A vaguely appropriate photo by CD BlissRing ring.
Me: Hello!
...long pause ensues...I should hang up because a pause is usually a bad sign...but I don't...
Young Guy's Voice: This is (insert name of national survey/poll-taking company), and we are conducting a short survey today. Is there a registered voter in the household?
Me: ...Curtly, and after a short pause while I consider if I want to be polled on politics...I am the only registered voter at home right now.
YGV: OK. First of all, does anybody in your family work for a political party, a newspaper, or the media?
Me: No.
YGV: Does anybody have a blog?
Me: ...A pause, because by now I am interested and would actually like to take his survey...umm, well I have a blog.
YGV: ...A pause, because he's slightly surprised and sorry because he was hoping to snag me...
You have a blog?
Me: Somewhat defensively: Well, I wouldn't characterize it as a political blog.
YGV: ...Silence...
Me: I am really curious now, and totally want to answer his stupid survey, so I hastily assure him: The blog is named after the family dogs.
YGV:...Silence...(Now I am imagining that he has caught his supervisor's eye, and that they are gesturing to each other while I earnestly explain who Ed & Reub are.)
Me:...It's not a focused blog. I write about anything I want.
YGV: Thank you for your time. Click.
So now I know how to be rejected by poll-takers. Just mention the family dogs and it's all over.
Thanks for the information. I don't have a dog, but I could tell them I write about turtles?
ReplyDeleteI'm going to use that. Well, maybe after I get tired of talking to them in a pretend language.
ReplyDeleteI don't like polls, they call you when you are cooking dinner and say," I won't take too much of your time," and then go on yak yak yak, "excuse me , my dinner is burning." "I won't take much longer.......
ReplyDeleteLaughing - weird!
ReplyDeleteOne time I had some telemarketer or something call over and over and over and over asking for some man I didn't even know! - even when I was sick in bed they called - I kept saying "I'm not so and so and don't know who that is, please stop calling --this was before call stop lists when I lived in So Louisiana...finally one day I answered and they asked for so and so and I said, "Hold on..."
Then I waited a minute or two and suddenly screamed bloody murder into the phone- LOUD - and said "OMG OMG OMG He'S DEAD! He's DEAD! OMG OMG EEEEEEEEKKKKKK! He's DEADDDDDDDD EEEEEEEEKKAARGGHHAUUGHHH" -- they never called back again ...teeheehee....
LOL your more patient than I ..I just don't answer at all! How weird that having a blog matters?
ReplyDeleteWow you guys have given me some additional ideas for when this happens again, as it surely will!
ReplyDeleteBut, yeah, having a blog is a new and real disqualifier it seems. Is FB next? If so, they will have a hard time finding people to participate.