Telemarketer call a lifesaver for man

Part of popular culture is to bash telemarketers. Sure they call in the middle of dinner and try to hawk aluminum siding or pre arranged funerals. But just like you, if you're employed, or if you own a business, they're doing a job. For a lot of these people, this is about the only job they're qualified to do. They put up with abuse from both sides-the people who answer the phone and their supervisors, who sit in a room and monitor their calls. If they don't dial enough numbers or they get up to go to the bathroom, they're scolded or even fired. All of this for $7 an hour. If the telemarketing companies could get rid of the humans, they would. They tried automatic dialers that could make thousands of calls in an 8 hour shift, but the problem was people would hang up on them a lot more often than they would hang up on a real person. So the $7 an hour is a necessary expense for these companies since the first rule in making a sale is to actually get somebody to listen to the pitch. I'm not suggesting that you welcome telemarketer's calls. If it's your practice to slam the phone down on them, or curse them out, then continue to do so. But remember that they're performing a job and making a living in order to pay their bills. Maybe one day when your job goes offshore, you might be happy to take a telemarketer's job for $7 and hour. Maybe by that time, the pay will be up to $7.50 an hour. Just don't go to the bathroom unless you're on a break.

Here's the story.

Telemarketer call a lifesaver for man, 85


Associated Press
First published: Thursday, December 29, 2005

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- A random call from a local telemarketer helped save a frozen 85-year-old man who had fallen near his home in rural Illinois last week.

Crystal Rozell, an employee with Consumer Direct Marketing in Saratoga Springs, called a number on Dec. 22 when the man who answered said he was hurt and asked for help.

The man, who lives in Ridott, Ill., had fallen near his home the previous night and spent the entire night outside, said Stevenson County Sheriff David Snyders, who was in charge of the case in Illinois.

The man managed to crawl back into the house in the morning, but his phone could not make outgoing calls, Snyders said.

Rozell's call was the first he received that day.

The telemarketer contacted the police and the man was taken to a local hospital.

Police had no information about the man's condition, but said he wanted to thank Rozell.

Christopher Silipigno, vice president of Consumer Direct Marketing, said the company makes thousands of calls to all parts of the country every day.

'Crystal usually speaks to 700 to 1,000 people every day,' he said. 'But she had the compassion to listen, and that is really something.'

Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed."