spammer: could i speak to <dramatically mispronounced approximation of my name>
me: who wants to know?
spammer: this is stacy wilson with (some market research company)…
me: and how did you get this number?
spammer: it was provided to us by washington mutual
(i’ll have to speak with them about that… 8/ )
me: is this your full time job?
spammer: yes…
me and do you also live in washington?
spammer: no, i’m calling from chicago. i’m with (some market research company)…
me: and how long have you been in the telemarketing business?
spammer: i’m not a telemarketer…
me: you are cold-calling people and asking them personal questions, and in that sense, you are the same as a person who is a telemarketer. how long have you been in that business?
spammer: but i’m not a telemarketer… i’ve been doing this for 3 years…
me: that’s quite long, and do you like your job?
spammer: sometimes…
me: i can see that. and how much do you earn?
spammer: that is confidential…
me: okay, do you get time off to go to the dentist?
spammer: (brightening) yes.
me: and it important to have good teeth for your position?
spammer: (confused) yes…
me: is there a specific toothpaste that you would recommend?
spammer: i would guess that it’s whatever a person wants…
me: thank you for your information. is there a phone number i could reach you at if i need any further information?
spammer: um, that’s confidential… we’re calling over internet and there isn’t a number that you can call the business, and my personal phone number is confidential.
me: thank you, and have a pleasant day. <CLICK!>
Yeah, that probably helps. Practice is always a useful thing to have with you when you’re messing with people’s heads. Still, probably made for an interesting blip in the call log.
it probably helps that i actually worked as a “market researcher”, doing telephone interviews for a while, many years ago… 8)
Very nice. You can see the balance of power shifting right from underneath them. Good execution on this one. We give it a 9.7.