Not lying, but avoiding unwanted phone calls

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lakotak

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I have a question to put out for opinions or knowledge.

I have one phone in my house that is a land line and no caller ID. I get a lot of unwanted calls. When I am in the basement I can’t see who is calling.

The question is: If I answer and tell the company or whomever on the other end of the line that she is not available, when in my mind I am saying she is not available to you. Would I be lying? I really don’t want to be rude to these people, but I don’t want to have my time taken up either. I am just looking for a way without lying and without being rude to not have to deal with them, if I do answer the phone.

Any suggestions???

Thanks,
 
If you tell them “she isn’t available”, they may call back. The person on the phone is trying to find customers, and you’d be doing him a favor by telling him that you’re not interested. As soon as the caller identifies himself, just say, “I’m not interested,” and hang up.

Your phone is for your convenience. It isn’t an open door for every solicitor in the world. If you want to talk to whoever calls, swell, but you don’t have to talk to strangers who intrude on your day. You don’t have to explain, or try to reason with anyone. Just say you’re not interested and end the call. You can also let your answering machine answer the call and call back when it’s convenient for you.
 
It sounds like it would be money well spent for you to buy an answering machine.

In the olden days, the butler would let you know so and so has called (meaning shown up at your door), and you had the option to tell the butler whether you were recieving callers or not. Basically, that is what the answering machine does for us in modern times, screens who we want to see (talk to right at that moment), or not.

Just because someone wants to talk to you right then, does not mean that you have to talk to them right then. An answering machine would screen out the unwanted calls, and the calls you wish to return could be done at a more convenient time. You can also go on line and put your name and number on a "Do not call list’, and it will cut down on the annoying sales calls.
 
While I know this isn’t everyone’s favorite idea, I’d get a cell phone and ditch the landline.

I really do hate solicitations at home. I got a cell phone (so i don’t have to get up from my work to answer my phone or pay exorbitant amounts of money for LD calls) and now I don’t get solicitation calls at all. I also think there is a list you can add your number to that is a “do not call” list, and if they call anyway, they can face legal ramifications.
 
Get an answering machine with caller ID on it. Let your calls go to the answering machine.

Telemarketing companies rarely (or never) have their employees leave messages and will eventually remove your number from their calling list.
 
How about simply telling the truth, “Im sorry she doesnt want to speak to you.” and then hang up. Be firm and clear: there is nothing wrong with you not wishing to speak to whomever has taken it upon themselves to contact you privately so that they can make money.
 
lakotak said:
I have a question to put out for opinions or knowledge.

I have one phone in my house that is a land line and no caller ID. I get a lot of unwanted calls. When I am in the basement I can’t see who is calling.

The question is: If I answer and tell the company or whomever on the other end of the line that she is not available, when in my mind I am saying she is not available to you. Would I be lying? ** I really don’t want to be rude** to these people, but I don’t want to have my time taken up either. I am just looking for a way without lying and without being rude to not have to deal with them, if I do answer the phone.

Any suggestions???

Thanks,
Click to expand...
You are treating the exchange as if it is a conversation entered into between two willing individuals who both stand to gain from it. It is not. It is a business preying upon your sense of politeness and imposing itself upon you so that it can make money.
How about simply telling the truth? Be firm and clear: “Im sorry she doesnt want to speak to you. Please do not call back.” and then hang up. There is nothing wrong with you not wishing to speak to whomever has taken it upon themselves to contact you privately so that they can make money.
 
KostyaJMJ said:
Use donotcall.gov/ and then give it a couple of months and all of the calls should stop.
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Absolutely register with this site. ALL your phones, including cells because they can call you on your cell phone. We bought my mom a cell phone for Christmas and she hadn’t had it more than a day and she was getting telemarketers calling her.
 
lakotak said:
I have a question to put out for opinions or knowledge.

I have one phone in my house that is a land line and no caller ID. I get a lot of unwanted calls. When I am in the basement I can’t see who is calling.

The question is: If I answer and tell the company or whomever on the other end of the line that she is not available, when in my mind I am saying she is not available to you. Would I be lying? I really don’t want to be rude to these people, but I don’t want to have my time taken up either. I am just looking for a way without lying and without being rude to not have to deal with them, if I do answer the phone.

Any suggestions???

Thanks,
Click to expand...
I don’t like sales calls, either, and not just because they’re annoying, but because any random person could call you up pretending to be from this or that company, and get information from you that would make it easy for him or her to steal your identity. It’s not worth the risk.

If it’s something you’d be interested in, tell the person to mail you a flyer listing their offer to the address listed in their records, and you will consider their offer in that way. If they ask you for account information of any kind, simply tell them that you don’t conduct financial transactions over the phone.
 
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