The Vindicator asked hundreds of its News Contacts this question: Is there anything that



The Vindicator asked hundreds of its News Contacts this question: Is there anything that telemarketing businesses can do to make their calling more acceptable to you?
If telemarketers could not call between the hours of 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., and then not after 9 p.m., that could make their calls a little more palatable. Telemarketing creates jobs and serves a function. However, in today's fast-paced, limited-time world, we do not want to open our homes to them when this is one of the few times (evenings) we seek solace from the outside world.
Bill Addington
Poland
Nothing will make them acceptable to me!
Betty Clemson
Johnston
My main gripe, besides being interrupted from my supper, is that the caller is not well-versed in the English language and very hard to understand.
Alex Yankush
Youngstown
The telemarketing thing is a dilemma for me. I recognize it's importance to the area economy. On the other hand, the number of calls to our household are becoming too numerous, and that is an annoyance which I would like to see curtailed. I do try to be courteous in talking to telemarketers.
Thomas Young
Salem
Telemarketers have become so abusive that I would not buy anything that they have, even if I needed it. Interrupting meals, calling on weekends and computer-generated calls which result in a hang-up when answered are just some of the irritating parts of the industry. Does anyone really sit around hoping that a telemarketer will call with a needed product or service? The concept is beyond belief.
Dean Burns
Struthers
Telemarketers shouldn't be so pushy, and take no for an answer graciously. The biggest tip is when we tell you to take our name off of your calling list, do it!
Anna Maldonado
West Middlesex, Pa.
I would like to see telemarketers charged a dollar or more to bother me at home. When I was a boy, a ringing phone meant a relative was on the line. Now, odds are you don't know who is calling you.
Alan Eggleston
Liberty
The only thing telemarketers can do to make their work more acceptable to me is to stop doing it. I resent their intrusions into my private time. How can these callers possibly imagine that anyone is going to want to buy something when the calls are unwanted, intrusive and impersonal?
Bob Hogue
Boardman
I refuse to listen to telemarketers. I do not want to be bothered. If I want their product or service, I will call them.
Christina M. Buzzelli
Austintown
If I respond that I am not interested, this should be politely accepted and that should end our conversation. As it is, I must repeat my disinterest as least four or five times. My current response to telemarketers is caller ID.
Eve Christopher
Liberty
They should just accept "no" the first time you tell them. And, they shouldn't call during mealtimes.
Suzanne Melia
Boardman
Telemarketing people are annoying. I realize they have a living to make and a job to do. But if there is a product I want to purchase, I will do so without someone trying to sell it to me unsolicited over the telephone. I have purchased equipment to block their calls.
John A. Brabant
Boardman
I would give them the courtesy of talking because it is their job, but cutoffs, recordings, calls at mealtime, calls late at night and wrong-name pronunciation just make it easier to hang up the phone.
Thomas A. Groth
Canfield
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