Well, from home, at least.
This has nothing to do with the web, but I thought it might be helpful to share. After being plagued with calls from telemarketers between about 6pm and 10pm (the nerve!), my partner and I decided to change our voicemail message. We’ve seen the amount of calls drop dramatically. And when someone does call, we never need to pick up if the phone display shows a “number unknown/hidden”, or if we don’t know the number.
I’m sure this isn’t a new idea (people have screened their answering machines for years), but it’s still pretty cool and works well, at least here in Holland. Call it a lifehack, if you will. Just change your voicemail message to something like this:
“You’ve reached [your number]. We are either unable to take your call, or you’re calling with a hidden/blocked/unkown number, in which case we will never pick up. You can leave your name, number and reason for calling. Calls from friends and family will always be returned. Thank you.”
My own message isn’t this exactly, but that’s the gist of it. It seems kind of cold to do at first, but after all, *you* should be able to decide who you want to talk to during your evenings at home.
I hear you. I get severely annoyed by telemarketers as well, but I still don’t have the guts to just hang up (I *am* dignified, damn it!).
Interesting idea, though I hope the Dutch legislation to prevent unwanted telemarketing will get passed soon so I can do without feeling like I’m doing something socially wrong.