Why does everyone think it's the TELEMARKETER that's always rude?

Question

I hate to say it, but I'm a telemarketer. Can I get a better job? yes. Is it feasible right now? no. I'm a full time student and this job allows me to make a decent pay, works with my school schedule, I can study while I work, and my boss is really lenient with me.
But WHY does everyone think it's always the TELEMARKETER that's rude? I hate to say this, but some of my customers that I call are REALLY REALLY rude too! I'm just doing a job. Why can't they just say "take me off your list" or better yet..just not answer the phone!? I don't know you're eating dinner, changing a diaper, sleeping, having sex, or putting your kids to bed when I call. Do I LOOK like a mindreader?
Why can't people just simply say "take me off your list" instead of cursing, screaming at us, using profanity, blowing whisles into the phone, pushing the phone buttons, or even so much as blowing a bullhorn into the phone. This is just rude and infantile.

AND..before you go saying it's unwanted solititation in your home, what do you call tv commercials, radio commercials, junk mail, or door to door sales people?

Answer 1

I try to be polite to everyone who calls my home phone. If it's a telemarketer I ask to be taken off their list if. Or I just tell them I'm not interested and have a nice day. Same goes for persons who get the wrong number. The society we live in today is very me oriented and don't seem to care for the feelings of others.

Answer 2

Personally, I know that it is not always the "tele-marketer" who is being rude.

The problem is not what most people perceive to be an intrusion of their home-time, but that when they say to the solicitor, "no thank you"; and the solicitor keeps pleading and imploring, which ultimately leads to hang-ups, rude conversation, and sadly foul language because the potential customer reasons in their mind that saying no should have put a polite end to the conversation.

I disagree with bad manners for any reason and I do understand why I am being approached via the phone. I do try to be polite and if I am interested in the "product" I will say so, but when I say "thank you for calling, but I am not interested that should end the conversation.

As far as you being a mind reader, to some degree; tele-marketers are trying to be, why else would they call in the evening when they know that people have just arrived home from work, preparing supper, dealing with the children and getting ready for the next work day?

Because, they do know that in order to reach people, they have to call during the evening hours when the inevitable result is going to be a very tired and stressed person who answers the phone and who has been on the phone all day putting out fires and the last thing they want to do of an evening is spend another 15-30 minutes talking about credit cards, surveys, and whether or not the house needs new windows and gutters.

I would think that tele-marketers are trained to handle and be prepared for the worst case scenario because in our society the hours that can be the most intrusive to a family or an individual are the evening hours.

You have a very difficult job, and I do not envy you. But maintain your politness and calm in the storm and the results should be much better.

Answer 3

Well, I'm not rude. I just don't answer the phone unless the caller ID shows me who it is and it's somebody I want to talk to.

But like Ann Landers (or Dear Abby, I forget which one) told one telemarketer with the same complaint as you. Put yourself in that person's shoes. Would you like to be called while you are involved in cooking dinner, trying to take care of a crying baby, or at a key moment in a television show you are watching? Several times I've been called while I'm in the middle of trying to get work done (I do some of my work at home) and it is very annoying. Sometimes, I have even turned the ringer off the phone.

So what if you don't know when someone is doing something, it doesn't matter. Customer service used to reign supreme in this country, and the customer (in this case, the person you are calling) is always right. It's an idea that seems to have disappeared, and it's disappearance is truly disgusting.

I have been called away in the middle of work to go do something that I really didn't want to do; but I do it. Why, because I have to take care of customers.

Answer 4

I'm on a do not call list - the US has this and ALL telemarketers are supposed to check this list or face big fines per call. I still get calls. My problem is, I cannot hear well so after so many calls with no message, I try to tell the person not to call anymore but they usually just keep going with their speech. This is the rude part.
I don't cuss or blow whistles or push buttons. I may raise my voice to try to get their attention as I talk soft.
I do report the calls that I receive to the donotcall.gov website.

I used to call when I worked at an insurance office. If the person never answered, I quit calling. If they asked me not to call, quit calling. I respected their wishes.

If telemarketers would have the company they are calling from on the caller ID instead of out-of-area or toll-free, maybe more people would be receptive to their calls and not be rude in return.

Also - some people are just rude about anything, including if you told them that it is nice outside, because the sun is shining.

Answer 5

Stop your whining. You must have known going into the field that telemarketers are some of the most hated people out there. And as for picking up the phone and nicely asking you to be removed from the list, that shouldn't be necessary if I never asked to be put ON the list in the first place.

As for not answering the phone being better..... I've tried not answering the phone when a number pops up I don't recognize. I've found that the telemarketers don't give up that easily. Would I rather have you call me at dinnertime or while my kids are trying to nap for ten days straight, or would I rather pick up the phone the first time and snap at you to stop calling? Do you give your "customers" the opportunity to stop you from talking before you go into a long drawn-out monologue about what you are selling? You are in a rude profession and should not expect to receive unearned courtesy.

You chose the job. Deal with the ramifications of it.

Answer 6

Most telemarketers are rude when they don't take "no" or "thanks but not interested" for an answer. I get calls at work constantly and when I say I'm not interested, instead of ending the call they ask me what I am not interested in. Then I tell them that I don't have to say why I'm not interested and I just hang up. If you don't want people to be rude to you then you really should consider another line of work.

At least with TV commercials we can shut off the TV or change the channel or even press the mute button. We can't always turn off or ignore our telephones.

Answer 7

Because some telemarketers do not quit.
It has become a conditioned behavior to think the telemarketer is rude.
Some are, some aren't.
Generally I say I do not have the time and I am not interested.
If they keep on I put the phone down.
If they call back I put the phone down.
Better than yelling.

Good Luck.

Answer 8

I totally agree with you...my mom used to own a huge telemarketing company and the people who worked there were way cool and not rude. I think they get a bad wrap for no reason...if the customers don't want the product they could just say no thank you. No biggie. Keep doing what you're doing, make your money, and forget about the haters.

Answer 9

Simply Stated, the fact is we did not INVITE you to call us did we? We all know that ads will come on TV and use that time to visit the crapper. It's more of a break than an intrusion.

Think of it this way...WHY do you need to call us? If we REALLY wanted your over priced cheaply made product don't you think we would call YOU?

No, I do not belong to the no call list, You all think of other ways to get around it don't you? Like those free give-aways that if you read the fine print it says "by filling this out you give us the right to contact you for promotional items" But I acctually enjoy playing with the person on the other end. If I am bored I will try and keep them on the line as long as possible. The way I see it, the longer I talk to them the less time they have to bother other people.

Call Me I dare ya!!!!!

Answer 10

I am SOOO with you on this one. I unfortunately admit that I am as well.. a telemarketer. I get told off all day long... and it's usually right after I say that I'm calling as a follow up to their purchase as a curtousy. People say that I'm invading their privacy... BUT.. when the company asks for your phone number... #1. Ask why they want it.. and if its to call you for b.s. like we do.. then don't give it
#2. Just don't give your number.
Working this job has made me slightly bitter to the general public. You do get the odd nice person... and theyre usually really old.. with old fashioned charm. What ever happened to respect,eh?
Honestly people... we don't want to call and talk to YOU either.