Normally, I am a
placid individual, and not much really makes me angry. But one thing that does
cause me anguish and grief is the trend towards “cold-calling” by telephone.
A good example
is something that happened to me very recently. I was sitting down for a
pleasant and relaxing evening (with a couple of beers), when my mobile phone
rang. A woman’s voice on the other end said that she was from a market research
company (in Hong Kong ) and would like to ask
me about my “lifestyle”…
Now, as many
readers are already aware, I do not indulge in a “lifestyle” – my mode of
living is probably very far removed from the ordinary as I try my hardest to be
as inconspicuous as possible! Nevertheless, I entered into the spirit of her
request, first asking her what she understood by “lifestyle”. There was a pause
on the line whilst she digested this question, before saying, “I have never
been asked that before, but it’s all about how you live your life”. I said OK,
but she should be aware that my responses to her questions would throw all her
statistics into confusion. She laughed nervously, and began…
Question 1: “Do
you have a Facebook page?”
Answer: “No”.
Question 2: “Do
you use Twitter?”
Answer: “No”.
Question 3: “How
can you communicate with friends, then?”
Answer: “I write
either emails, or ‘real’ letters”.
(Pause)
Question 4:
“What kind of smart phone do you have?”
Answer: “I don’t
have one. My mobile was bought in 2004, and it’s fine for what I want”.
(Longer pause)
By this time, I
admit to getting more than a little irate (bloody angry, actually)…
Question 5: “Do
you live in a house or apartment?”
Answer:
“Neither”. (My anger caused me to lie)!
Comment from
her: “But you HAVE to live somewhere…”
Me: “Yes, I live
on a boat. Any more questions?”
The line went
dead!
Why we have to
tolerate these cold-calls is beyond me. I don’t know who she was calling on
behalf of, nor do I care; what I do
care about is having my private life dissected by anonymous people in the hope
they can sell me something. NO WAY
Until next time
(and doing it MY way),
Peripatetic
Scribe
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ReplyDeleteRichard, thank you. I suspect that there are many who react as I do to these unwelcome intrusions, and being slightly "off-beat" certainly sends them away bewildered!
ReplyDeleteNice comments, P.S. Here, we haven't suffered too much from this "intrusion" but I can understand and agree with your points. I wonder what my schoolchildren will say?
ReplyDeleteMark NZ
Mark thank you. Glad to know you don't have this problem to the same degree....I guess your schoolchildren will find my answers "strange" as they are all probably well-connected, but there is another side to the coin - privacy!
ReplyDeleteExcellent blog post, P.S.! I couldn't agree with you more! As long as one lives one's life "in one's own way" one can say one is still alive. Unfortunately, many people are currently unaware of life's fundamentals and their conversations are all about social networks, smartphones, selling etc. "Comfortably numb" is less painful, but definitely not my option, either. Thank you. Lucana
ReplyDeleteThanks Lucana. Social networks for me are just the evidence of those who wish to be noticed - I always say that keeping slightly in the background pays greater dividends. Privacy is paramount!
ReplyDelete