Crazy phone call

On the topic of good responses (I usually fail in that regards but ...)

Many years ago, on a Sunday am (early-ish) I was just coming downstairs to make a brew of coffee and the door bell rang:

On the doorstep were two PYTs(1) (good job I'd bothered to put some clothes on)

PYT: We'd like to talk to you about peace!

Me: Oh Good can you leave me in it!

PYT: ...

Me: closes door and realise I actually won that one :-)

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(1) Pretty Young Thing

Reply to
The Nomad
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They were from the Peas Marketing Board.

Reply to
grimly4

My response to a similar opener was "Yes, isn't it interesting that most of the world's conflicts seem to be down to organised religion?"

They wriggled a bit, but didn't really take the discussion anywhere.

Chris

Reply to
Chris J Dixon

Version I saw was a TV sketch (Rikki Fulton's Scotch and Wry) many years ago - a couple in an off-licence, loading up with beer, wine, port, brandy, whisky, gin, the lot. As they're leaving the shop a down- and-out approaches (possibly Gregor Fisher as a Rab Nesbitt prototype) and asks for spare change for a cup of tea.

Woman says "Oh, don't give it to him, he'll only spend it on drink!"

-- Halmyre

Reply to
Halmyre

They might have scarpered more quickly if you hadn't, though...

Reply to
Lobster

I used to feel guilty as well until I realised they are being paid to do this. They aren't volunteers working for their favourite charity.

That's exactly what I do now, and I always get the same pained expression in reponse. Maybe they go on training courses on how to make people feel guilty and change their minds.

Robert

Reply to
RobertL

Oi! Who's been peeking??

8-)

Avpx

Reply to
The Nomad

=A340-60 is paid to the collector-company for each sign up, says the Guardian.

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Reply to
RobertL

to say the charity get an ongoing percentage!

Reply to
John Rumm

I answered the door one day and the chap said "I've come to test drive the Alfa" (pointing at my car). Dopey me looks puzzled and starts to explain that it's not for sale, at which point he holds up his hands and says "OK, I'm joking, what I'm really here for is to collect for"......

-- Halmyre

Reply to
Halmyre

No-CLID calls here put the caller into a menu.

If you are a telemarketer, press 1 If you are conducting a survey, press 2 If we have won a holiday, press 3 For anything else, press 4

Real callers persist, the rest don't seem to. The ongoing response to telemarketers (1) asks them (eventually, they have to listen to 'all members of the household are currently assisting other telemarketers, you are in a queue', etc...) to leave full contact details so I can report them. And then I get emailed a .wav file of the whole conversation.

The phone never actually rings. And answers 2 and 3 get similar, but customised, treatment.

Reply to
Bob Eager

I like the way your mind works.

Reply to
S Viemeister

1471 - 3 True, but the announcement says, (in a distorted and over-modulated way) "There is normally a charge for this service", which is enough for me to hang up and dial it back manually.
Reply to
Graham.

Which is a pain for real callers from behind switchboards like myself. I can phone using my Council mobile*, but if I was one of our admin team and needed to contact someone to sort out a small but non-trivial detail on, say, a Building Regulations application, I would have to write a letter to said person and wait for a few more days for a reply. Meanwhile they would be cursing the Council for not processing their application sooner.

*I wouldn't give out my personal mobile number to the public, and seeing as we are getting paid less for doing more for the third year running, I certainly ain't gonna do it without getting paid.
Reply to
Hugo Nebula

In message , Hugo Nebula wrote

Reputable companies and organisations don't hide phone numbers.

Reply to
Alan

I just wonder what mechanism you would employ to *not* hide numbers..

Reply to
Bob Eager

Some form of "presentation number"

which might be the DDI of the council switchboard extension or a general number. There's unlikely to be a problem presenting a BCO number, but in some cases the council would not want to reveal that eg social work had phoned, if they couldn't speak to the person they wanted.

Owain

Reply to
Owain

there is also the possibility that the person who called is working from home. They cetainly wouldn't want to give out their home number.

Reply to
charles

Then that call should be routed via the Council's switchboard.

Reply to
Tim Streater

Lots of cold callers spoof calling ID these days. There was even reports of one spoofing the number they were calling as their caller ID... so it looked like a local incoming call, and if you tried to phone back it was engaged ;-)

Reply to
John Rumm

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