We get so many telemarketing calls at my work; it really is a treat to listen to my boss say “fuck off” into the phone receiver every hour or so. But, to tell the truth, I rather like to listen to the phone schpeals, paying close attention to how the sinister telemarketing world grows and shifts with the populations changing responses.
For instance, you probably have already noticed that a lot of them are automated now. The phone will ring, and after you say ‘hello’ there will be a brief pause for the computer on the other end to determines if a voice picked up before it plays a message.
This morning, I noticed that they are getting even smarter now. The automated voice sounds like a rookie who is just starting out. Lots of very obviously placed “uh’s’ and “… so, um …”‘ so that at first instinct I thought maybe the pause was not artificial and that in fact, I was listening to a real person.
I think the telemarketing companies figure that if you still think it’s a human, more people are less likely to hang up the phone. People will wait for a pause to tell them they are not interested, and meanwhile, will sit through the ad or, heaven forbid! sacrifice politeness.
Anyone else have any new thoughts on how advertising shifts/is shifting?
There’s this ad in the BART station for the Windows mobile PDA that reads “Modify the Excel spreadsheet, or just wait for the train?”, and it bothers me that anyone wouldn’t think “Uh, just wait for the train?”