June 19, 2008Ask Meryl ~ telemarketer tribulations

Meryl

It seems like telemarketers are constantly calling my house soliciting donations. I respect the people who are placing the calls, and often I respect the charities they represent. However my husband and I have specific charities we have selected to donate to, and it is not in our budget to add new charities to our list. When I try to explain this, it seems that the telemarketers take that as an invitation to dialogue, and they continue to try to persuade me until I’m forced to be more blunt.

I’d like to come up with something short and sweet that respects the telemarketer and his/her organization, but leaves no room for continued discussion. Any ideas?

Meryl responds

They’ve been trained to treat anything you say as an invitation to dialogue, and to take advantage of your desire to be polite – even when someone is being disrespectful to you. Even if the cause is a good one, you don’t have an obligation to justify your decision.

Say,

I’m not interested, and please take me off your list.

If you want to add

Although I respect what you do, I won’t be adding you to my charity list

you can, but you really don’t need to. Even if the cause is worthy, at this point they’re playing a power game. If you are invested in playing a heart game, they’ll be able to manipulate you. Just be courteous in your directness.

Usually when I ask to be removed from a list, they stop talking. But whether they stop or not, I consider the conversation over and hang up.