Sleazy Campaign Tactics: Hijacking The Phone Line You Pay For To Make Their Message Cheaper To Send
I posted this on sleazy candidate Betsy Butler's Facebook page. She's running for office and thinks it entitles her to have her campaigners hijack a phone line I pay for in order to invade my home, interrupt my life, and steal my time. This isn't the first time, either -- she's done this in previous years.
As I wrote in I See Rude People, ethical people trying to persuade you of something pay to send a letter that you can either open or use to pick up after your dog. It is no more okay to use my phone to invade my home than it would be to push your way into my living room and yammer out your political message.
Please, somebody send me her home phone number so I can call her at home and tell her what I think of her sleazy tactics.
Oh, and it seems there's a new trend -- using what seems on the surface like polling but is really a way to ask loaded questions that prime you to think a certain way about an issue or a candidate. This is a way around the few laws we do have that protect us from the unethical who parasite off our phone lines to their marketing costs cheaper.
There's a terrific post up on this at ChuckmeisterUnleashed. An excerpt:
A woman identifying herself as "Monica" was on the phone. She said she was calling from "California Opinion Research" and asked if I would answer a few important questions about a subject that may appear on the ballot during a special election this November. I agreed to participate. I was not expecting what then ensued.It became immediately apparent that the questions the lady was asking me were clearly of a type known as "push polling." For those not familiar with this term, push poll questions are phrased in such a way as to elicit the desired response. The questions are designed to educate (or indoctrinate) the respondent so that the desired answer to the various questions will be given. An example of such a technique could be, "If you were told that your next door neighbor had stopped beating his wife, would you be a) very happy, b) happy, c) sad, or d) neutral in your feelings." The questions coming at me from Ms. Monica were nearly that transparent. And, by the way, I spent 35 years as a marketing, sales, advertising and P.R. exec, so I'm pretty well versed on the subject.
California Opinion Research is actually Maguire Research Services. Contact info is conveniently provided here. I think if you're bothered by them you should call them and let them know how you feel.
P.S. I'd rather vote for my dog than Betsy Butler. Better ethics!
The problem is, of course, that the politicians see theirs as a higher calling. That's why they exempt themselves from the "do not call registry".
Actually, if you look at the list of exceptions, any organization that really wants to, can arrange to exempt itself from the list:
- Political organizations
- Not-for-profit and non-profit organizations
- Anyone, if they claim they are doing a survey
On top of that, there is no restriction on calling business numbers. I get an amazing number of calls from people wanted to sell me toner, SEO, or whatever. They waste my time just as much as politicians. Why is this ok?
a_random_guy at April 7, 2014 1:30 AM
I'm not sure how this is "new", we were getting political calls when I was a kid in the 80s...
NicoleK at April 7, 2014 1:41 AM
Don't buy that this is permissible, not for a second. If you do, you'll never get any rest, because there are hundreds of candidates.
Radwaste at April 7, 2014 3:16 AM
If the push poll caller is actually a person instead of a recording, try answering all questions with "Bite Me".
It gets fun by the third question.
mer at April 7, 2014 5:06 AM
I like to ask a person whether they're wearing any panties, etc. But lately, these calls have been waking me up daily from my nap. I write very intensely for about four-hour blocks and then sleep for 20-some minutes. I need that nap to reboot. Yesterday, I almost didn't get to sleep to be re-energized for my radio show thanks to this unethical jerk Butler's call.
Let's be clear on something: The fact that it is legal to do something doesn't make it ethical. Butler's behavior is unethical. She is stealing my time and using a phone line I pay for to do it.
Amy Alkon at April 7, 2014 5:56 AM
They don't pay for my phone or my time, so I don't participate in their polls.
MarkD at April 7, 2014 6:03 AM
Hey Betsy Butler -- Bite us all.
I have a feature that shows caller ID on all my monitors/screens (TV, pc) whenever a call comes to the house, so I usually have plenty of warning. For these type of calls I answer... "Tito's house of pleasure. We'll do anything for $99. How can I help you?"
No idea why I chose the name Tito.
Tim at April 7, 2014 6:35 AM
Do you not have caller ID?
NicoleK at April 7, 2014 6:46 AM
Once my daughter died I decided that I no longer HAD to answer every phone call. I unplug it when I take my naps. The odds of it being an emergency are slim.
Saw this on FB and think I might try it:
(phone rings and answer) "It's done, but there's blood everywhere. What do you want me to do?"
Bob in Texas at April 7, 2014 7:11 AM
lol@Bob.
Oh yeah.. that has to sink in for a second for full effect.
Tim at April 7, 2014 11:13 AM
We just moved, and I'm trying to get cable and internet hooked up at our new house, which is in BFE. The guy from Time Warner was trying to sell me a bundle with a land line. I explained that last time I had a land line, the only phone calls I ever got were from politicians, survey-takers, and people trying to get in touch with the last person who had that number. I wasn't willing to pay for that, and the guy certainly couldn't argue.
ahw at April 7, 2014 1:11 PM
We can't get packages from Comcast without a landline and same at my mom's with a local company. If you want internet they require you to pay for a landline phone. We don't have one plugged in and just use our cell phones. The only purpose our landline serves is to send the occasional fax for our business if DH is working from home.
BunnyGirl at April 7, 2014 6:38 PM
While it's rude and obnoxious, I'm not sure it's "stealing the phone line you pay for". Presumably it doesn't cost you any more to have people call you, and presumably they've also paid for a phone line.
NicoleK at April 8, 2014 10:29 AM
Maybe they've paid for their own lines, but they haven't paid me for the use of mine, or compensated me by making the time they've spent worthwhile
Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at April 8, 2014 11:01 AM
Amy, I took a cue from one of the previous posts on this subject and "talked dirty" to the caller. "what are you wearing? Are you naked, want to suck my dick?"
She got really upset, yammered about how would I like it if someone talked that way to my wife or daughter; I told her that I was protecting my family by keeping folks like her from coming into my home uninvited. "Don't like what I have to say? Then don't call me. That's not a difficult concept, is it?"
Seriously though, this was the first time I used that tactic and I wonder after SHE hung up if she was going to call the cops on me!
Charles at April 12, 2014 8:50 PM
Amy Alkon
https://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2014/04/sleazy-campaign.html#comment-4482555">comment from CharlesI LOVE that you did that, Charles. If people don't want to be talked to that way, they should see that they should bother total strangers in their homes.
Anyone can call the cops on anyone else, but what would she accuse you of, talking dirty? It's your phone line. People who call in should be prepared to hear whatever you want to say.
Amy Alkon
at April 12, 2014 10:05 PM
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