Don’t get taken in by cold calls
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This is a courtesy call to let you know that the factory warranty on your vehicle is about to expire…
I get these calls every few weeks, on both my home and cell phones, and they’re really beginning to annoy me. I “press 2 to be removed from the list” repeatedly, but that doesn’t seem to be getting me off the list. (It really irritates me when they call my cell phone, because I actually have to PAY to get their calls.) Normally I’d call the people back and see if talking to a real person could get me off their list (or at least net me the company name) but these calls look like they’re coming from the UK.
So I figured I’d write about them here instead. The funniest part about the calls are that the factory warranty on my car has been expired for a good long time. My car is now 18 years old, and I’m pretty sure that factory warranties don’t last that long.
But, I wonder how many people companies manage to snare with calls like this, inducing them to spend money they may not have on services they probably don’t need. Lots of people drive late-model cars, and the idea that you might get a warning that the warranty is about to expire sounds plausible enough.
It can pay to view calls like these with suspicion. My motto is, “If I didn’t call YOU, I don’t want it.”
February 21st, 2008 at 8:53 am
That is a great motto. I have it too. I wish everyone did. Then those cold calls would stop!
February 21st, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Exactly, if I didn’t call you, I don’t want it. Our insurance company keeps calling to set up an appointment to review our policies and see if we have enough. Do you ever have enough? And we get calls that start with, sort of, this is your credit card company, everything is fine, but we wanted to…
I can’t imagine that these calls take people in, but they can be a bit tricky. I guess the rule is, if you’re doing business with a company, that gives them the right to telemarket you, even if you’re on the do-not-call list.
February 21st, 2008 at 4:57 pm
We used to get those for a guy who’d given the work number as a contact number. So of course as the secretary I had to handle it. I didn’t blame him, it was the best way for the dealership to get in touch with him on legitimate matters since he worked a long shift.
February 25th, 2008 at 6:52 am
If I don’t recognize the phone number I don’t answer the call - if its important the person will call me back. The last time I accidentally answered a call like this I ended up trying to get the person off the phone for 5 minutes (it was my bank and they were being polite).
Tip for sales people - when someone says no thank you 5 or 6 times, give up.