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Thursday 24 March 2011

How Ross Amuses Himself

Most people do not enjoy talking to telemarketers.  They avoid the calls, hang up once they realize it's a telemarketing call, or even join the no-call registry.

Not Ross who says,  "What would be the fun in that?"  (Literally. He said that.)

Today, my husband answered the phone and I quickly noticed that gleam in his eye that meant one thing.  A telemarketer was on the line.  It took me months to get used to it.  Here's what I heard of the conversation:

Ross:  Who is it?
<pause>
Oh, is it?  
<pause>
No.  We don't use gas or electricity.
<pause>
No. We're water powered.
<pause>
No.  I said we don't use a gas or electricity provider.  We've got a chap in the back on a bicycle.
<pause>
No, not Scottish Power
<pause>
Alright, thanks.  Yep.  Bye-bye.

So the goal of the exercise is to: a) see how long you can keep them on the line and b) get THEM to hang up.  It's amazing how hard part B is.  Seriously.

Once someone called to sell us new windows in our rental flat.  Ross kept them on the line for ages.  They asked how many windows we had and he said "Let me go count".  He then left the phone of the hook for a bit, checking in intermittently and saying "Just another minute".  Finally, he came back to the phone and said, "What was the question, again?"

It makes him gleeful!  He loves it and hates it all at once.  It's fun to watch.  

Does anyone else out there like to torment telemarketers?  If so, what do you like to do to them?
How about anyone else's husband taking pleasure in a bizarre game of his own devising?


3 comments:

  1. I can just picture Ross on the phone!

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  2. When I talk to mostly AT&T customer service, most times I get someone from India. So I chat about how things are going in India, what city is he from, how the weather is, if India has any chance of winning the cricket match or the cricket worldcup....it's fun....

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  3. My mother used to tell telemarketers that we were going away on vacation and wouldn't be back for a year. Esp. when the newpaper used to call. Thank God for caller ID!

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