[yellowted]

Just wondered what strategies you have for dealing with cold callers either at the door or on the phone.

me, i don't have much time for cold callers, if i want something i research it, compare prices and then make an informed decision, i hate being coersed into something which usually is far from the best value!

depending on my mood and available time I sometimes politely say no thanks and put down the phone, but other times i have been known to place the phone on the table and go off to do other things leaving the caller talking to themselves, or sounded really interested only to say no after they go through the whole spheel thinking they have hooked me!
we often get religious groups knock at the door on Sundays asking why we are not at church, my reply is usually either 'i am an atheist' or I was taught god is watching you all the time, he knows everything you do and think, if that is so then i don't need to go to church to say hello to him i can do that anywhere!!

charities usually get the response 'is your charity going to help me find the £30K it is going to cost me to get upstairs to the loo?' (i am a 24/7 wheelchair user!) i know charities do great work, hey i am a director of one, but i believe it is wrong to ask the sick or vulnerable who are clearly on a low income or living below the breadline to donate money they need themselves.

ok my responses are not that nice, i just get fed up with the constant pressure to spend or give away the cash i have been saving for years by scrimping and making do so i can eventually adapt my home and get the much needed lift so i gan stop bumping backwards upstairs to bed or the loo.

[lynn P.]

I actually despise people trying to sell me something or charities at my door and on the phone. I used to have this "No Solicitors Please" sign but don't have one now. I live in a fairly well off neighborhood, so door solicitors think we have money to burn. Do you have a "don't call registry"? If yes, then ask the phone people to put you on their do not call list.

Now I hang up or have fun messing with them like - "sorry the person you're asking for is dead. If they're asking for money, tell them you need money. I agree if I want to give to a charity, I'll do it voluntarily and same thing if I want to buy something.

Pfrog doesn't answer her phone or her door unless I'm expecting a call or a visitor. Most of the time my phone is off unless I'm expecting a call, and I look at my caller id before answering too.

Of course, I'm too chicken to look through the peep hole on the door unless I'm expecting someone ... Too afraid it might be the boogie man looking back in it at me or something - think Jack Nicholson in The Shining ... !!!

Last time I got one of those you've won something calls, they told me I'd won a brand new cadillac, I enthusiastically told them thank you and asked them to park it in the driveway and leave the key in it and hung up.

They never called back!

This is what I've been doing, pranking my telemarketers!!! I was inspired by Tom Mabe, who does this regularly lmao!!! Hilarious!

Thank you, lightbulb7 ... That was frickin' awesome ...

[yellowted]

oooh brilliant lightbulb i gotta try it.

Lynn P i am x directory, and on the 'don't give my number out list, but some websites do not allow you to continue to the checkout without your phone number then they sell it! most of the time i do not answer my land line phone as it is upstairs, but today i was up there all day tidying bedrooms hence answering it ! i tend to only give my land line to websites, that way i know my friends/work acquaintences usually will phone my mobile. only the odd 'oldie' who hasn't got to grips with mobiles still use my land line number! I have got wiser to this and often give a made up number to stop the nucience calls only the other day i used a site to get an architect so had to give my real one! As for door callers, if i am not expecting anyone and am upstairs i tend now to shout down to find out who it is and then simply say i can't get down till my carer comes if it is an unwanted caller which could be the case afterall they walk up my ramp to get to the door so they can see a disabled person lives here... being disabled has some advantages!

I used to feel horrible when telemarketers called, I felt sorry for them. I actually was in sales for a few years (life insurance etc.) and I had to cold call. But now, I find its just better to let them know I'm not interested by being funny. Sometimes I'll hand the phone to my 2 year old son (who thinks everyone on the other line is either his Dad, or Elmo lol) or I'll try to sell them tamales etc. like, "Okay, I'll get a subscription, if you in turn purchase some of my homemade life jackets, I swear they're the best use of leftover styrofoam plates money can buy. And you'd be recycling!" lol

[lizardlady]

Y'all have me in stiches over the fun things you do with callers. I listed my number on the national do not call list. If I get a solicting call I politely inform them my number is on the list and if they ever call me again their company will be fined $10,000. That usually gets rid of them pretty quick.

My grandfather used to take the direct approach to callers or people who knocked on the door. He would in a firm, loud voice say "NO" and hang up the phone or close the door.

A friend of my husband had the all time best response to religious folks knocking on the door. He and his roomies had the lower half of a human skull they used as an ashtray. One Sunday morning the religious folks knocked on the door and started preaching to him. He reached over and picked up the skull to flick his cigarette ashes in it. They suddenly decided they needed to leave!

Originally Posted by lizardlady

Y'all have me in stiches over the fun things you do with callers. I listed my number on the national do not call list. If I get a solicting call I politely inform them my number is on the list and if they ever call me again their company will be fined $10,000. That usually gets rid of them pretty quick.

My grandfather used to take the direct approach to callers or people who knocked on the door. He would in a firm, loud voice say "NO" and hang up the phone or close the door.

A friend of my husband had the all time best response to religious folks knocking on the door. He and his roomies had the lower half of a human skull they used as an ashtray. One Sunday morning the religious folks knocked on the door and started preaching to him. He reached over and picked up the skull to flick his cigarette ashes in it. They suddenly decided they needed to leave!

What a brave man! Wish I had the you know whats lol to do that! A few years ago I actually was being solicited by some religious groups that go door to door, I told them I was in the Jehovah's witness protection program. They still wanted in so I invited them in. For a few weeks they came and I entertained them. Then, when my brother died in 2009, they came again. The leading lady told me, "Well, your brother is no more, or he is in Hell because he was not in our religion". I 'bout slapped the woman and my husband had to hold me back in my grief. Now, I simply say, "No thanks, I worship Satan". I think I'm on some kind of permanent prayer list now lol but it's effective

[Raging Quiet]

I saw 'My mum and dad are in the bath' on the phone (I have a young voice and appearance and often get mistaken for being 14 years old even though I'm nearly 30!)

When they knock I say my parents aren't in yet, or that I'm just the babysitter.

[Evening]

Do you have a sign by your door to stop people knocking? I don't about over there, but here in Australia a door knocker is not allowed to knock if someone has a sign- if they do they can get reported.

[jadzea]

We have a very simple last name but it has some unusual letter combinations and people get scared when they try to pronounce it and often transpose two letters. When someone does that I tell them they don't know me or they would know how to pronounce my name so they really have no reason to call me and hang up.

The thing that is really getting to me lately is the number of stores, restaurants and other businesses that ask if I want to donate a dollar for some charity at the checkout. I know a dollar is not much but I work hard for my money and I am tired of everyone acting as if they have a right to it. If I stopped shopping at all the places that have this policy I would not be able to buy anything. I think I'll start complaining to the manager. It probably will not help but it will make me feel better.

[spondiferous]

Apparently they are unstoppable. I have a sign on the outside of my front door, big black letters on neon yellow, that says 'BACK OFF MAN, I'M A SCIENTIST' and that didn't prevent 'em from knocking.

[MiniButterfly]

I too have a young voice and the callers always ask if my mom is home. Pretty easy to get out of calls that way.

[Sabrina]

Nobody can get to my front door as the gates to our property are locked. That doesn't stop the religious groups shouting from the gate though. Which totally upsets the dogs. I usually just ignore them or pop my head out the door and shout no. Cold callers annoy me but I have to let them introduce themselves in case my bank is calling. Then I politely say "I'm not interested" and end the call. Once, just before I ended the call and after I'd said I wasn't interested, the cold caller demanded to know why!!

[IchbinkeinTeufel]

Here's some comedic suggestions:

#1: Go grab a fake gun, splash some water over your face, begin panting, open the door, and immediately say "Can't you see I'm busy right now?!"

#2: Rush to the closed door, and begin barking loudly, scraping at the door, and rummaging around the letter box. (I've done this; it works!)

#3: Open the door, but act as though you have an invisible friend right next to you; now talk to this invisible none-existent friend, and act all offended when they don't address themselves to him or her, shortly after, close the door in disgust.

#4: The moment you hear the door go, and you have seen from out the window, that it's a cold caller, start to loudly - but not OTT - talk about someone you recently put out of commission, and try to give some details about where you buried the body. Continue talking about it as you go to the door, and then open the door and act all innocent, but mention that you're a bit busy cleaning up.

#5: Answer the door whilst facing backwards, telling them that if you look into their eyes, they will turn into frogs, so it's for their benefit - see how long they last.

Those were just randoms from my brain; I'm sure there's many, many more. :P Have fun!