[carbking]

It seems that we are receiving more and more unwanted telephone calls.

At my business, we receive 6~10 calls daily, all wanting to save us money HA! In order:

1 - change my business telephone service
2 - change insurance for my employees
3 - reduce the fees on credit cards we accept
4 - reduce the fees on credit cards we use
5 - help us comply with the National Labor Relations Board requirements
6 - loan us money
7 - fix our computers (which aren't broken)

At home, with the Missouri primary looming near, the calls have skyrocketed from an average of 4~5 daily to more than 20 daily. I would guess that number will balloon even higher in the weeks prior to the general election.

The "no call" list does not bar any of these calls.

As one grows older, one realizes one's most valuable asset is TIME. These unwanted callers, many of them robocalls are THIEVES! Stealing my time. Any even if I am only worth minimum wage, the growing number and the repetition puts them into the category of grand theft!

Seems to me this would be a prime target for our legislators to actually work together and pass some needed legislation. I have emailed my legislators, both state and federal. Wish others would consider doing the same.

Or maybe I am just growing more grouchy as I age!

Jon.

[Chris65LeMans]

As soon as they go into their pitch, say "I'm not interested, thanks." and hang up. It's a win-win: your time wasted is negligible, they can spend their time on someone who might buy.

[69goatboy]

Caller ID is your friend.

If it's a number we do not recognize, it doesn't get answered. Rarely do they leave a message.

They can only steal your time if you let them.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by 69goatboy

Caller ID is your friend.

If it's a number we do not recognize, it doesn't get answered. Rarely do they leave a message.

They can only steal your time if you let them.

This is how I do it.

[dataway]

I know it doesn't apply to a business ... but yeah, if my cell phone rings and a person I know doesn't pop up on the screen, it never gets answered. Anyone I want to talk to is programmed into my phone.

[David Jones]

Originally Posted by 69goatboy

Caller ID is your friend.

If it's a number we do not recognize, it doesn't get answered. Rarely do they leave a message.

They can only steal your time if you let them.

Works for me every time.

[poncho-mike]

I hang up immediately on a robo-call.

If it is a real person, I usually lay the phone down on the desk and let them continue talking. I'll come back later and hang it up.

[1beautifuldaughter]

This has really been pissing me off lately, They always seem to know when to call too. I also do not answer numbers I do not recognize but it's still a pain. Run half way up the driveway, or jump up and run off the deck thinking its someone important and it turns out to be another Solar Salesman. Or Always asking for money for some organization, If you try to be nice they persist. So I am no longer nice.

[gary bennett]

I bought the Sentry 3. It is a box that goes between line & phone. never get another unwanted call. The phone does not even ring. I was sick of the unwanted calls.

[ornjcr8]

I like to play with them a little bit before I throw them back. When they say if your interested in thier pitch push the number 1, I do it and don't say anything while they say hello.....hello.....hello. I figure if they waste my time, I can waste there time. course I'm retired and I need something to fill out my day

[necdb3]

I had someone call to lease us solar panels. I told them my wife is into that more than me so let me get her on the phone. I made him wait 2 minutes then got back on the phone and said " How does it feel to have someone waste your time?" He quickly hung up the phone. At least I got a chuckle out of it.

It is a PITA. Operating a business, you want to answer the phone and it's very often a number you don't recognize so you answer it.

Do not call, is a waste because there's no punishment for these people that don't abide by the law. If they would pass legislation that you could get paid $1.00 for every solicitation, it would stop

[JSPONT]

I used to love the junk mail with self addressed stamped envelopes. I would take one junk mailers stuff, put it in the others and mail it back! LOL silly things that amuse me.
The caller people if I feel I just say hold for the manager and let them wait till they hang up.

[Simple Man]

If Jon is running a business, how is caller ID going to work? Lots of unknown numbers of potential customers.

How does the NO CALL list work in your area? The only calls I'm supposed to receive is from a business or entity I've had a previous relationship with.

[Stuart]

Running a business makes it tougher to screen calls, but the caller ID usually will show a name along with the number so for instance if it's "DFL party" (not picking on the dems, that's just the most recent number on my caller ID) you know it's not a business call. A lot of the spam calls I get will show a local number but then the name says out of area, so I know it's a spoofed call and I don't bother picking up on those either.

[68BeaumontSD]

Originally Posted by JSPONT

I used to love the junk mail with self addressed stamped envelopes. I would take one junk mailers stuff, put it in the others and mail it back! LOL silly things that amuse me.
The caller people if I feel I just say hold for the manager and let them wait till they hang up.

I do this too but I stuff the envelope as full as I can. The envelope is so thick that it won't go through the post office sorting machine. If it has to be sorted by hand the return postage is more.
James

[Scarebird]

Start off your recording with this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qclvGBavL1E

Calling computers scratch you off the list as a dead number.

[Jerry H.]

Originally Posted by carbking

It seems that we are receiving more and more unwanted telephone calls.

At my business, we receive 6~10 calls daily, all wanting to save us money HA! In order:

1 - change my business telephone service
2 - change insurance for my employees
3 - reduce the fees on credit cards we accept
4 - reduce the fees on credit cards we use
5 - help us comply with the National Labor Relations Board requirements
6 - loan us money
7 - fix our computers (which aren't broken)

At home, with the Missouri primary looming near, the calls have skyrocketed from an average of 4~5 daily to more than 20 daily. I would guess that number will balloon even higher in the weeks prior to the general election.

The "no call" list does not bar any of these calls.

As one grows older, one realizes one's most valuable asset is TIME. These unwanted callers, many of them robocalls are THIEVES! Stealing my time. Any even if I am only worth minimum wage, the growing number and the repetition puts them into the category of grand theft!

Seems to me this would be a prime target for our legislators to actually work together and pass some needed legislation. I have emailed my legislators, both state and federal. Wish others would consider doing the same.

Or maybe I am just growing more grouchy as I age!

Jon.

I've been having the same problem Jon. I must answer the phone as 95% of my business comes in via the phone. Even if you have caller ID, which I don't, it takes time to drop what you are doing to and look at the phone to check the #.

I've had the same business line for 30 years and never really had the need for any of the 'premium' phone services (caller ID, call forwarding, etc.) until the past few years when all these call started up. Live you I get anywhere from 4-20 of these calls a day. Insurance, credit card, money to loan; same ones as you. When I called my phone provider and asked for a quote for adding caller ID and call forwarding to this line I was thinking $4-5 monthly. When she came back and said almost $16 per month I had a cow! I told her I had been a customer for over 30 years with this line alone, not even considering my home phone and other business lines and asked her to double check it. She came back in about 10 seconds and said she was correct, it would be $16 per month. I said no thanks, it wasn't worth that much to me. I can get a toll free # with all the features and probably more minutes than I would ever use per month for $30 per month, but I would still need a local # as most of my inquiries are local. Still on the lookout for other alternatives.

[400 4spd.]

I've had the same problem, and it has grown much worse the past year. You're right, the Do Not Call list is useless. I have caller I.D. and avoid picking up as much as I can. Now that some of them are channeling through local systems it's getting harder to avoid.
It used to be they would ask for "the owner", or "the person in charge of" XYZ. Now, most of them ask for me by my first name. Depending on the demeanor of the caller I will either try and politely end it, ask them to hold on while I get the person they want (lay the phone down), just lay it down while they rattle on, or simply hang up. The biggest abuser for me is the card processing industry.

[Deadhead]

There is soooo much time wasting BS like this going on in every aspect of life now. Even the people you deal with, your bank for instance, will call acting like there is an issue with your Acct. and then try to sell you something. It seems like every account, card or transaction results in 2-3 15 minute time wasting efforts by phone or mail. Makes me want to get rid of everything.

[carbking]

Well, I appreciate the comments from everyone.

Caller ID is totally worthless today if you have children or grandchildren. The thieves have come up with some method of showing a telephone number other than their own. About 3 years ago, I got a call from a good friend that asked me when I started selling siding??? I asked him what he meant. He had just received a call CALLER ID SAID WAS MY NUMBER AND MY NAME selling siding. If you have someone out there you love, you HAVE to answer the phone.

As to the business, if one wants to remain in business, one has to answer the calls. Lots of people call from work. The solution is to make this activity unlawful, and use a little extra electricity with the thieves!

Even the legitimate robot calls are ridiculous. It takes the recorder at the doctors office just short of 4 minutes on the telephone to verify (press 1 if you will meet your appointment) that I am coming to see the doctor. I hang up on them as well. And then complain at the next visit! In fact, my cardiac doctor ordered the recorder banned from their office! They know its wrong! People just have to stand up against stupid practices!

Jon.