Man I really hate the way some of these callers act on the phone. When I answer they use my first name and act like they are someone I know - you know the tone - not a questioning inquisitive tone, it is often like how very close family call. After I affirm that it is me, they go right into telling me their woes about their fundraising needs, why it is so critical that I am involved, etc - ALL WHILE I AM INTERRUPTING them the whole time trying to ask a question or tell them something (I had to get back to boiling stuff on stove) - but they ignore and ramble on even while I yell a number more times. Well that's it, if they don't care to hear what I have to say, CLICK!!!

I often feel bad b/c it is a charity but I don't have extra cash to shell out like that. If it is a good cause I'll find the money and send something.

How do you people handle these callers and is it a PITA there?

 

I start polite but often end up just hanging up if they don't listen.

If they do listen, I tell them that I never donate to over-the-phone requests, as a matter of personal policy. That only encourages them.

 

I just say, "No. Goodbye." and then hang up.

 

If it is a good cause I'll find the money and send something.

This is your problem... you are marked as an easy touch.

 

Tell them you want to donate a million dollars, and will they accept a personal check

 

I look at the Caller Id. I don't answer any number I don't recognize. The answering machine turns on after 4 rings and that eliminates most of them. Sometimes their recordings play into the answering machine, but that's a one button "erase". Anybody that actually knows me or was referred to me will speak into the recorder. My average time to return a call is less than 20 minutes. If I'm home and I can hear them, I can pick up the phone.

 

Exactly my approach, #12. There are several well-established charities to which my wife and I subscribe, but there are just too many charities to be able to support them all. Also, an increasing proportion of them seem to be bogus; just fronts for dubious profiteers.

 

Why do we have charities? Isn't everything federalized now where the government sends out money?

 

Surprisingly, the government has failed to capture the monopoly on charity. They've tried: Eliminating the tax deduction for charitable giving has been proposed many times by those that believe the central planners would do a better job of administering all those charitable dollars.

But eliminating charities would also eliminate the front for slush funds such as... Oops, better not name the particular Crime Family Foundation I was thinking of. My post might get removed.

 

I thought this was funny:

 

 

How do you people handle these callers and is it a PITA there?

1. I don't answer any calls if the caller id isn't in the phone's contact book.
2. "The taxman took all of my charity and then some. Go ask him."

 

Answering machine. Stops em dead.

 

Stops em dead

If only . 30kV sent back up the line might do the job better .
Pre-recorded junk messages can clog up an answering machine.

 

I add any unsolicited sales callers to my on line Preferential Callers list.

http://www.tpsonline.org.uk/tps/index.html

 

That helps, but it's not foolproof. As it says on the TPS site, "As TPS registration only prevents marketing calls, organisations will still be able to call you for the purposes of genuine market research."
I've had numerous junk calls from sales people pretending to be market researchers . It's a great pity the research exemption exists. When I'm King I'll remove it .