The telephone really is an amazing invention, especially when you think that we can speak to people all the way across the other side of the world, and hear them as clear as a bell (Alexander Graham Bell in fact!). It can help connect us to family members, or even call for help – and over the pandemic, it has been invaluable for people feeling a bit lonely. That said, it’s not all good and there are plenty of annoying things that businesses tend to do on the telephone.
One thing that’s important to note is that the person at the end of the phone is not always who they say they are. Anyone can pretend to be from any organization and there are lots of people who use this tactic, not only to steal money and personal information but also as a way to destroy the reputation of the business. Unknownphone.com is a great online service that allows you to find out who is ringing you if you’re uncertain.
Cold Call Marketing
Cold call marketing is something that most of us have experienced and it can be incredibly frustrating. It is very unlikely that we want any of the products that are trying to be sold to us through this type of marketing, but this doesn’t stop the salespeople from trying. They are often incredibly persistent and won’t take ‘no’ for an answer which explains why a lot of usually-calm people tend to lose their temper with these types of callers.
Scam Calls
It seems that the more scams we are made aware of, the more pop up, and they seem to be getting more and more complicated thanks to advances in technology. This could involve anything from pretending to be a tech company like Microsoft, alerting you to a virus on your computer, or persuading you to download an antivirus program (which is actually malware), or perhaps a fraudster who asks, “can you hear me?” and uses a recording of your affirmative answer to make it sound as though you consent to sign up to an expensive subscription. Since the Coronavirus, there have been even more scams through texts and calls, preying on people’s worries and fears around the pandemic. Fraudsters are incredibly clever and ruthless and even those of us who feel that we are pretty savvy and aware of these things, couldn’t be blamed for falling for one.
If you’re calling a business for help, it can be annoying to wait in long queues, with multiple button-pressing options and awful hold music. It can be frustrating to get through to someone who has no idea how to help or asks you a million questions. However, as we can see, there are certainly a lot worse things that they could be doing in the long run, so maybe next time we hear that tinny rendition of Yellow by Coldplay when we’re put on hold, we’ll roll our eyes but wait patiently.
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