Telemarketers In Mexico

When we lived NOB, Minnesota passed a No Call law. If you put your name on the list, telemarketers could no longer call and try to harass you into buying something. It didn't work very well though.

They quickly learned that they could continue to call you if they did not specifically try to sell you something. Instead, they called to give you the opportunity to take advantage of their special offer. Semantics, if you ask me.

Over the years, I learned to stop hating their frequent and incessant calls and to have fun with them instead. I loved to waste their time and keep them from calling somebody else. Some of the things I tried on them:

. Keep interrupting them from their pre-typed format. Ask them where they are calling from. How's the weather there? Is their office air conditioned? Or are they in a cubicle? They keep loosing their place on the page and have to start over. Or they read the same sentence again. Where upon you tell them they already said that. They soon get frustrated and hang up voluntarily.

. Ask them if you can ask them a question first. They always say yes. Drop your voice and very seductively ask them "What are you wearing?" Man or woman. Doesn't matter. The next thing you hear will be the dial tone.

. Tell them that you are currently unemployed but would love to receive a free sample of their product.

. Offer to have their windows installed for free in your house in exchange for them taking pictures for their ad campaign.

. Tell them that you a little busy right now but would love to hear more. Could I have your home phone number and I'll call you back?

I miss playing those games now that I live in Mexico. Not that we don't get telemarketing calls. We do. Sometimes as many as five a day. And everyone of them is from the Mexican phone company, TelCel. They are trying to sell add-on features to your phone.

You are not exempt if you have a cell phone. They will leave text messages on your phone, filling your inbox with special offers.

I have finally learned how to deal with them. I used to just hang up or ask them if they speak English. Sometimes they do so now I ask if they speak Chinese.

But the best one? After you say hello and identify it as a sales call, just set the phone down. Don't say another word, don't hang up. Just pee your pants giggling as you listen to them say over and over, "Bueno?" You'll soon enough hear the click and dial tone.

Ok, so I'm childish. But a good laugh is a good laugh!