Cramming, slamming, telemarketing, annoying …
Anymore when my home phone rings I am ready to repel, poised to protect. As a result, I recently had a conversation that went something like this:
Hello Ms. Eichner this is Bob with Dodge City Days.
We don’t want to buy a car.
Excuse me?
Didn’t you say Dodge City Days?
No, this is the Archdiocese … calling about your donation …
On this particular occasion I was very embarrassed for being so rude, but even charity over the phone is bad. You give $20 to one group and suddenly you are on the phone list for a dozen other groups.
I am the phone Nazi. I don’t want to be this type of person, this ugly, mean, defensive person … but I am sick of it!
For years the telemarketers alone were enough to drive you crazy. Now, not only are people trying to push you into things over the phone there are other people trying to trick you into things.
About once a week it seems I get this type of call:
Ms. Eichner, this is Carl calling to help you save money on your XYZ (major long distance carrier I don’t want to plug in this column) phone bill.
Do you work for XYZ?
Well no …
I am not interested in changing my service from XYZ.
Ms. Eichner, you are not interested in saving 20 percent a month …
I am not interested in switching my service from XYZ.
But I don’t know why you just don’t try it …
I am not interested in switching my service and by the way I work in telecom and I am very aware of slamming and if you switch my service you are going to hear about it!
Click!
And now we don’t only have to watch out for the sellers and the slammers, we have to read every line of our phone bills or fall victim to the crammers, sneaking charges into our bills on behalf of third-party service providers.
Suddenly that idea about dropping landline service and switching to just wireless makes a lot of sense. It also makes calling party pays a more attractive idea. My husband and my mother might pay to talk to me, but I have a feeling that Carl and even Bob would not.
Okay. The FCC has recently set up guidelines to prevent cramming and the carriers are all very supportive. That’s nice.
To me, it all goes back to customer service. Mail me a pretty brochure describing the new phone services that are available to me and I’ll call if I want them. Don’t call during dinner to ram them down my throat. The telephone is my tool to communicate with the world. It is not a welcome mat to intrude into my home.
Behemoth carriers of the not-so-distant future, are you listening?
