Today I was thinking about the dreaded telemarketers. Ever since the
no-call list was invented their tactics have become, well, rather
deceptive. Take for instance collections. I always let my medical
bills go to the first level of collections before I pay them (with
good reason, medical bills can be floating in the claims systems and
never get the full benefits, only when it goes to collections can you
be sure they've tried everything). What ends up happening is I get a
recorded message on my answering machine saying, "please call us for
an important matter". I suppose if they said who they were people
would never call. Problem is, if they said who they were I would call,
when they don't tell me who they are I don't call. Also take the
dreaded Timeshare scam. They are the most ruthless people I ever
talked to. Yesterday I get a postcard in the mail "Brain Bass - you
have won $500 or a Vacation or a Car or Money, please call". I made
the dreaded mistake of calling them. The guy wants to schedule me to
visit their timeshare in east-Texas. Then he says I am a guaranteed
winner. (I heard that you win $800 worth of coupons for the resort).
So as I talk to him I look up his company on the net. I found this
website called "Crimeshare" and it listed his company. Then he said
they are a multi-million dollar company and kept on asking me what
time I wanted to come in. So I said, "No Thanks" and hung up the
phone. You might, ok thats the end of that. Right after it, the guy
ends up calling me back! I couldn't believe it. Never has a
telemarketer called me back after I said no. I listed all the reasons
why I wouldn't go and then said "I'm hanging up now, please don't call
me back". And he hasn't. But golly, that is persistence. I think I
actually got mad. If you know me, you know me getting mad is a very
rare thing. I kinda admire the little fellow, wrawling me up and all.
Who knows, maybe I convinced him to quit his job.

Thought of the Day
"You know what they say, 'You don't sell the steak, you sell the sizzle.'"
- Kramer, in "The Bizarro Jerry"