They interrupt your dinner. They call 5 times per week — sometimes even on Sunday afternoons. They are probably one of the most widely disliked populations on earth. They are telemarketers. But believe it or not, telemarketers deserve kindness, too, and here are a few things you should remember:
1. They are HUMANS.
Go ahead, take your wrath out on the recording that says you've won a cruise to the Caribbean. But if a real person's voice greets you on the other end of the line, try to remember that they aren't that different from you. They are just trying to pay their bills, and this is how they have to do it.
2. They don't have control over when or how frequently they call you.
They actually are sorry for interrupting your dinner every night. Unfortunately, they work from 6-9:30 p.m. most evenings because they have other jobs that they work during the day. And the reason they have called you four nights in a row this week is because: a) they haven't been able to reach you (remember all the times you just let it go to voicemail?) and b) they have been calling the same pools all week, which is really out of their control.
3. They might take a split-second longer to respond on the phone.
You say "hello," wait a half-second, and hang up. Wait approximately 2 seconds longer, please. The telemarketer likely had their headset on "mute" so that you did not accidentally hear them singing and messing around with a coworker, and once they hear you answer the phone, they have to un-mute the headset before they can respond. Sometimes, they might forget that it's on mute and take a second longer, but please be patient.
4. They know that you're the person they are looking for.
An adult male voice answers the phone at Mr. Smith's house and says that Mr. Smith is unavailable. They know that there's a 95% chance you're lying. But whatever, it's not the telemarketer's problem. They will just call Mr. Smith the following night.
5. Yes, they have a script, and yes, they must stick to it.
Every telemarketer has a script. Points may exist during which the telemarketer is supposed to ad-lib and make conversation, but in general, they are told to follow a script. Now, a good telemarketer will go through the script and you will hardly be able to tell — a newbie, however, might sound like a reading robot. Give them a break.
6. They actually want to talk to you.
Sure, they probably aren't smiling like the woman in the photo above. And sure, they might have to be reminded "Smile before you dial" so that they don't sound like a sleepy serial killer when you answer the phone. But chances are, they just listened to approximately 30 voicemail machines in a row. They are excited to get to talk to another human being! The sound of dial tones can literally drive one to insanity.
7. They have to keep calling you until they talk to you.
Here's a tip for someone who reeeeally wants to get rid of a telemarketer: answer the phone. Either listen to the telemarketer's spiel, or if you absolutely don't want to talk to them, 5 simple words will solve your issues: "Take me off your list." By law, they have to take you off of their list after hearing those words (at least for a few years, until you get plopped back into the pools).
8. They have to ask you the same question a certain number of times.
It goes back to the script thing. If calling for donations or gifts, they have a certain number of "asks" within the script that they must complete before they can hang up. If they don't go through all of the asks, they could get in trouble or even fired. If you are REALLY sick of talking and are completely uninterested in whatever they are offering, just hang up. It's fine.
9. If you ARE interested in whatever they are offering, it will make their night.
Seriously. Many telemarketers are rated based on their pledge or success rate, so on the rare occasion that their call is successful, you likely made their night that much more enjoyable.
Bottom line: telemarketers are just normal people trying to make ends meet. They never said as a child, "When I grow up, I want to be a telemarketer!" Cut them a little slack, because the truth is, they are just pawns in a system far out of their control. And honestly, they get annoyed by telemarketers, too.
