Yesterday is the first time I got a call from a Satellite TV telemarketer. I knew I shouldn't have picked up the phone because the caller ID showed privacy director with a number of 000-000-0000. Usually I have PrivacyDirector turned on, and the call doesn't even get through; but I've had it off for a while now because I was expecting a call from someone.

But anyway I pick up the phone and its some guy from India speaking very broken English trying to get me to sign up for his Satellite TV company. He wouldn't even tell me what company he was with. But basically he would go on and on without letting me get one word in.

Finally I told him that I am not interested because I don't want to sign a contract with Satellite, he then tells me that my cable provider has a contract as well. I find it very funny he knows all about my cable provider since I didn't even tell him who I was currently using. I then tell him that I don't have a contract and I wish to keep it that way. Then he tells me some crap about how my cable provider is going to raise my rates over $30 in the next couple of months due to the DTV mandate. I don't know if this is true or not, but I certainly hadn't heard of such a thing. But I know that the DTV doesn't go into effect until Feb of 2009.

Again I tell him I am not interested, he says "ok" and before he got a chance to say anything else I hung up on him.

In actuality, am not happy with my cable service, but the only thing that keeps me from signing up for Satellite is the contract. I have been shopping Satellite providers, for the past year or so, but haven't pulled the trigger yet. But there is no way in hell I will sign up over the phone for a satellite provider I don't even know the name of through some person who can't even speak English.

Anyone else had this sort of thing happen to them? Like I said this is the first time I got a telemarketing call for Satellite TV.

 

I have gotten these and hate them... I also hate sateliite, it goes out during the rain, the HD doesn't seem as good, the interface sucks (dish networks), billing messes up so many times and the rates are stupid high. I got fed up and went to brighthouse/cox/timewarner and just got the service from them. No ifs, no buts, and also pretty decent pricing.

 

So he wouldn't tell you that he's from DirecTV or Dish? I would've dumped him already.

 

Any time I get someone on the phone trying to sell me something, I always hear about 0.5-2 seconds of silence before they get on the line after I say "Hello?" If I hear that, I'm hanging up.

 

^True. 99% chance it's a call you don't want to take.

 

I don't know about you guys but all that tactic usually does for me is change the format of the problem. Most of the scum that call me use auto-dialers that will call every fucking night if you don't actually speak with someone before hanging up.

 

That tactic and the Do Not Call List FTW!

 

Nope! As soon as he started talking, I knew I shouldn't have answered the phone. He probably was going to get me to agree to sign up for service THEN he'd tell me who there with.