Tag: telemarketers

Do Not Call Me, Asshole

The Australian Government have finally set up a Do Not Call Register for those of us who do not want to be harassed by telemarketers at home, etc. It’s due to come into effect in June and marketers who call a number on the list will be fined – even if they’re overseas. Unfortunately, politicians, pollsters, religious organisations and registered charities can still call you, so it’s not perfect yet. At least it’s a start.

The register opened today and the website was supposed to handle 70,000 submissions an hour, but it looks like it suffered a meltdown under the crush of people racing to register. It’s working now and I’ve logged our number.

Now to get them to expand it so there’s a “Bar Everyone” option so those who aren’t barred yet can be turned off. Over half the annoying calls aren’t telemarketers, they’re the rest of the bunch (especially the charities and religious lot).

Filtering the telemarketers :)

Don’t you just hate it when those dreaded telemarketers call your house, usually about the time you’re preparing or eating dinner? Fortunately for Kitt and I, Nykolai has become a most excellent filter of such calls.

Here at home, we’ll be busy in the kitchen preparing dinner and the phone rings. Nykolai drops what he’s doing and heads to the phone, answering it with a polite “Hello.” Some days its friends or family, but usually it’s a telemarketer.

Most of them just give up when they hear the young voice, but some push on, asking to speak to “mom or dad” – hah! His first question is usually “Are you selling something?” – most of the callers drop out at this point, realising that they’ve been beaten. A few try to push on, but again, he asks what they’re selling. Those who make it past this are either friends he hasn’t recognised or people seeking donations.

Kitt and I are so very very happy with Nykolai’s filtering capabilities – we figure that if he keeps this up, our number will be dropped from lists faster than if we answered the phone “Hello, telemarketers will be charged for our time taking this call at a rate of $500 per hour in minimum 5 minute blocks – your clock starts now…”

Gotta love kids :)