Don't Speak...

I suppose I am about to put my ignorance on full display again.  Yeah, like it is never clearly apparent, but all snide remarks aside, I have recently discovered something quite amazing, which is that more and more call centers are using an [auto-dialing program]. 

The significance of that is if you remain silent after picking up the phone, the line will go dead after a few seconds.  Whoa, I had no idea that don’t speak until you are spoken to carried so far!

Okay, an even more effective way of dealing with robocalls is to just hang up the phone immediately after picking it up, but what if the call is coming from a legitimate source and the caller-id is just messed up?  Calls now made on my mother-in-law’s new cellphone will show up as coming from an unidentified caller when her number is fully registered.  No, you do not want to just hang up on her like that—trust me.

If you are curious, the way these auto-dialing programs usually work is a number in their database is dialed by the computer, and if someone actually answers on the other end of the line, either a prerecorded message kicks in before the call is forwarded to a live person or it goes directly to a live person.  I am quite sure you know what happens next.

On a related note, I have come to the conclusion that any charity that employs outside call centers to solicit donations should not be supported.  For it is not at all uncommon for well over half of the donated funds being kept by the call centers as payment for their services, and even if it is not nearly so high a percentage, paying people to gather funds is not going to whatever the charity is supposed to be supporting.  Besides, if you ever give through a call center, your name and details are sold to other charities, which draws other buzzards to your location (so to speak).

This has been another public service announcement.  That is all.

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