Gullible as a Trout ...

[AmberLee]

I'm straining to keep an animal motif here...

Found this interesting article about telephone solicitors for charity(s) that made me think a lot. And realize how gullible I've been on occasion when contacted by charities. So, although I have been as gullible as a TROUT on occasion, you need not be in the future.

**Whew, just barely kept in an animal theme. Woo-hoo! I mean BEARly kept it!! **

Doesn't count? Ok, I like cats. They are lovely, fuzzy delights. Happy now???

[LoudLou]

You ARE silly!

[AmberLee]

But the article did make me think about how I handle phone calls requesting charity; I plan to be much more assertive and ask more questions about who they represent and who they are...

[LoudLou]

We also ask them to explain how the $$$ is used. I've used these two websites to research charities in the past. They are pretty good.
http://www.charitywatch.com/
http://www.charitywatch.org

[tatsxxx11]

My husband's MANTRA to the easiest, most trusting, gullible mark on the planet....I'D BE HAPPY TO HELP OR MAKE A DONATION. PLEASE SEND ME YOUR ORGANIZATION'S LITERATURE IN THE MAIL TO REVIEW AND I WILL MAIL YOU A CHECK! PERIOD! I still haven't learned!

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

I confess I've become very hard on any unsolicited callers. I get sooooooo many of them at work you wouldn't believe it. Somedays I'll get maybe 20 calls all day, and 2 of them will be work related - and I'm not exaggerating. I usually don't even give them a chance. As soon as they identify where they are calling from, I say "Sorry, I'm not interested" and I hang up. I choose which charities I want to give to, then I seek them out and find out where to send the money. And if it is a legitimate charity that is calling, well my response just gave them my vote on unsolicited calls and hopefully they'll find a better way to raise money next time.

Terry is in sales and he gives me a hard time because he says (of all telemarketers) that they are just trying to make a living, but I'm sick of it and I'm not going to waste my time.

Sorry if this sounds jaded or mean, but it's the end of one of those days. 4 messages for the boss and a million useless phone calls....interrupting my valuable Pet Talk time! (was that enough to make it Pet related?)

[tatsxxx11]

Oh no, as for telemarketers, I'm with you T&P's Mom! Grrrrrrrrr! I was talking more about people claiming to represent the Kidney Foundation, March of Dimes, etc. That's where I have my moments of weakness! Actually, I don't believe any well known, national charity groups solict by phone any more, thankfully!

[Pam]

I used to be nice and polite to telemarketers because I also thought they are just trying to make a living. Then it occurred to me that I pay $$ for an unlisted phone # and what's the point. Plus they call during dinner. Now I say the same thing almost immediately, "sorry, not interested." If things comes in the mail that's a different story. I am much more apt to respond. I do get mailings from the Humane Society (that keeps this Pet Talk related!)

[momoffuzzyfaces]

I'm very naughty about unsolicited phone calls. I have Caller ID on my phone and if a call comes in as Unavailable, that usually means they've blocked their name and number, so I don't answer. I can ignore a ringing phone. I live by myself so don't have to consider other people. I have recently found another solution though according to my aunt. I'm on the Internet on Pet Talk so much, no one can reach me by phone anyway! I'm actually on and off all day. My aunt just doesn't happen to call when I'm off. (I check on her often, just in case)

As for charities, I give to the ones I want and don't answer the calls of others. I figure it's no ruder than them calling me and bothering me.

[Kfamr]

..I try to be nice to them... but when they call they say "May i speak to mr or mrs ka-napp ... our name is Knapp pronounces Nap..... i always reply "No you ka-not" ... geez atleast learn how to say our name befor you call out house!!!

[zippy-kat]

When I was 16, I once had a telemarketer tell me I should be in bootcamp...

Before giving her spill about xyz (don't remember what it was now), she NEVER asked for my parents--jumped right in and started asking if I owned a car. "Yep." (Well, it wasn't in my name but I was the only one who used it.) Would you like to purchase xyz for only $$$? "Sorry, not interested." Of course she didn't take no for an answer, went on and on and on asking questions when she finally came to one that-for one reason or another-I couldn't answer & that tipped her off that I wasn't "of age." She went nuts! "How DARE you waste my time...blah blah blah....Your parents should put you in boot camp....blah blah blah!!" While the 'boot camp' thing made laugh, the 'how dare you waste MY time' infuriated me! I TOLD her (and I remember this cos it was so great...left her speechless), "Look lady! I DID tell you I wasn't interested, you just wouldn't shut up and NOT ONCE did you ask if I was able to make decisions for the household!" She hung up after a moment of silence.

[Logan]

LOL!! Amberlee, I'm laughing out loud, really! When I first got caller id, I'd come home from work (when I worked in an office away from home) and I'd have 15-20 "unavailables" on the caller id and not one message! That convinced me that I shouldn't answer the phone if it says "unavailable". Well, one night, last year, the phone rang. The caller id said "unavailable", and I was cooking dinner. I told Helen to ignore it. She answered it anyway (bad child).....she knew the lingo though...if they asked for Mr. or Mrs....she knew it was a telemarketer. There is no "mr" here. But this person said she was with Yankee Golden Retriever Rescue....this is when we ended up finding out that we had won their raffle! I almost said "no" to a $3000 prize!!! LOL!!!

[4 feline house]

I once answered the phone without checking the caller ID because I was expecting it to be my son anyway. This was the gist of it:

"My name is Cathy and I hope I am not interrupting anything. I wanted to tell you that Jesus loves you and died so that you could have eternal life. If you would like to talk about it, I can visit with you or give you some phone numbers if you do not have time now."

"Thank you, Cathy, but I am already a Christian."

"Praise God, and have a good evening. Good night."

I was glad I answered it, it lifted my spirits.

[zippy-kat]

Originally posted by 4 feline house
I once answered the phone without checking the caller ID because I was expecting it to be my son anyway. This was the gist of it:

"My name is Cathy and I hope I am not interrupting anything. I wanted to tell you that Jesus loves you and died so that you could have eternal life. If you would like to talk about it, I can visit with you or give you some phone numbers if you do not have time now."

"Thank you, Cathy, but I am already a Christian."

"Praise God, and have a good evening. Good night."

I was glad I answered it, it lifted my spirits.

HEY! That's NEAT!
(esp. the way she didn't badger you...)