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walbournI absolutely hate telemarketing. A phone is a private thing, a terminus that contacts with one personally. It should not be an instrument of invading my house with yet more 'marcomm' crap. I don't bother to answer the phone 99% of the time. I routinely get multiple rings and hang-ups a day, and a occasional messages from a pre-recorded voice. Every now and then I'm expecting a call and I answer, and pretty much every time is it a f****** telemarker. At this point, I make a habit of screening calls and if someone wants to reach me, IM or my cel is more likely to get an immediate response.
I realize that marketing is a bitch these days. I realize that most people skip commercials on TV if they can--thank the gods for VCRs, Replays, and Tivo. I also realize that people are desperate enough for work that they will take a tele-marketing job. Nobody in their right mind responds to this kind of thing unless they are (a) putting you on or (b) incredibly gullible. Do we as a society have to support the idea that some portion of our population should be 'gainfully' employed by fleecing the gullible portion of our population? Can we not just get both groups to do something more productive with their time?! Is it not enough that television is 40% commercials on hundreds of channels that some may choose to view if they are remotely interested in the content, that the majority of magazine content is nearly indistinguishable from the paid advertising, that every highway in America (and around the world) is within sight of corporate product advertisement, that every major portal site and Internet news/entertainment source is littered with pop-ups and banner ads, that every newspaper in the nation has large advertisement sections and inserts?
Telemarketing desensitizes people to the phone ringing. What was once a sign that someone you cared to hear from was trying to reach you is now just an irritating sound indicating that someone made a buck off selling you private information that you probably didn't tell them they could sell.
And while we are on the topic, what's up with the USPS not allowing people to opt-out of this "RESIDENT"-addressed crap. My mailbox is routinely filled with trash. Literally trash. I never read it. I don't look at it except to see who sent it so I can tell them to stop it. It goes immediately into the recycling bin and probably isn't worth burning. The problem is that almost all the junk is addressed to "RESIDENT" and the sender has no recourse for excluding me from the mailing list thanks to USPS policy.
And don't even get me started in the topic of spam!
If we switched to an entirely 'opt-in' approach to advertising, would our society really suffer that much? If I wanted to know what was the best model of car at some particularly point when I'm in the need for one, I'm sure I could find information on all the available brands by going down to the car-dealer or doing an Internet search. If I don't have the need for one, then I sure as hell shouldn't go out and put myself into $15,000 plus of debt on a whim or because I'm "bored" with my current one! If I want a washing machine, I can research it. If I want a cool colored pen, I'd go to an office-supply store! If I want a singles service, I'd looked one up on the Internet.
Maybe we were better off with usury as a crime punishable by stoning to death... At least then the impetus to get me to spend money I don't have on crap I don't need wouldn't be making so many financial services companies rich.
Editor's Note: I realize that my vocation is creating questionably socially relevant fluff electronic entertainment. I know, however, that you won't be getting a call at home in the evenings with someone trying to sell you an Xbox game.
Editor's Note: Yes I have sent in an 'opt-out' request to the DMA for both their tele-marking and junk mailing list. I understand it can take as much as six months to get on the list and that actually using it to filter call lists is optional for companies. Sigh.
I realize that marketing is a bitch these days. I realize that most people skip commercials on TV if they can--thank the gods for VCRs, Replays, and Tivo. I also realize that people are desperate enough for work that they will take a tele-marketing job. Nobody in their right mind responds to this kind of thing unless they are (a) putting you on or (b) incredibly gullible. Do we as a society have to support the idea that some portion of our population should be 'gainfully' employed by fleecing the gullible portion of our population? Can we not just get both groups to do something more productive with their time?! Is it not enough that television is 40% commercials on hundreds of channels that some may choose to view if they are remotely interested in the content, that the majority of magazine content is nearly indistinguishable from the paid advertising, that every highway in America (and around the world) is within sight of corporate product advertisement, that every major portal site and Internet news/entertainment source is littered with pop-ups and banner ads, that every newspaper in the nation has large advertisement sections and inserts?
Telemarketing desensitizes people to the phone ringing. What was once a sign that someone you cared to hear from was trying to reach you is now just an irritating sound indicating that someone made a buck off selling you private information that you probably didn't tell them they could sell.
And while we are on the topic, what's up with the USPS not allowing people to opt-out of this "RESIDENT"-addressed crap. My mailbox is routinely filled with trash. Literally trash. I never read it. I don't look at it except to see who sent it so I can tell them to stop it. It goes immediately into the recycling bin and probably isn't worth burning. The problem is that almost all the junk is addressed to "RESIDENT" and the sender has no recourse for excluding me from the mailing list thanks to USPS policy.
And don't even get me started in the topic of spam!
If we switched to an entirely 'opt-in' approach to advertising, would our society really suffer that much? If I wanted to know what was the best model of car at some particularly point when I'm in the need for one, I'm sure I could find information on all the available brands by going down to the car-dealer or doing an Internet search. If I don't have the need for one, then I sure as hell shouldn't go out and put myself into $15,000 plus of debt on a whim or because I'm "bored" with my current one! If I want a washing machine, I can research it. If I want a cool colored pen, I'd go to an office-supply store! If I want a singles service, I'd looked one up on the Internet.
Maybe we were better off with usury as a crime punishable by stoning to death... At least then the impetus to get me to spend money I don't have on crap I don't need wouldn't be making so many financial services companies rich.
Editor's Note: I realize that my vocation is creating questionably socially relevant fluff electronic entertainment. I know, however, that you won't be getting a call at home in the evenings with someone trying to sell you an Xbox game.
Editor's Note: Yes I have sent in an 'opt-out' request to the DMA for both their tele-marking and junk mailing list. I understand it can take as much as six months to get on the list and that actually using it to filter call lists is optional for companies. Sigh.
