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How to Put an End to Nuisance Calls (and have great fun doing so)
Time to Read: Depends when you want to end it!
How to Put an End to Nuisance Calls (and have great fun doing so)
Even though we have registered with The Telephone Preference Service some callers still get through.
Here is how to ensure they don’t call again, keep calm, have fun and practice the greatest skill in leadership…
Ask questions (mixed in with general rubbish):
Be polite, friendly even, and ask question after question – without giving any information away:
Questions must be open – i.e. not ones that can be answers “yes” or “no” – although, if you fancy a laugh
OK
Real transcript from real call:
Caller: Hello, can I speak with David Taylor please?
Me: That’s me
Caller: Oh, great, and how are you David
Me: I’m great, thank you for asking, and what is your name please?
Caller: (pause) my name is Simon
Me: I very nearly called one of my cats Simon, I called him Mozart instead – you know, after the famous composer, Beethoven.
(Pause)
Caller: I am calling about the accident you had recently
Me: Ah, what accident was that?
Caller: The one you had in the last six months
Me: Who had an accident?
Caller: You did
Me: Where did I have it?
(Pause)
Caller: In the vicinity of your home town
Me: Would you be a little less specific please?
(Pause)
Caller: Don’t you mean more specific?
Me: When did I have it?
Rings off
(And they are very unlikely to call again – these people are paid by results, and my caller id will now have ‘don’t answer’ next to it.
Key questions begin with ‘Which’ ‘Who’ Where’ ‘When’ or “How”
Enjoy!
With my love and best wishes
David
X
Please share your experiences below
I still get these calls and I too have adopted the keep calm and ask questions routine, It’s also important to ask if the call is being recorded for training purposes, that way they may start to learn something themselves.
My daughters favourite Christmas film is Elf, which includes the scene where he answers the phone with “Buddy The Elf, what’s your favourite colour?” So for the whole of December we all had to answer the phone using this phrase. This completely threw any sales calls straight away. I then insisted I wouldn’t answer any questions or let them start on their ‘script’ until they told me their favourite colour.
Then I’d hang up.
Colin Pearce…genius! I get at least 3 calls a day either regarding compensation or just trying to sell me something unrelated to my business, despite being signed up to the TPS. Even though it is Feb, I will now become Buddy the Elf 🙂
I think the Tom Mabe approach might be quite effective:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkdoogjic4I
Two more ways to put an end to these calls:-
1) Be very polite when answering, but after about a minute say “Ah..could you hold one minute something is boiling over on my cooker..I’ll be back in a minute”, then leave the phone on one-side. As these folks get paid more the more calls they make, ultimately you are delaying them, and they won’t call you again.
2) This is a little naughtier, but if you don’t recognise the number try answering the phone, “X County Police, how can you help you?”. Normally they put the phone down very quickly without speaking as they don’t want to have a conversation with the long arm of the law”.
Have fun!
I just say, can you hold on please I#ll just get him, then I put the phone next to the TV and switch it on. Every 10 seconds say, ‘Are you still there?’ followed by ‘hold on please’….give them a taste of their own medicine.
I had one of those calls at the end of last year and I decided to have some fun if it happened again, which it did, three weeks later.
Caller: I’m calling about the accident you had recently.
Me (on my guard from the get-go): Ah Colin, good, what’s been the delay?
Pause
Caller: It’s Mark, calling about your accident.
Me: Yes, Colin, what are you doing about my broken spoke?
Pause
Caller: I believe you had the accident at work.
Me: Yes, your colleague said the spoke would be fixed as soon as I fell off my bike, which was yesterday. So tell me, what are you doing about it?
Caller: This accident was in the last three months?
Me: Yesterday.
Pause
Caller: Did you say you had already spoken to somebody here? Do you have a name?
Me: Yes, my name is Clive.
Pause
Caller: Do you have my colleague’s name?
Me: No, I have my own name, it’s Clive. Should I go to Halfords now? I fell off the bike while riding up the stairs to my office on the third floor. Halfords have a sale on.
Caller: ..(pause)….(click)….
Oh Clive how funny, that last sentence made me laugh:-)
Love all of these and will give them each a go one at a time – oh I just can’t wait for that next call…David x
Very amusing.
haha to be honest its crazy how many nuisance phone calls I get each day! Ive been using http://www.whocalledyou.co.uk recently to search for the number before I either answer the call or ring them back.