Has this happened to anyone else??!!

Several times I have received phone calls from a media marketing company that wishes to do media marketing research in the form of an interview (with my Swiss husband) that will take between 30 and 45 minutes. They call usually when he is working, although the interviewer has told me she would be happy to call on Saturday.

I have told them EVERY TIME they call that we are not interested, that my husband is not interested, that they should take us off the list and so on. I was surprised to hear the rather bold response that they `will keep on calling until they reach my husband personally` and `he tells them himself that he is not interested.`

`He needs to decide for himself,` the marketing interviewer told me today. I told her that he had indeed decided for himself and he is not interested. She kept on and on asking if he had told this to someone from the firm himself. WTF?

Usually a simple request like `Remove me from your list is satisfactory` but obviously not with this company!

I am still relatively new here and as a newcomer, I am probably a bit more gracious than I would be in my country. I am beginning to feel harassed! Why will they not simply stop calling?

Here we go again.

Speak to them in English and tell them to f*** off and hang up. You'll feel great!

Is it the same person that keeps on ringing? How often do they call? Do they know any details about your hubby, eg his first name?

It seems that there are a few options, for example:

1. Get the name/number of the person that calls, and get hubby to call them back.

2. Shout at them to **** off and to stop calling, and slam down the phone.
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3. Next time they call, say: yes I'll get him for you. Put the phone down, and then go to the shops. Repeat as needed.

4. Call the company yourself and ask to be put through to their complaints department, or their helpdesk.

5. Tell the person that next time they ring this number you will send them a bill for your time. Follow this up with a registered letter addressed to the company, saying that, as per the conversation with person xxx at time ---- on date yyy, you will treat any calls to your work phone number zzz to be a callout, and you will invoice them CHF 1500 (plus tax) for the pleasure. Also mention that any subsequent calls from them to your number will be considered acceptance of these conditions. This may not be legal in CH - I dunno.

6. In any case, 30-45 minutes is a long time to give something for free to a big company. Tell them you will bill them anyway for that time, and that hubby will only be interviewed if he gets paid for it. In advance. Be mercenary.

Use your imagination...

You guys are polite, guess I'm a savage and have absolutely no qualms telling them "Never call here again or face legal action!" SLAM!!!! Works every time. Hate that stuff.

There was a poster who recently said she tends to pass the phone to her little girl when it's a telemarketer - I think that's the best idea yet....I just picture the person on the other end trying to understand why a little person is babbling incoherently to them....

I so feel for you...

Do you have an answering machine... We screen our calls... If a number pops up we don't know we let the machine pick it up..

Also I normally say I am sorry I don't speak German if I happen to answer.


If it was in the US I would ask for the manager who ever is in charge and file a complaint... maybe you can do that...

hey ladies & gentlemen,

pls give these telemarketers a break !!!! they're just trying to make a living.

Not sure about switzerland but in most countries, the telemarketers are paid basing on the 'successful' and 'valid' calls made, before they could make you to purchase anything. I bet they don't (like most of us) enjoy working in evening or saturaday and talk to a stranger for 30-40 mins. I feel sorry for them even by imagining someone scream/yell/speak foul languages to them while they're just trying to do their job.

sonnyk, I do empathise your situation....as I receive telemarketer every other days here too...why don't you try this as it proves to work quite often.

1. Pretend you don't speak German (i assume they're mostly German speaking staff). Ich verstehe nicht ....followed by english..

2. Then, pretend you don't speak English, if the telemarkets changed to English. If your English is mother tongue, speak something nonsense and wrong grammar and they will go away.

3. Proceed to the research but normally the first question normally start with like has any of your family members work in the following....you just say yes when it comes to research/marketing job as you would be rated as disqualified on a normal research. this could close their research work and avoid them to call you again to follow up.

4. If '3' doesn't work, answer in a way that you're not the user of anything and they will stop.

5. Or last re-sort, hang up the phone but pls save the ego of the caller...just say you don't want to do the research and bye.

don't even think about digging to the ultimate sources having your name unless you plan not to exist in the planet. With the communication network today, your name would easily be captured by many sources and passed to other companies that you could hardly trace it.

Next time they call and get arsey wanting to talk to your husband burst into tears simply scream, "He's gone off with his bitch of a secretary, you heartless cow! If you do find him please call me back and give me his number, he's left me here with our 9 kids to support."

Tell them you & your husband work for a market research company. So you can not participate in their work. They should stop calling you.

When people like that ring i always say i am sorry i am English, it works everytime they put the phone down on me, and as i have a phone that tells me the phone numbers i simply register that number under nuisance caller.

Technically they are not allowed to put the phone down on you, it is you that has to hang up.

If you're bored, make a tall G&T, light a big cigar and keep them on the phone.

They ALWAYS put the phone down on me they probably think i do not understand German and what company they where from so they just put the phone down.

You should use that questionaire Lob posted.

Ha ha thanks will try that next time.

Yeah, just like people who are hardened career criminals. All they want to do is make a little money, and if they need to use menaces, then they just see it as part of their job...

Sorry, but if someone phoned me up and acted in the same way as they did to the OP, then f*** 'em.

Recently a tele-marketer called and asked for my father, I told him that I only spoke English, then I farted into the phone and asked him if he heard it. He hung up on me.

It worked for me. It's all about the timing though, if you don't have to let one rip, then you're likely sol. Or there's always this method...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpRthRsWkXo

If I were you, I speak chinese man! Or invent some alien language! muahahahahaha...

These ppl will never stop calling. There's several times they call back DEMANDING why I put down the phone. I'm like; its my phone, and I'm clearly not interested.

What I really don't like is this so called tactic; Hello! I'm so and so. You asked me to call you. Don't you remember? sheesh....

Next time they ask for your husband, tearfully inform them that he was cremated a week ago.

Cheers,

Nick

just say you'll get him then speak in an obviously fake male voice