I guess I'm feeling guilty for being a little insensitive by possibly poking fun at telephone solicitors with maybe a Delhi or possibly Punjab accent with their spoken English. I don't guess it's bothering me too much, but I'm posting about it...so I guess I'm getting it off of my chest.
You see I get about eight or ten phone calls a day, all with the oh-so-familiar VOIP background noise. With my uneducated ear I'm guessing they've all probably originated in India. I generally tell them I'm not interested in anything they've got to say and hang up. But today I decided to "chat" a bit with them.
Today when they announced themselves and I'm pretty sure of their nationality I've told them, "Hey, congratulations with that thing on the moon. That's pretty cool." This of course is a reference to India's recent accomplishment of landing a spacecraft on the moon.
Reactions were varied. I had two hang-ups, two had to ask me to repeat myself, and one just plowed ahead with his pitch as if I wasn't there. One of the two that wanted me to repeat myself eventually hung up...and the other actually told me "thank you" and that he thought it was also cool. I had to explain to him though that my roof was only a year old and I didn't need one of their free inspections... 😉
Hello, States Attorney Office, Fraud Division, how can I help you today ?
"The older I get, the better I used to be" : )
Being retired I just don't even answer the phone anymore. After the answer machine fills up a light starts blinking to let me know it's time to erase everything and start over again. Anybody I want to talk to has my cell number.
Being retired I just don't even answer the phone anymore.
I'm still working, but I don't answer the phone anymore either, unless it's from someone in my contacts I want to speak to at the moment. The S/N ratio is just too small these days.
If it's important they'll leave a message, and I'll call back later.
P.S. I ditched the business land line years ago, that number forwards to my cell phone. So the above pertains to clients and prospective clients, as well as friends and family.
Take another Okie's approach to it. Hunt up the lyrics if need be.
I get, at least, 50 bogus calls for every real one. So I no longer answer calls from numbers that are not in my contact list. Period. If you are not in my list and want to speak to me, text or call and leave a message. I'll call back. And I'll add you to the list for the future.
