Phone call from HSE

[Bill Edwards]

I find the whole cold calling thing interesting.

Everybody seems to hate it.
Nearly everybody seems to just hang up, those who don't spin things along and waste the callers time.


But somebody clearly gives them the time of day and whatever they want (money) as well frequently enough for it to be worth all the rejections.

 

[ajlelectronics]

Just like junkmail, it's a numbers game. Sadly there are people who will buy from cold callers.

 

[colnerov]

Hi, if you use TPS you have to renew it every couple of years otherwise calls start coming through again.

Once you know how call centres work they are easier to deal with. What happens is that the system puts 12 to 15 numbers up on the screen and rings them all, the first one to answer is highlighted, the operator scrolls down and clicks on it which cuts all the other calls off and then starts their script with is that Mr xxxxx.

So what you do is don't answer the phone straight away, let it ring 3 or 4 times so that someone else answers it first. If you do get to answer and there is a silence (because they are scrolling down) then hang up, a real caller will be ready to speak straight away. That counts as a response and they are not supposed to call again for 30 days (not a guarantee with some companies) Once they start their script you can tell fairly quickly whether it telesales or a someone you want to talk to like a business or a friend. How you deal with them after has already been covered.

At home I generally don't answer the phone at all, because most people I know, know to leave a quick message and I ring them back.

Colin

 

[waldershelf]

I've had out of the blue phone calls from HSE, but at the time I was working for a very large company and was on first name terms with many of the local office staff. We were what was called a self regulating organisation in that they didn't bother us except for a routine planned audit of our H&S system. We had to report our selves for any breaches of regulations. Which was good for us as they really didn't come around much and if we made a report they mostly just made a record of it, unless it was serious of course. Back to the phone calls, when it happened they were usually in the area and were after a free lunch in the dining rooms.

 

[rtcosic]

Back to the phone calls, when it happened they were usually in the area and were after a free lunch in the dining rooms.

Sounds familiar - for the 1980s and 1990s.
Later as the old Alkali Inspector/Factory Inspector types retired and the new generation came along this ended.
Often it was actually very useful to have informal off the record chats over a canteen lunch, but later all visits had to be logged and recording boxes ticked so this was killed off.

 

[Moosevan]

We are registered with tps and don't seem to get many calls from uk call centres, but we've been plagued the last few years from foreign (mainly Indian by the sounds of it) call centres asking about surveys etc.

Purchased one of those party air horns from a poundshop & found a good blast of that down the handset tends to focus the attention of the 'little chap from Mumbai'...

 

[daleyd]

Purchased one of those party air horns from a poundshop & found a good blast of that down the handset tends to focus the attention of the 'little chap from Mumbai'...

 

[ukracer]

Purchased one of those party air horns from a poundshop & found a good blast of that down the handset tends to focus the attention of the 'little chap from Mumbai'...

I found a use for my fireservice issue acme thundererer it sits by the phone.