I was just posting a post entitled "I have nothing to say today"
When I remembered that our car insurer rang me this afternoon.
I usually ignore cold callers, but thinking that the call was from Chris I stupidly answered it.
Now the call centre chap was halfway through his sales pitch before I realised it, and I was left with the decision to stop him in his tracks and mutter an insincere "no thank you!" or tell him to " naff off"
I was saved by William who started to growl and bark loudly at a passing horse rider
" I have to go" I told the insurance rep brightly
"My dog is savaging one of the children"
And with that I put down the phone.
I wonder what he made of it all
When I remembered that our car insurer rang me this afternoon.
I usually ignore cold callers, but thinking that the call was from Chris I stupidly answered it.
Now the call centre chap was halfway through his sales pitch before I realised it, and I was left with the decision to stop him in his tracks and mutter an insincere "no thank you!" or tell him to " naff off"
I was saved by William who started to growl and bark loudly at a passing horse rider
" I have to go" I told the insurance rep brightly
"My dog is savaging one of the children"
And with that I put down the phone.
I wonder what he made of it all
 |
| The savage dog in question |
LOL good thing you didnt stay on; he probably then would try to sell you homeowner's insurance that covers wayward dogs...
ReplyDeleteHahahahah!
ReplyDeleteToo funny, John! This is why I'm glad why we have 'caller ID!'
ReplyDeleteA good friend of mine is a devil on stuff like this making up ridiculous things to waste their time like do you ensure the car when I use it in the sea like on that Bond movie. Or telling them his car is a hotpoint!
ReplyDeleteThat photo of William is so very cute. I had someone ring me from a National newspaper yesterday (so they said) and as I had just walked in from work and had not even taken my coat off I just said 'sorry...have dinner to cook' and put the phone down...but I did feel rude.
ReplyDeleteHe's a savage beastie for sure !
ReplyDeleteI find myself telling those annoying callers, I am the English nanny, and the homeowners are off on safari in Africa.... naughty I know ;)
~Jo
I'd only been home half an hour before I got a loft insulation call....
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you & yours !
I always tell the double glazing cold callers that we live in a tent !! XXXX
ReplyDeleteI pity cold callers their job...but either it is "thanks but no thanks" and put the phone down, or just leave them hanging there and go and make a cuppa!
ReplyDeleteI love dealing with NFU for insurance of all types...go to the office and talk to a Human Bean who knows you!! (and it costs less too!!)
Somewhere there is a telesales person keeping a diary of all responses. One day it'll make the best seller list.
ReplyDeleteIf I'm not busy I like to think up a whole ream of questions to ask them and then finally tell them I'm not interested.
ReplyDeleteCallers - Years ago, my Grandmother had a call for Mr.--- she said "No he's not home" they asked for Mrs.--- and she said she wasn't there either and they hung up. Then it dawned on her - "Hey, that's me!"
ReplyDeleteBest words... "She's not here, I am the painter." I was painting the living room at the time.
Yours was a good one, John. I must try that next time...
Not only that - I bet the call was recorded like they usually do. Great one for training rep sales pitch - get over that one then.
ReplyDeleteMy 90 year old aunt simply screeches/screams and then hangs up when she doesn't recognise a caller.
ReplyDeleteThanks - I'll remember that one next time I make the same mistake!
ReplyDeletemy children used to have a dog like yours, on wheels with a handle on the back and they used to push it round
ReplyDeleteSo did I that's why we have welsh terriers!
DeleteHa! I have so enjoyed reading other's responses to cold callers... as well as yours of course! A good morning chuckle.
ReplyDeleteI just trot out my sentence: 'I'm sorry, I don't respond well to unsolicited phone calls'. I try and give it a flat, slightly menacing quality. There's usually a silence while they process it, then a nervous, 'Oh, well, goodbye then.' Works for me.
PS When I was little I ached for one of those dogs you push around. When I grew up I got an Airedale. My Alice and your William would have got on well, I think.
ReplyDeleteThere is a post over at my blog with your name on it!!! :)
ReplyDeleteOooh, your dog looks extremely savage :) What a cutie!
ReplyDeleteWe used to hand the kids the phone when they were less sentient and verbal...it doesn't work anymore, though Sam (our chatty nine year old) s willing to talk to them for unlimited amounts of time!
ReplyDeleteI never have the nerve for snarky comments but my husband likes to ask them are they married, what are they wearing, are they alone in the office, can anyone overhear what they're saying, is there a picture of them online, etc, until they get creeped out and hang up themselves. It;s effective! stevie @ ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com
ReplyDeleteWelcome aboard stevie
DeleteGreat one !!
DeleteI shall try that myself next time !!
I like to say "please give me your home phone and I'll call you tonight between 1 and 2 am when I make all my important decisions"
ReplyDeleteThey usually just keep talking but I've had my fun for the day
Anytime tee hee
DeleteHahahahahahahahaha!
ReplyDeleteWilliam looks as though he couldn't even be bothered to lick someone to death.
ReplyDeleteJane x
He is the sweetest natured dog I have ever had jane
DeleteI used to have a cat that meowed whenever anyone touched him. I always wanted to put him up to the telephone have him meow in response to any telemarketing questions.
ReplyDeleteOur phone cord reaches the front door so we can reach out, ring the bell and tell ANYONE "have to go answer the door."
ReplyDeleteI am sure that it is not the worst he has heard. I used to be a telemarketer and once I called this lady and she was obviously on her mobile, and half way thtough the call, it sounded like she fell down the stairs and the call ended!
ReplyDeleteLol there's always someone who goes one better!
DeleteWe have a national Do Not Call list here that's somewhat effective. It doesn't work for hacks who have robodialers or charities though, but if i get a human, i tell them i don't accept telephone solicitations of any kind. Firmly, but nicely.
ReplyDeleteOne of my credit cards got hacked last summer, and the stupid gits signed me up for a bunch of crap so i get exponentially more junk mail and that's when the calls increased. Some of the telemarketers are a bit put out when i ask them how they got my number, and then when i explain identity theft, they usually back off. Some still try their pitch, and i let them know i don't do telephone solicitations, please add me to their do not call list.
I had a telemarketing job for six weeks (selling tickets to an airshow for the benefit of a nonprofit). I never want to have to have that job again, but it did make me a bit more sympathetic.
Megan I am never really rude.......just bizarre
DeleteWhen we had a house phone that's the only calls we received. When we answered them we'd lay the phone down and leave. Poor bastard would do his speech and have nothing but silence to answer him.
ReplyDeleteAnd John, I had 2 cockerels. City ordinance won't allow them. I have a blogger friend close by when it's time for replacement, though. My blog header has one of my cockerels before I gave him up. Phil was a beauty. I hated to see him go.
They grow on you....don't te? I have bloody 6
DeleteYes they do. I'm an old country boy stuck in the City, at present. One day I'll return to the wild and have my pocket full of the animals I want.
DeleteDon't they just drive you mad - I don't bother to say anything any more - just put the phone straight down.
ReplyDeleteWe were at a friend's house one day when a telemarketer phoned. My friend answered the phone, when the question came "Can I speak to Mrs. X", my friend said to please hold and passed the phone over to another friend who just chatted to the salesperson for a while. It was priceless and we all laughed for a while.
ReplyDeleteAw, haha. Saved by the dog. ;o)
ReplyDeleteyep that dog does indeed look savage.....
ReplyDeleteGill
Great choice of sofa Mr Gray. Can't see a single dog hair.
ReplyDeleteJohn....How could you? LOL!
ReplyDeleteI wish I could think of something quickly enough to respond in an effective blunt way too! But I can't!
ReplyDeleteI hate getting those calls but feel bad for the people who have those jobs. Getting constant rejection has to be difficult.
ReplyDeleteI'm alive and well. Got a tablet now and trying to figure this blog thing out on it. But it's working like a desk top in blogger and giving me a fit.I've be a bit busy with the holidays, too. I'll eventually get back into it. ;)
ReplyDeleteOh, and good luck with the kids! lol
DeleteThat dog is awesome! :-)
ReplyDeleteI had a coworker who once got a call at home one night for carpet cleaning. She asked if they could get out large quantities of blood and could they be there by midnight? They hung up on her. She's lucky they didn't call the police. Ha.
Short shrift is the best.
ReplyDeleteIt is probably an improvement on being told to naff off - which telemarketers must get used to. And would make a lovely story for him at the end of the day. You are perhaps lucky that he didn't send child protection services round...
ReplyDeleteRather like 'Megan Blogs' above, I put my name on a list a few years ago which blocks cold-callers, and I've not been troubled once since - though my sister is also on the same list and she still gets some of them.
ReplyDeleteA good idea for those who are so disturbed is to say, (when the caller is just getting into full flight), "Can you just hang on a few seconds?" then, without giving them time to respond, put the receiver down. not on the rest but BESIDE it - and then leave it for as long as you wish, knowing that they are getting all irate at thinking that you've forgotten them (heh heh!) while their own time is being wasted and their company's phone bill is being racked up needlessly - and they will probably not bother to call you back again. Or if they do, just repeat.
I sometimes feel sorry for the people who have to do this for a living - knowing that nobody is ever pleased to hear from you must be hard. Who would take a job like this if they could get another one?
ReplyDeleteOne of my previous standard poodles was a rescued dog whose standard greeting for visitors when we first got him was to wee on their foot. Early into his time with us he did that to a cold caller who called in person with the hope of selling some new windows. He didn't come back !!
It must be a dreadful job to do, but they really are annoying!
ReplyDeleteThat's brilliant. I must remember that the next time I get cold called.
ReplyDelete