I’m getting into playing games. Not board games, not even computer games, but head games … with telemarketers.
I have been using the technique of just not answering the phone if I don’t recognize the number. That’s fine as long as no one you don’t know is likely to be calling you, but recently I’ve been on the other side of that fence and have had to answer calls that were potentially important. And, there is the fact that a no answer just seems to keep me in their dialing queue so they just keep calling for ever and ever. So I decided to take them on and see if I couldn’t get them to take me out of their listing because they know it’s a waste of time calling this number.
Last night was a fella selling burial insurance. He had a fancier name for it but that’s what it was, and we chatted a for a bit about the high cost of a funeral and internment. Then he asked me how old I am.
“147 years old, and I never felt better”
He said some angry things in what sounded like Russian and hung up.
This evening it was a fella named Tom from GE Home Security Systems. He talked about what a dangerous place the world has become and asked if I was concerned about my home’s security.
“No, not at all.”
“No? Why is that?”
“I have eight large pit bulls living with me.”
He hung up.
I’m starting to like this. I’ll keep track of who calls and see if they call back. If not, I’ll just keep on with this program. It’s kinda fun.
