentation and who is calling.

Answer 6

My boyfriend works very hard during the week and his weekends mean a lot to him. he likes to sleep in because thats the only time he can. But every saturday and sunday, between 8am-9am he gets about 3 or 4 calls from different telemarketing companies. he finally got a caller id, and he gets so excited when he can avoid the calls.
I think most people can not handle telemarketers because they are one of the groups that are most pushy. they should just call once to one household, if did not get a response, do not call again. calling ever other day, or every weekend is what makes them unbearable.
i know being persistant comes with the job, but appreciating people's life and comfort should also come with the job...
I find those people are the most rude to telemarketers are those that have most likely been called the most...

Answer 7

People don't like being put under pressure by an unsolicited phone call in their own home. Plus it isn't just telemarketers who have to deal with rudeness. Ask anyone who works in a shop, on a bus/train, amusement arcade, the list is endless.

Answer 8

Because it's rude to call people at their homes and interfere with their personal time in an attempt to sell something. I consider unsolicited calls from telemarketers an invasion. It is especially unnerving if I'm in the middle of something (dinner, giving my kid a bath, whatever), and I rush to the phone only to be stuck with a call from a telemarketer. As a matter of fact, it really pisses me off.

In your situation, does the rudeness continue after you've identified yourself, and stated your business? If so, then the person on the other end is probably rude to everyone.

Perhaps if you begin by saying, "May I speak with John?", rather than, "May I speak with John Doe?", then whoever answers the phone will be more receptive. When a caller asks for me by first and last name, that immediately puts me in defense mode.

Good luck.

Answer 9

Few get through my home phone because I tend to use my cell phone for the important calls, and the home phone for my DSL connection.

After a hard day's work, it never fails to happen...just as I'm about to open my mouth to my quickly prepared dinner, the phone rings.

And the call is usually about saving me money on a credit card.

I hope that the computer solves this pain- in- the...problem.

People need good paying jobs again.

We need to be able to waste money again.

These telemarketeers are all trying to save me money by shoving yet another unneeded credit card at me.

Once there was CASH. You had none, you didn't eat.

Period.

Answer 10

telemarketers make a small base pay plus value so if there being rude their messing with their very own money and wont final long at that enterprise besides. yet nonetheless they have no suitable to be rude to you. in case you ask to talk with the supervisor and you think of no longer something will ensue maximum companies have a be sure corporation locate out who it is and checklist it to them and have faith me they'll guard it. of direction there is yet differently whilst speaking with the supervisor you may request to be placed on their do no longer call checklist and in maximum states that can open them as much as a lawsuit in the event that they call you back.