Cold calling

Unsolicited phone calls seem to be on the increase. Fortunately they can be largely controlled through opting out of receiving these, which means that companies that would normally call you are obliged not to. Still, a few get through, and I've been receiving some on my mobile. These are either to do with my mobile tariff or may be from one of the international call services I've been using recently (pre-Skype that is).

However being unable to be particularly forceful makes me susceptible to these calls. Fortunately I'm aware of them, and am not about to be taken in. In the past I'd say I'm not interested and they would argue their point and win - sometimes. Now I'm changed my tack. When they call, if I'm not interested, which is to be fair almost always, I'll say so and hang up immediately before they have to respond. It may seem rude, but at the end of the day I have a difficult time in confrontational situations and I am best avoiding them. These cold callers always seem to be from some Indian call centre, and are obviously trained in being persistent and somewhat argumentative. I'm not having it. I didn't ask for them to call and for once I've being assertive in exercising my right not to be bothered by these people.

To finish on a positive note though, I actually had a call from my own mobile provider today just to check I was happy with everyone and to ensure my all-singing all-dancing mobile was up to speed and performing all it should. No pressure to buy anything, just helpful information. It's just to know it still exists and the lady signed off with wishing me a Merry Christmas, which brought a smile to my face.