I bullied a telemarketer

I'm not proud of what I did.

That being said, it is becoming more and more apparent over the past couple of years that signing up for the no-call list is a waste of time.

The law has so many loopholes. Politicians made sure that they were exempt from the law. I don't mind receiving a call from a live person representing a political candidate, or even better, from the candidate.

But I do not want to waste my time with robocalls. I don't care what kind of politician or celebrity made the recording, it is a waste of time.

I don't want to receive calls from someone claiming to be from Microsoft and telling me I have problems with my computer. I don't have any problems with my computer; my problem is with some poorly scripted con artist claiming he is from Microsoft.

I love the ones that show up on my phone screen as coming from my own number. I wasn't born yesterday. I am smart enough to know that I am not calling myself, though I have to admit I did check the first couple of times this happened.

There are the calls when you have to wait a few seconds after you pick up the phone  before someone says, "Congratulations, you have won..." I never have found out what I won, since I normally hang up on him at that point.

And then you have the one that calls about every other day claiming to be from the "Customer Service Office.:

About 10 minutes ago, I received my third call this week from the Customer Service Office. On the first two calls I hung up immediately.

Today, I wasn't having any of it. I was right in the middle of some research and was ticked off to be interrupted by somebody.

"I'm from the Customer Service."

"What customer service office?" I asked. "Who are you working for? Come on, give me a name."

As he started to respond, I continued, "Don't you know who you are working for? What kind of company is this and what kind of customers are you serving.."

He started to talk, but I didn't give him a chance. "Why do you keep calling me?" I said. "That's not customer service; that's customer disservice. How would you like it if I called you every other night."

"I.."That was the only word he got out before he gave up and hung up on me.

On one hand, I felt a bit guilty about tearing into a man who was just doing his job. On the other hand- what a feeling of power to force a telemarketer to hang up on you.

I am sure it is just a temporary victory, but I am already preparing my attack on the woman who keeps calling me to tell me I have won a vacation package. By the time I am finished with her, she will wish she was in customer service.
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From Amazon reviews:

Noted Joplin blogger Anson Burlingame on No Child Left Alive- "This book is pure trash."

Noted Joplin blogger Geoff Caldwell on No Child Left Alive- "The absolute worst book I have ever read in my life."

And then, there are the reviews from those who understood the book:

From Jodie- "This book is an interesting read. It is obviously written by someone in education who understands the frustration caused by the emphasis on testing and the complicated politics that are often involved in any work setting, including schools."

From Natalie Sundberg- "It provides a frighteningly accurately depiction of what is wrong with education as it exists today. Test scores are not more important than students, a fact school administrators have forgotten."

From Puglover- "The author presents a parody of modern public schools, but as a teacher I know he describes what is very much based in reality. Don't let corporate takeover of school via testing ruin your child's education."

My satirical novel on one year in a dysfunctional high school in a school district with a narcissistic superintendent, No Child Left Alive, is available locally at Always Buying Books and Changing Hands Book Shoppe in Joplin and Pat's Books in Carthage. It is also available from Amazon.com in paperback and e-book formats.