I screamed at a telemarketer yesterday.
Having worked as the faceless person on the other end of the phone for a year or two, I know how badly the job sucks. I know it's easier to be mean to a person you don't have to make eye contact with, and I'm certainly not bragging about screaming at a stranger. But he deserved it. Here's my best reconstruction of the conversation:
Him: Hello I'm with customer service from [unintelligible], calling about your computer
Me: Where did you say you are calling from?
Him: I can make your computer 80% faster.
Me: You're calling a cell phone and I'm on the 'do not call list.'
Him: I don't care.
Me: Excuse me?
Him: I don't care if you're on a cell...
Note: The guy had a thick Indian accent, and at first I wasn't sure whether he said "I don't care" or "I don't carry your cell phone," and I kind of gave him the benefit of the doubt that we were having some sort of language barrier and maybe thought I was saying I thought he was calling about my cell service. Nope!
Me: Well I'm on the 'do not call list.' I'm asking you to take me off of your list and not call me again.
Him (cutting me off): I can make your computer faster.
Me: OH MY GOD SHUT UP, YOU JERK!
After I hung up, I laughed and laughed. Seriously, I just don't DO things like that. Had I lost my marbles? Should I feel guilty? Should I figure out how to file some kind of official complaint?
Well, as it turns out I have nothing to feel guilty about. It looks like my Indian friend, calling from 219-545-8769, has quite a track record for being kind of a jerk. And a scammer. I find that fascinating. If you're going to hack my computer or take my credit card number on a spending spree, shouldn't you at least be polite about it?
I doubt he'll call me back, but if he does I think I just won't answer. I don't even really think he's a scammer. I think he's just some kind of psychopath who likes to push people's buttons, like one of those trolls on internet message boards. I let him get the best of me yesterday. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
But it really did feel good to scream at him!!
I'm of the opinion that "scammers" behave aggressively to make themselves sound like over-worked grunts in a customer service setting, rather than sounding like they're trying to sell you something.
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