Comments on: Unhappy slapping

By: golfwidow

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 12:33:27 +0000

In the book “Good Omens” by Pratchett and Gaiman, there is a subplot involving a telemarketing center (or “centre”, I suppose, since it’s in Great Britain) where they hold contests to see who can get the most irate people out of baths, naps, and, possibly, to win the weekly award for coitus interruptus.

By: justine

Sat, 17 Nov 2007 02:56:55 +0000

i often ask myself that question, roo. it scares me a little.
i, being the youngest in my household, often get asked if my parents are around and if i can tell its a telemarketer i just say no. hopefully ive never done that to anyone important! oh well. if its important theyll call back.

By: easca

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:24:53 +0000

That sounds like fun. I’ve really been tempted to do that a few times, but most of our telemarketers are from charity organizations that I actually want to support without really giving any money. Elections are next year, though. Maybe I can get in some fun debates with all of the political callers I’ll be getting. Something to look forward to. =D

By: Roo

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 18:45:23 +0000

What a world. This is civilization?

By: Seraphine

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:17:48 +0000

Neither did I. I’m carrying pepper spray.

By: Adam

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 13:38:24 +0000

I like to try a different tactic with cold callers… I call it the ‘old man’ approach.

Essentially the plan is this: I’m not going to buy or agree to anything, but I am going to keep them on the phone for as long as possible before THEY hang up. Sometimes I tell them stories about my past (fiction past that is) other times I talk about a current illness or trip to the doctors.

Or, if I’m showboating, I try to sell them something. ‘You want to buy a battleship?’.

The longer you can keep them on the line, the more money they are losing and the less potential sales they are making. I figure that if everyone did this it would make the whole practice of cold-calling so cumbersome and unprofitable that people would eventually just stop.

By: TonyB

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 13:25:31 +0000

If you’re on the TPS and get a call from telemarketers then they can get fined for doing so. This leads to an entertaining game of trying to find out who exactly is calling you without them cottoning on to what you’re doing (as they’ll hang up if they do, not that that’s a huge loss), so you can report them.

By: Matt Newton

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 13:14:27 +0000

Happy Slapping is pretty common as far as I know… just never heard that term before.

By: Adam

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 09:41:16 +0000

We have the Telephone Preference Service over here that does the same thing… still doesn’t stop everything though.

As for happy slapping – I haven’t witnessed it myself, so it may just be another media creation used to persecute the youth… though the videos show up on youtube quite frequently.

By: Ben

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 07:16:59 +0000

Hmm we get cold calls from companies who let their telemarketers use auto dialers, that play hold music while the telemarketer gets their shit together.
Hold music from some one who calls you, f**cking stupid f**cking idea.
I make sure I abuse any one who uses this method on me.
ATM, my favourite trick is to call ppl in my class during class with a silent number. Every call you recieve in class with out your phone on silent costs you a carton of beer.

Happy slapping is truly a stupid thing to be doing. I am amazed that the law enforcement agencies aren’t having a field day with arresting ppl who provide their own persecuting evidence.

By: Seraphine

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 05:22:15 +0000

Imagine having to make a sales call
at 3am in the morning? Most people
are well into their cups at that hour, i
f they are able to answer the phone.

By: The Great Joe Bivins

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 22:52:46 +0000

Happy slapping I mean. My first sentence was a little vague. People seem to occasionally happy slap around here.

By: The Great Joe Bivins

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 22:50:31 +0000

I’ve never heard it called that, but it seems like people do that occasionally around here, too. I really only get telemarketing calls from people who would be allowed to call even if I was on the Do Not Call Registry, but they usually don’t call in the middle of the night (not that it matters as I mostly sleep in the daytime anyway.)

By: tia

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 22:45:08 +0000

mr.Bell was actually trying to construct a hearing aid, and was instrumental in advocating for the oral method of education for deaf children, discouraging the use of sign language. or so I’ve been told in my sign language class. my teacher displays all the oralists in a very negative light

By: Roo

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 21:14:02 +0000

I’ve never heard of Happy Slapping before. This is a serious fad over there? People do that? How bizarre, and dumb. Also, 03.30 sales calls? I hope you gave that caller a piece of your mind. Do you have an equivalent of the Do Not Call Registry in the UK? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_National_Do_Not_Call_Registry]