TELEMARKETING AND JUNK MAIL
- Thread starter louixo
- Start date
(1)The three little words are: "Hold On, Please..."
Saying this, while putting down your phone and walking off (instead of hanging-up immediately) would make each telemarketing call so much more time-consuming that boiler room sales would grind to a halt.
Then when you eventually hear the phone company's "beep-beep-beep" tone, you know it's time to go back and hang up your handset, which has efficiently completed its task.
These three little words will help eliminate telephone soliciting.
(2) Do you ever get those annoying phone calls with no one on the other end?
This is a telemarketing technique where a machine makes phone calls and records the time of day when a person answers the phone.
This technique is used to determine the best time of day for a "real" sales person to call back and get someone at home.
What you can do after answering, if you notice there is no one there, is to immediately start hitting your # button on the phone, 6 or 7 times, as quickly as possible This confuses the machine that dialed the call and it kicks your number out of their system. Gosh, what a shame not to have your name in their system any longer !!!
< B>(3) Junk Mail Help:
When you get "ads" enclosed with your phone or utility bill, return these "ads" with your payment. Let the sending companies throw their own junk mail away.
When you get those "pre-approved" letters in the mail for everything from credit cards to 2nd mortgages and similar type junk, do not throw away the return envelope.
Most of these come with postage-paid return envelopes, right? It costs them more than the regular 37 cents postage "IF" and when they receive them back.
It costs them nothing if you throw them away! The postage was around 50 cents before the last increase and it is according to the weight. In that case, why not get rid of some of your other junk mail and put it in these cool little, postage-paid return envelopes.
One of Andy Rooney's (60 minutes) ideas.
Send an ad for your local chimney cleaner to American Express. Send a pizza coupon to Citibank. If you didn't get anything else that day, then just send them their blank application back!
If you want to remain anonymous, just make sure your name isn't on anything you send them.
You can even send the envelope back empty if you want to just to keep them guessing! It still costs them 37 cents.
The banks and credit card companies are currently getting a lot of their own junk back in the mail, but folks, we need to OVERWHELM them. Let's let them know what it's like to get lots of junk mail, and best of all they're paying for it...Twice!
Let's help keep our postal service busy since they are saying that e-mail is cutting into their business profits, and that's why they need to increase postage costs again. You get the idea !
If enough people follow these tips, it will work ---- The author has been doing this for years, gets very little junk mail anymore.
THIS JUST MIGHT BE ONE E-MAIL THAT YOU WILL WANT TO FORWARD TO YOUR FRIENDS
Saying this, while putting down your phone and walking off (instead of hanging-up immediately) would make each telemarketing call so much more time-consuming that boiler room sales would grind to a halt.
Then when you eventually hear the phone company's "beep-beep-beep" tone, you know it's time to go back and hang up your handset, which has efficiently completed its task.
These three little words will help eliminate telephone soliciting.
(2) Do you ever get those annoying phone calls with no one on the other end?
This is a telemarketing technique where a machine makes phone calls and records the time of day when a person answers the phone.
This technique is used to determine the best time of day for a "real" sales person to call back and get someone at home.
What you can do after answering, if you notice there is no one there, is to immediately start hitting your # button on the phone, 6 or 7 times, as quickly as possible This confuses the machine that dialed the call and it kicks your number out of their system. Gosh, what a shame not to have your name in their system any longer !!!
< B>(3) Junk Mail Help:
When you get "ads" enclosed with your phone or utility bill, return these "ads" with your payment. Let the sending companies throw their own junk mail away.
When you get those "pre-approved" letters in the mail for everything from credit cards to 2nd mortgages and similar type junk, do not throw away the return envelope.
Most of these come with postage-paid return envelopes, right? It costs them more than the regular 37 cents postage "IF" and when they receive them back.
It costs them nothing if you throw them away! The postage was around 50 cents before the last increase and it is according to the weight. In that case, why not get rid of some of your other junk mail and put it in these cool little, postage-paid return envelopes.
One of Andy Rooney's (60 minutes) ideas.
Send an ad for your local chimney cleaner to American Express. Send a pizza coupon to Citibank. If you didn't get anything else that day, then just send them their blank application back!
If you want to remain anonymous, just make sure your name isn't on anything you send them.
You can even send the envelope back empty if you want to just to keep them guessing! It still costs them 37 cents.
The banks and credit card companies are currently getting a lot of their own junk back in the mail, but folks, we need to OVERWHELM them. Let's let them know what it's like to get lots of junk mail, and best of all they're paying for it...Twice!
Let's help keep our postal service busy since they are saying that e-mail is cutting into their business profits, and that's why they need to increase postage costs again. You get the idea !
If enough people follow these tips, it will work ---- The author has been doing this for years, gets very little junk mail anymore.
THIS JUST MIGHT BE ONE E-MAIL THAT YOU WILL WANT TO FORWARD TO YOUR FRIENDS
rode2rouen
Expert Expediter
Regarding the postage paid envelopes sent with numerous junk mail....
Those envelopes are good for more than just FirstClass letter postage.
You could box up a bag of lawn debris and put the envelope on the box.
A boxed brick or 2 would send the postal meter zinging!!
Got a set of gokart tires that the trash guys won't haul off?? Box them up and use a postage paid envelope to get rid of them!!!
Obviously you don't want to put a return address on the envelope.
The USPS weight limit is 72lbs. IIRC.
Rex
Those envelopes are good for more than just FirstClass letter postage.
You could box up a bag of lawn debris and put the envelope on the box.
A boxed brick or 2 would send the postal meter zinging!!
Got a set of gokart tires that the trash guys won't haul off?? Box them up and use a postage paid envelope to get rid of them!!!
Obviously you don't want to put a return address on the envelope.
The USPS weight limit is 72lbs. IIRC.
Rex
wow - can you really do yhat? (Put the 'NO POSTAGE REQUIRED" envelope on something else) I've been returning the envelopes for a couple years now, but that is soo cool - I have lots of stuff to get rid of, and lots of boxes, and no love for the USPS. This could be great! But have you actually done it? :7
rode2rouen
Expert Expediter
>>But have you actually done it? <<
I will state that a certain credit card co. recently (Jan. '06) received a thoroughly worn-out set of Bridgestone GoKart racing slicks.
In the near future one of my motorcycles will be getting a new set of tires. I believe the chances of the same credit card co. getting a set of worn-out cycle tires are very good.
This isn't about the USPS, they are merely the means of returning the favor to the snail-mail spammers.
Rex
I will state that a certain credit card co. recently (Jan. '06) received a thoroughly worn-out set of Bridgestone GoKart racing slicks.
In the near future one of my motorcycles will be getting a new set of tires. I believe the chances of the same credit card co. getting a set of worn-out cycle tires are very good.
This isn't about the USPS, they are merely the means of returning the favor to the snail-mail spammers.
Rex
The problem with this self gratifying mail system is that it increases costs for everyone. That heavy box of tires costs every card holder of that company. You may not have that particular card but the one you do have that gets a broken circular saw from someone else costs you money. It's no different than the juries that award grossly inappropriate settlements because it's only the insurance company paying. We're all the insurance company. We're all the credit card company. If we're not a stockholder or user of one particular company we are of another. Messing with the telephone and the phone solicitors is a much better idea. It still costs them the payroll time for the person but if we make it unproductive enough they could drop that. Messing with the mail won't stop the postal spam and will only cost the group using or investing in that company money.
Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB, OOIDA 677319
Owner, Panther trucks 4958, 5447
Highway Watch Participant, Truckerbuddy
EO Forum Moderator
----------
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.
Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB, OOIDA 677319
Owner, Panther trucks 4958, 5447
Highway Watch Participant, Truckerbuddy
EO Forum Moderator
----------
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.
The least of my worries is causing the credit card companies more in expenses. Who cares?? Those idiot loan sharks deserve what they get. They send out millions of pre-approved credit offers to anyone with a pulse (even that is not a prerequisite) and charge 17-21% interest and then get mad because there are so many people filing for bankruptcy.
I love sending them back their crap so much that I even ask friends and neighbors to save theirs for me (if they don't send them back themselves) and send them back for them.
I love sending them back their crap so much that I even ask friends and neighbors to save theirs for me (if they don't send them back themselves) and send them back for them.
You should be the one who cares, unless you don't have a single credit card and don't know anyone who has one that you care anything about. If you have a card with Acme creditcards and you are sending back tons of envelopes and tires and empty cans and whatever to Discount creditcards to cost them money and your brother has a card with them he is paying for your fun. That's the point people have to take a deep breath and realize. There are no free lunches and there are no free postage return envelopes. Someone is paying for them and since a company isn't a someone and the people holding the cards are someones the people are paying for it. This is a case where you have to be smarter or get smarter because the system you are working under is flawed and wrong.
Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB, OOIDA 677319
Owner, Panther trucks 4958, 5447
Highway Watch Participant, Truckerbuddy
EO Forum Moderator
----------
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.
Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB, OOIDA 677319
Owner, Panther trucks 4958, 5447
Highway Watch Participant, Truckerbuddy
EO Forum Moderator
----------
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.
rode2rouen
Expert Expediter
Hey, Leo!!!
Chill out, a little bit of envelope anarchy is good for you!!!!
Personally, I was, at one time, awash with credit cards and debt. Now I have one card that I use only as a last resort and I pay the full balance at the next bill to avoid interest charges.
As the card co.s have no scruples about keeping people up to their necks in high interest debt, I have no scruples about lowering their profit margin (by an infinitessimal ammount, to be sure) by using their postage paid envelopes to send them some junk once in a while.
BTW, GoKart slicks are relatively light, less than 15lbs. for a set of 4, a box of old shingles on the other hand is quite heavy!
If I may be so bold, allow me to suggest that your rage be directed toward the credit card co.s for their usurious practices that keep so many people deeply in debt.
Rex
Chill out, a little bit of envelope anarchy is good for you!!!!
Personally, I was, at one time, awash with credit cards and debt. Now I have one card that I use only as a last resort and I pay the full balance at the next bill to avoid interest charges.
As the card co.s have no scruples about keeping people up to their necks in high interest debt, I have no scruples about lowering their profit margin (by an infinitessimal ammount, to be sure) by using their postage paid envelopes to send them some junk once in a while.
BTW, GoKart slicks are relatively light, less than 15lbs. for a set of 4, a box of old shingles on the other hand is quite heavy!
If I may be so bold, allow me to suggest that your rage be directed toward the credit card co.s for their usurious practices that keep so many people deeply in debt.
Rex
There is no rage and I'm pretty chilled out at home. I'm just trying to help everyone understand they are costing themselves and/or family/friends money when they do that. I'd love to see a system that limits credit card companies to something like prime plus 3%, 6% or 9% max interest rate for really good, average, and really bad credit ratings. I find it disgusting the way the credit card companies operate as well as the way their telephone solicitors and collectors operate. Their faults and what should be illegal practices aside, it's still taking money out of pockets to use the reply envelopes to "get even" or "have fun".
Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB, OOIDA 677319
Owner, Panther trucks 4958, 5447
Highway Watch Participant, Truckerbuddy
EO Forum Moderator
----------
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.
Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB, OOIDA 677319
Owner, Panther trucks 4958, 5447
Highway Watch Participant, Truckerbuddy
EO Forum Moderator
----------
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.
Leo, the point isn't to "get even, or have fun" - it's to tell the senders of unsolicited mail that we don't want it! And as long as they keep sending it, I'll keep returning it. (If the credit card companies think I'm having fun, I bet they quit sending it in a heartbeat!) Whatever it costs them to design, produce, & mail the material to a list of names, (also paid for) costs the customers too - so, we're helping to reduce the costs in the long run, no? And if it doesn't cost the customers, because it's tax deductible, then I'm saving the government (which is also me) money. Annoying the credit card companies is just, as they say in New Orleans, "lagniappe" - a little something extra, for free!:7
You are never going to get them to stop sending it by returning it uselessly to them. You are only going to cost somebody money and it isn't the credit card company. The credit card company doesn't pay the cost of your return mailings. The insurance company doesn't pay the cost of jury judgements. We all collectively pay it in higher prices and higher costs for goods and services. You yourself are paying the cost of your return mailing. That's how it works. You are costing yourself money. You = everyone doing this not one specific person. Unfortunately, besides the collective "you" who are costing themselves, "you" are costing everyone else money too. The trash can is where those things belong, not the return mail system.
Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB, OOIDA 677319
Owner, Panther trucks 4958, 5447
Highway Watch Participant, Truckerbuddy
EO Forum Moderator
----------
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.
Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB, OOIDA 677319
Owner, Panther trucks 4958, 5447
Highway Watch Participant, Truckerbuddy
EO Forum Moderator
----------
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.
outwardbound 2
Expert Expediter
Sorry LDB i just don't see your reasoning or logic on this one, did your rates go up because of bad mailing practices. If a person pays their bill in full monthly then no extra charges are applied. If this person has a card that don't have a yearly service fee he pays nothing extra at all. The credit card companys do not control the price of goods or services.
I say we should mail back all of our junk mail even if we don't send our blown out tires just to see if the interest rates jump up 10%. Anyway the broken down cars in my garage or too big to put in boxes.
I say we should mail back all of our junk mail even if we don't send our blown out tires just to see if the interest rates jump up 10%. Anyway the broken down cars in my garage or too big to put in boxes.
What a humorous topic.
The true economical fact is this.
Whether or not you use a credit card for purchases, or do not even own one, we all pay for the system.
The cost of every consumer product is generally increased around 9%-12% to cover the costs of those that do use credit cards.
In either scenario, no cc company has ever filed bankruptcy because someone took the time to mail back their applications.
Be safe and thanks for an amusing topic. :+
The true economical fact is this.
Whether or not you use a credit card for purchases, or do not even own one, we all pay for the system.
The cost of every consumer product is generally increased around 9%-12% to cover the costs of those that do use credit cards.
In either scenario, no cc company has ever filed bankruptcy because someone took the time to mail back their applications.
Be safe and thanks for an amusing topic. :+
No company pays for anything. Every cost and expense is incorporated into the charges for their products or services. Based on this thread plus other life experiences my educated guess is approximately 3% of people mail back reply envelopes. Presuming a million mail outs a month that's about 30000 bogus returns a month. In a year that's over $100k in postage costs to the company. Common sense says they are going to incorporate that expense into their charges. Will they lower charges if people quit doing foolish things like mailing back the envelopes? Probably not. Will they raise their charges if more people join the foolishness? Absolutely. If you are a steering wheel holder keep mailing back the envelopes. If you are a business person then think like one in all aspects and stop doing things that are guaranteed to have a negative outcome to either your or someone else's personal bottom line. It's not the company's bottom line you are affecting it's the individuals using the company.
Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB, OOIDA 677319
Owner, Panther trucks 4958, 5447
Highway Watch Participant, Truckerbuddy
EO Forum Moderator
----------
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.
Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB, OOIDA 677319
Owner, Panther trucks 4958, 5447
Highway Watch Participant, Truckerbuddy
EO Forum Moderator
----------
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.
It never ceases to amaze me the mental barriers some throw up about buisness. Let's put this in real simple terms that even a truck driver can understand. If company xyz asks you to haul freight at $1/mile and you can make a profit doing it because fuel only costs $.50/gallon, good. Now lets assume fuel costs double to $1/gallon. Can you still make the same amount of profit? NO! So what do you do? You increase you rates to, oh lets say $1.10/mile. Did that increase in overhead,i.e. the increase in fuel costs, come out of your companies pocket? NO again. You, as a company just passed on those fuel cost increases to your customer so that you, as a company, can maintain your profit margins. Once again, companies do not absorb overhead increases in costs, they pass them along to the consumer. If they didn't, they would shortly go out of buisness because they would no longer be profitable.