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From working in a telephone survey call center, I have begun to understand how these centers work and, more importantly, I have learned the best ways to deal with telephone surveyors and I feel compelled, if not obligated, to share this information. Before I begin, though, I would like to remind everybody that when you receive a call from a telephone surveyor, you are most likely talking to an individual ranging in age from 16 to 26. This individual is probably working for minimum wage or barely above and rest assured, the last thing they want to do with their time is bother you, but, we all have to make our way in life somehow and for a young college student like myself, there aren't many jobs available. So, when I call you about the next upcoming election or how your last oil change went, please remember that I am just a young kid doing my job.

Now, the first mistake people generally make is that they hang up on me in the middle of my introduction, that long winded explanation you get when you answer the phone. As soon as I realize that you have hung up on me, I end the call and am prompted to pick a disposition for the call. If you hang up without letting me finish my intro, the only disposition I am allowed to choose is "Not Available." What this means to you is "I WILL KEEP CALLING YOU UNTIL YOU LET ME SPEAK!" This, of course, is not by my own choice. If you don't want to speak to me, I really don't want to speak to you either, but, when I click "Not Available" the computer automatically recycles your number to be called back at another time. Depending on the survey and the clients requests, this may mean that you will be called back in a day, a week, or even in a couple of hours. In short, do not hang up on me until I talk to who I am asking for and THAT PERSON tells me to get lost.
This brings me to the next mistake people make. If you simply say something like "He's not here," or "He doesn't have time for this," I will click that same "Not Available" button and you and I will be going in circles. If I am not allowed to talk to the right person, I have no choice but to leave your number in the system. After all, what if you've been sitting around all day hoping to hear from me and I just happened to catch you at the one ten second bad time of the day?
But, what if you're on the Do Not Call List? Well, that doesn't matter to me. I am not a telemarketer, I am a telephone surveyor. Telephone surveyors, as well as charities and some

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