I am so sick of sales calls! They are nothing new, but lately the sheer volume of them seems to have sky rocketed. They are constant - on my land line, at work and now (oh joy!) even on my mobile.
This week alone I have been told all about the car crash I was in (I wasn't), the bank charges I've accrued (I haven't), and of course the dreaded PPI (which I don't have. Also, I don't live on Jupiter, which is how far away I would need to be to have not heard about this!). And don't even get me started on the recorded message I get bothered with at least once a day about PPI. I have been told to switch energy companies, mobile phone providers (twice), and my personal favourite? The company that is going to fix my terrible credit rating and financial ruin (which I'm not quite in just yet lol) by giving me - wait for it - a credit card! Tuesday I was at work, and I'm not supposed to be on my mobile phone. It was in my bag and I heard it ring. It stopped and then started straight back up again. Several times. I was a little alarmed. For someone to do that, I figured it must be pretty important. I sneaked it out to check, and had 6 missed calls all within a second or 2 of each other and all from the same number. The number had a local area code which further worried me. I called the number back and had the following conversation:
Them: Hello (company name I didn't quite catch) how can I help you?
Me: Sorry who are you?
Them: Company name
Me: (relieved and annoyed in equal measure) You have got to be kidding me!
Them: Excuse me?
Me: I have had 6 missed calls off you one after the other. I thought someone was dead! What do you want?
Them: Oh, that wasn't me *pause* We would like to help you claim compensation for the recent road accident you where involved in
Me: *hangs up*
I mean seriously? Even I had been involved in an accident (and you know, just sat about waiting for someone to call me rather than calling a solicitor myself), did they really think that tactic was going to encourage me to do business with them? I think not.
Generally, I try not to be too rude or hang up on sales callers - after all they are only doing their job, but there's a line, and more often than not, sales people cross it. If you work in sales, and want a pleasant exchange, please follow the below guidelines:
- When I tell you I'm not interested, apologise for wasting my time (because you have) and say goodbye. Don't keep banging on. It's not going to change my mind, it's just going to irritate me. If, in the future, I do decide I want whatever you're selling I am not going to give my business to people who don't understand basic communication prompts like no thank you!
- When I refuse to tell you which company currently provide certain services, or how much I pay for them don't get knarky - it's none of your business.
- When I tell you I don't want to complete your survey don't just repeat the request again, or even worse, start anyway! Here's a novel idea - if you want market research, pay for it like decent companies do!
If you follow the above, it also works for you too:
- You can move on to someone who might actually want whatever you're selling
- You are less likely to be sworn at or hung up on
- If I have a bit of time to kill, I am much less likely to play with you and let you think your pitch is working for 20 minutes then hang up
Alternatively, do us both a favour and STOP calling me!
Do sales calls drive you mental? Do you do this for a living? If you do, let me know in the comments what it's like from your side (I promise I'll play nicely!)
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