100 days – Day 85: Telephone Call Centres
100 days – Day 85: Telephone nuisance calls.
Boy, have I had quite a few in the last few days – some the silent ones; others “International” (usually “Mike” or “Robert” with a sometimes impenetrable Indian accent) or, today, “Number Withheld -Private Caller”: this one about new windows and door frames and the caller was Scottish! I’m patriotic, but not daft! After listening politely to the spiel and declining their kind offer, I was still informed that “one of my colleagues will phone you later to explain the technical details” I said that this wouldn’t be necessary, as I wasn’t interested…… half an hour later – yep, you’ve guessed it; that time I was less polite. (I may have mentioned that I was happy enough with “Windows 7”)
Ah, the call “We’re phoning about your “Windows Computer” – usual answer, “I used an iPad most of the time” (True). However, I had a ding dong “conversation” a few weeks ago, when industrial strength language was resorted to – and backwards and forwards we went, at one point my parentage being called into question; the call ending with my suggesting that the gentleman from the sub-Continent do something to himself that is physically impossible.
One call from a couple of years back was more than inappropriate. The foreign caller asked to speak to “Mrs StraCHAN” (they rarely can pronounce our surname), and I replied that my wife had died just a month before. Reply, “Oh, then, is that Mr StraCHAN? Would you be interested in taking a survey?” I told him to – well, never mind!
Yesterday, “Am I speaking to Mr StraCHAN” (here we go again) Truthful answer,”No” (’cause that’s not how one pronounces my name.) “Are you a family member?” was the come-back. Answer, “No but we’re VERY close , if you get my drift….” Phone call ends abruptly.
Some friends have put their toddler children on the line; others have asked them to hold – then have gone off to make a cup of coffee; some have replied in dog-Gaelic; acquaintances have engaged them in polite conversation about the weather where they are or what they plan to have for their lunch/evening meal.
I’ve tried referring them to the fact that they’re in breach of “Section 4, subsection 5, of the Telephonic Communications Act, 1998” – try “Googling that! 😉
I did once elicit the reply that the call was coming from Mumbai and said to the guy calling from there, “I assume that you are Hindu? – followed up in my best Rev Iain Paisley imitation: “I PRAY THAT YOU FIND JESUUUUUUS!”
Even although I’m registered with The Telephone Preference Service (TPS), the volume of calls has increased recently. So today I phoned BT and ordered two of their new DECT phones which incorporate the blocking of such nuisance calls.
This, however, is the best way to deal with this nonsense:
postscript : this is TRUE: I was just finishing this blog entry when the phone rang. Can you guess? “Number Withheld – Private Caller”!!!!!
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