Using Email to Deal With Telemarketers

Posted on October 19th, 2010. Written by Rico.

Telemarketers who interrupt your productive flow just to sell you something can be very irritating. But you can always use your email to deal with them and retain control over your time.

I understand that telemarketers who “cold call” me have a job to do. And who knows, maybe one of those offers are actually worth your attention. Yet I don’t want to change my schedule to accommodate an unexpected sales pitch. So here’s what I do: when the telemarketer starts talking, I simply tell them that I’m too busy to listen to their spiel—would it be possible to send details to my email instead?

Here’s where my “public” email address (rico -at- mossesgeld -dot- com) comes handy. Since telemarketers already know my last name, they already know half of my email. It’s a simple matter of telling them to put my nickname before the @ sign. By asking salespeople to forward details to my email, I get to review their offers when I want to. I end up less irritated by companies plying their wares.

A side-benefit—for businesses: as I review the offers on my free time, I take more time considering each one. Instead of getting irritated by a salesperson hijacking my time, I end up actually paying attention to the pitches. You hear that, Mr. salesperson?

What about companies who don’t do email—or insist on phone conversations? I’d rather do no business with them whatsoever. Of course you can always prank these kind of telemarketers. What do you think, dear readers?

(image by meddygarnet on Flickr)