Telemarketing Fraud

Ah, the telemarketers are fuming and sputtering over the National Do Not Call List. It's expected. After all, the only reason that people sign up for the list is that they are so weak-willed that they are afraid that they'll buy everything that they're offered. At least according to the telemarketers. Couldn't be that people just don't like being pestered; everybody loves getting phone calls, right? Especially during meals.

Two million jobs lost, they claim. I think that number is rather wildly inflated -- I don't think that too many businesses will dry up and blow away if they have to find a new advertising channel. Even counting part-timers there can't be that many phone jockeys around. Doesn't matter that the people who are not on the DNC list are presumably more favorably disposed to the calls, or at least less likely to scream at the poor drelbs with the headphones. Gotta make it look like a coming bloodbath.

I got four telemarketing calls today. All the callers had strong Indian accents. One I assume was a telemarketer; he was simply incomprehensible. Another one got trapped in a "language loop":

HIM:

May I plis spik to Mister Lightning?

ME:

Speaking

HIM:

May I plis spik to Mister Lightning? (exact same inflection)

ME:

Speaking

HIM:

May I plis spik to Mister Lightning? (again, the exact same inflection)

ME:

<click>

Now, I've been in the computer business for a long time. There are a lot of Indians in the computer biz; always have been. Like anybody else, some are fireballs, some are jerks, and most are in between. Prejudice against Indians is something that simply doesn't fly, like prejudice against blacks in sports or Jews in law. When I say I can't understand somebody's accent, this is saying something.

Telemarketing isn't going away. It's moving to India. Many telemarketing firms are going to go away or become simple brokerages. No conspiricy here; just the latest quirk in the corporate outsourcing binge.

And the "do not call" list gets the blame for the loss of American jobs. Convienent.