Colorado law will not change
A way to hinder telemarketers has finally presented itself in
the first nationwide No Call List.
“I think that all of us deserve some privacy in our homes and
there are a number of people who have trouble getting off the phone
when telemarketers call them,” said Sen. Peggy Reeves, of Fort
Collins. Reeves was one of many senators to pass Colorado’s own No
Call List more than one year ago.
Although the nationwide list is currently in effect, it still
might encounter difficulty from opponents. Colorado’s individual No
Call List cannot be affected by any court ruling on the federal
list.
“I would recommend if anyone wants to be put on this list they
simply register for Colorado’s list,” Reeves said. “Those names
will automatically transfer to the nationwide list.”
Colorado citizens can register for a No Call List through
www.ColoradoNoCall.com.
Dave Hager, a sophomore at CSU, worked as a telemarketer for
Circulation Services Inc. (CSI) for the month of August this
previous summer. Hager’s attitude towards telemarketers seems to
resemble that of many who would sign up to be on a No Call
List.
“The No Call List is a good idea because no one likes
telemarketers,” Hager said. “It’s terrible. I don’t think there’s a
single American that likes telemarketing.”
However, at least for C.S.I, getting taken off a list was more
complicated than just shouting and hanging up on a
telemarketer.
“I n order for me to take someone off a list I would have ask
them to hold on so I could get my manager and then he could take
them off the list,” Hagar said. “People who would just yell at me
and hang up I would just put under ‘not interested,’ and not bother
getting my manager. More time to make sales.”
Some uninterested citizens were more adamant than others when
replying to Hager’s sales-pitches.
“People would yell, ‘Quit calling here, leave me the hell
alone,'” Hager said. “‘I don’t want any God damn newspapers, they
just sit around my lawn. You’re always calling here at 9 in the
morning.'”
Hager was also instructed with “rebuttals” to whatever argument
a consumer would have for being disinterested in whatever he was
attempting to sell them.
“There’s a list of rebuttals, depending on what excuse they give
you,” Hagar said. “You’re instructed to have your own ‘spin’ on it,
that’s where the salesman part comes in.”
Junior Nate King definitely won’t miss telemarketers calling
him. King received three to four calls a week in his dorm room.
“I think it’s ridiculous that they can call that many people
just to push some deal,” King said. ” They’ll have to implement
some system to make sure it gets done.”
Consequences for telemarketers who call someone registered on a
No Call List, usually amount in fines that can be substantial.
Complaints can be made through the Attorney General’s office.
“No one is getting thrown in jail for this, but there are
definite financial disincentives that telemarketers can face,”
Reeves said. “And people haven’t been shy about calling to
complain.”
The biggest opponents to the No Call List have often used
arguments of free speech to justify telemarketers’ calls, but
advocates claim they have a right to their privacy.
“There’s exceptions to free speech, they’re calling people at
home,” Hager said.
Even as a telemarketer, there are no misconceptions about the
public’s general attitude towards this controversial business
approach.
“Everyone hates telemarketers. You just know you’re being hated
when you work there,” Hager said. “You try to be nice, but I would
hate me too.”
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