How To Deal with Telemarketers

photo by givepeasachance

Nobody wants to talk to a telemarketer. They always want to sell you something and are ferocious in keeping you on the phone. People shout at them, bang the phone on them, and reject them at all costs.

I should know, I was a telemarketer--setting up appointments for free water tests.

Rejection on a daily basis, I can take. But cussing, I cannot.

And so when this angry man picked up his phone and called me a b@#ch because I interrupted his dinner, I ran to the bathroom and cried like a baby.

I did not come here to take dead-end jobs and be cussed at. No one cusses me in Manila and get away with it, I told myself, ready to flush out all my manners at the toilet I was staring at.

Sales is my weakness. I usually end up buying it for the person. I can only sell if I am fund-raising. So never ko pinangarap to do sales and meet a quota.

"Kakapal talaga ang mukha mo, (Your face will get thick-skinned)" said my brother M, a Manhattan corporate drone. He wears black, walks fast, makes no eye contact with other human beings, and shouts at the homeless, bearded men who hassle him for change. "Or else, they will eat you alive here."

Pero ayokong kumapal ang mukha ko (But I don't want to be thick-skinned), I thought. I did not want to change into some loud-talking person with no manners and compassion. It is important to me to to think before I speak and speak only in a positive way. There had to be a way to survive the States with kindness and compassion.

So while I am figuring that out, here are some tips on how to deal with telemarketers without losing your soul:

1. Tell them firmly that you are not interested--you have the option to hang up if they are pesky. Remember, we are trained to be that way. It is our job, not a personal attack on you. When you hang up they cannot call you back anymore (at least for the day).

2. If they call everyday, tell them you want to be taken off their call list--If they call you in spite of your request, they stand to face a hefty fine.

3. If you do not want to speak to them at all, do not pick up the phone. (Screen with Caller ID). They will stop calling you after a month, when their list expires.

In the meantime, try not to shoot the messenger. Do not unload the bad day you had at work on them. No need to shout at them, just hang up. No need to insult and cuss them. Remember, they know your phone number and address, so be careful who you cuss.

I have since moved on to a research job, which is more fulfilling. But I have learned a lot in my one month of telemarketing. I learned that when you treat people with respect, they respond. (I hit my quota every week, surprise!). I learned that many people are very lonely here in the States.

And I learned that I need not cuss back, nor plot revenge on the man who cussed me. I just did not take it personally--and in that way, kumapal nga ang mukha ko.