Telemarketers

A point I neglected to make in my post on Telecommuting is that you get to appreciate how many telemarketers flagrantly flout (Like that? Notice I didn’t say “flaunt”.) the Do Not Call lists. Since I put up that cubicle in my living room, I’ve taken dozens of calls from everyone from cat walkers to refinancing operations who can turn my years of equity into abject poverty while I remain on the line.

But the worst offenders must be chimney sweeps. Maybe it’s a seasonal thing, but I think there must be roving bands of top hat or derby-clad Cockney blokes wandering all over town. Every call starts with “We’re in your neighborhood …”

Now I’m as fond of those loveable lads from Mary Poppins as anyone, but one of the reasons I switched from oil to gas was to stop worrying about the constant clean-up of soot, and focus my dwindling attention on the more important things in life, like gas main explosions.

And speaking of gas main explosions, the other type of telemarketing call I get with great frequency is solicitations to switch my telephone, TV and Internet service from one overpriced company to another. I wouldn’t mind this so much, but half the calls I get are from the company I just switched to. Evidently their high-speed, state-of-the-art, all-encompassing technology has not yet clued in to the fact that we’re already customers.