Being smart?

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I do cold calling for a living and phone prospects. I happened to phone one prospect today and they gave me their no for good reasons. They then told me that they were in the middle of something else. I, being me, decided to tell them that I understood and had lots of other calls to make while laughing quietly and hung up.

A few minutes later, I get a phone call and it is the same prospect and they say, "You just telemarketed my office to sell me something. Did you do this in mockery of me?" (Paraphrased)


I said I was sorry and hung up before they could respond even further.

In terms of what I said in the first time about getting back to work myself, what is the rule to that?

Would you prefer I stay on the phone as long as possible to practice my social skills while multi-tasking--surfing the web and making posts on Wrong Planet?

Oh no I would not. You have your own life and have things to do.

I would have taken your original comment as good-natured humor, but I guess I can understand how someone else might receive it as a bit fresh.

I find my attempts at friendly joking sometimes miss the mark of being received in the cordial way I intended. I enjoy teasing, which can be a perilous indulgence. In the workplace I try to temper my desires to reach out and connect with others in that way unless I already know them well.

When that guy called me back, I apologized and laughed when I got off the phone the second time as people are just so touchy now-a-days. It does not matter what you do, they act like wet blankets about EVERYTHING.

I am also glad that I hung up the second time because he could have gotten just hostile

Perhaps the "I have lots of other calls to make" was interpreted as you not finding them very important? --> "I have better things to do than talk to you". Or maybe the guy just had a bad day.

Personally, I find telemarketing very annoying, just like people going door to door. My phone number and my doorbell are only for friends and acquaintances, the rest of the world can sod off.

The things is, I like the job since there is more than telemarketing there and an grand opportunity that I am thankful for.

Thanks for the advice. I just wanted to make sure I was not saying something as if I am trying to call people on the carpet in a sneaky way.