And you think I'm going to give you money now?!?

[sarahsthreads]

This morning I woke up to the phone ringing with the long-distance/out-of-area ring. I squint over at the clock and see it's 8:00. Well, the last time someone called us at 8:00 it was a friend who had some really bad news - she was just waiting for a decent hour to call - so I dragged myself out of bed to get the phone and its...

...the "benevolent" association of police officers.

The guy had the nerve to ask how I was, after making me say "hello" a few times, so I told him honestly. I said, "It's 8:00 on the Saturday morning of a three-day weekend. I thought the phone was ringing because of an emergency. You've just woken up my dogs and my toddler, and I hope you have a very happy new year." Click.

It took me several minutes to get my heartrate back under control, because I really was expecting bad news.

I know I shouldn't complain, since my DD does let me sleep "late" (when did 8:30 become late?), but still. Who calls to ask for money at 8:00 on a Saturday morning of a holiday weekend?!? If I'd known I was going to be so rudely awoken I might have gone to bed before 1:30...

Sarah :)

[cmdunn1972]

Ouch! Sorry you were awokened that way this morning. Does your DD still take a nap in the afternoons? I know that's not the same thing, but maybe it'd be worth taking advantage of today. Spend it getting a little "me" time or taking a nap yourself... or planning a getaway (no solicitation calls in hotel rooms or on cruise ships!).

[jgriffin]

Complain away, that's just rude! Even though I'm usually awake before 7, I put on my "just woke up" voice if someone I don't know calls before 9 on a weekend. And just because *I'm* awake doesn't mean everyone else in the house is.

I think you had a great response!

Jen

[Jenn98]

not to hijack, but the symphony called late one night (after 8pm) recently and was badgering me to buy tickets. When I told him that I was due with my second baby within days of their season starting he had the nerve to say, "Some people will use any excuse." I was floored! Some people can be so rude - calling at 8am is a dirty trick if you ask me. I'd be mad, too.

[bubbaray]

Niiiice. That sucks!

I feel your pain on the sleeping in thing. I "got" to sleep in to 7:45am today. The longest I've slept in since DD#1 was born (she usually wakes at 6am). Remember the days of sleeping until close to noon??? What happened to that?!


Melissa

DD#1: 04/2004

DD#2: c/s 01/2007

[sdoyle]

Ewwwww! Shame on them!! The only thing I hate worse than calls for $$, are calls for $$$ that wake me, DD, or the dog. Great response, though. Can I use that one??

Stacy

[elizabethkott]

I've registered our home phone number and both cell phones with the National Do Not Call Registery.
When we do get the occasional telemarketing call, I actually take great pleasure in answering the phone now, and cutting off their sales pitch once I've gotten the name of the organization with, "Thank you very much for letting me know your organization's name. Are you aware that the phone number you have just called is registered with the National Do Not Call Registery, and that it is ILLEGAL for you to have called this number? I will be reporting you to the registery today."
Most of them hang up at this point.
:)
And then I log on to the website and report the name of the organization along with the number they called from, thanks to caller id.
I love modern technology sometimes.
:)

[sarahsthreads]

We're on the do not call registry. I thought there were some organizations who were exempt? And my caller ID just listed the number as "out of area". Believe me, if I'd been actually awake and coherent I would have at least told them to never call our number again, but I went from asleep to completely outraged in 10 seconds and couldn't think straight. ;)

I have to admit, looking back on it I do feel a little badly about how I reacted. I mean, the guy was just doing his job, and I don't know for certain but I don't imagine many kids think "hey, I want to be a telemarketer when I grow up!" so it probably wasn't his first choice of careers. It must really suck to be on the receiving end of tirades like the one I delivered this morning.

But still. 8:00 on a Saturday morning. Grumble.

Sarah :)

[tarabenet]

Ya know, I used to think that way too, and feel badly for the people who were stuck doing that work. But then I realized that no one is forced to take a particular job. Not my fault they chose the phone bank job over plenty of other, arguably more useful things they could have chosen. I'm sure it sucks to get that kind of response, but really now, it's not like you sought him out to yell at him. It is just one of the (many) downsides to the job he chose. He can choose differently. After all, I don't have a phone in order to allow strangers to accost me at whim, either!

Deep breaths for a second. Let go of feeling guilty. And let go of being angry. He was an annonymous stranger who inserted his voice where it wasn't welcome. End of story. He's already taken way more of your time and energy than he ever deserved.

Before I get flamed or something: my response to those calls (and yes, I'm on both the state and national "Do Not Call" lists), is simply a polite "I'm not interested. Thank you." And I gently hang up the phone.

[elaineandmichaelsmommy]

I totally agree with you,I really hate it when i'm in the middle of a diaper change and it happens. Except that since my dh is hispanic our calls come in spanish...boy isn't that fun. you have my sympathy.

jen

[ShanaMama]

We are on the do not call list, but over this weekend alone I got three calls from automated systems. How do you get them stop calling?

Btw, Sarah, I think that was a great response. Totally do not feel guilty. My mother sometimes tells the telemarketer "This is actually not a good time for me, but why don't you give me your home number so I can call back during dinner?"
That's gotten some great flabbergasted responses.

[snowflake20]

DNC only works for people selling something. Charity, political messages, etc are not included with DNC.

The worst is when they call you by your first name. When I was 8 months pregnant and hormonal, a young woman calls up and says
"hi, is DH home?" I was like WHO THE F ARE YOU? Hahahaha. It was his stupid college calling for donations. Whatever.