Cold callers. I have always disliked them, particularly when they disturb my dinner or the latest episode of The Walking Dead.
At home, cold callers are the most intrusive interruption there is, usually dealt with swiftly and in some cases rudely.
At the office, things are much worse. On any given day we receive upwards of 20 cold calls from a variety of sources.
The front-line defence against this menace answers the majority of calls that arrive here, applying a robust filter to ensure our time is protected from website developers, fund managers and telecom providers who want to divert us from applying our time to valuable activities.
At home, cold callers are the most intrusive interruption there is, usually dealt with swiftly and in some cases rudelyIt is a constant source of amazement when they recount stories about some cold callers who resort to barefaced lying in order to get through.
“We spoke yesterday and he asked me to call him back this morning.” Lie. “He knows who I am.” Lie. “I’m senior vice president calling on behalf of XYZ fund manager.” Well, probably not a lie, but entirely irrelevant.
In fact, that was part of a particularly annoying cold call last week, which ended with the caller demanding the full name and job title of the gatekeeper preciously guarding my time.
There are ways to get access to my attention. Cold calling, lying or being rude is not one of them.
Martin Bamford is managing director at Informed Choice
