I like not being on the do not call list

[fortyfeetunder]

Because it gets me messing with the telemarketers.

Tonight this company with an out of state area code calls wanting to sell me some windows. The sales pitch was the windows are made of vinyl so they would not "convect" as much heat as metals. I stopped him right there, and asked, "you mean conduct, right? Convection is air movement" I cut this one off, I don't need new windows. Especially from someone who does not know enough about the product.

there are times when having a science degree comes in handy...

[Maddy McCall]

1. LOL!

I used to like to ask them for personal information. "Wait, let me ask you a question: Where do you live? Are you registered to vote? Can I get your number so that I can call you the next time my organization does fund raising?"

9 times out of 10 they will hang up on me.

[fortyfeetunder]

5. here was my favorite

A certain book company called me many years ago giving me a sales pitch on their handyman set of books.

I let him go on with the pitch and, then when asked for any questions, asked, do you sell those in Braille? You could hear the air deflate at the other end. He apologized and we completed our conversation. Never got a call back from this company again.

I wasn't making fun of blindness, but telemarketers need to get a grip that not everyone can actually *use* the products they sell.

[girl gone mad]

2. "there are times when having a science degree comes in handy"

Oh, how I wish it were true. :)

[Rabrrrrrr]

3. No, really, there ARE a lot of times it comes in handy

Can't tell you how many times I thank God I have one, even though I'm in a totally different profession now.

[Thor_MN]

4. I agree, it comes in handy, but it doesn't pay my bills...

BTW, I used to like to see if I could ask enough questions to get the telemarketers to hang up on me.

[fortyfeetunder]

6. Oh, no you are not supposed to talk!

your job is to listen, to their pitch and buy their product...

[Rabrrrrrr]

10. LOL! I listened to one once for about 30 minutes,

and asked a few questions (not obnoxious, just "clueless" kind) and at the end of the spiel, I said, "Wow - that's an amazing scam you've worked up" and spelled the whole scam out for the guy over the course of about a minute, then I said, "No thanks." Back when I had more time, I used to LOVE to keep them on the line for a half hour at a time, then either destory their program, or just say "Eh, you know what? Nah."

(this was back in the 80s when I used to get, for whatever reason, a lot of calls from penny stock brokers AND people who were selling gold, or gold certificates, or some weird crap like that).

[Liberal Christian]

8. Yeah, for instance

it helps you recommend totally weird novels like Cryptonomicon to your totally non-scientific friends (who actually end up liking it) and write weird scientific formulas in crayon on restaurant tablecloths.

[Rabrrrrrr]

9. One does what one is called to do!

And those equations contained a WEALTH of information reduced to just a few symbols.

Efficient, isn't it?

:-)

(And I am glad you liked Cryptonomicon)

[corporatewhore]

7. I sometimes do outrageous bad accents they get annoyed and hangup