Fiona Reynolds called for our VP Marketing, claiming to be from IBM. I asked whether she was introducing her company, and she said they'd already been introduced. I inquired, "You've submitted the necessary paperwork?" She assumed they had. Her name was familiar as a sales pest, so I put her on hold for 30 seconds, then said the person wasn't available and offered to take a message, but she decided to call back later. My records show that on September 6, she wanted to “share social media information” with a Marketing Manager. I'd asked if she were calling to introduce her company, and she gave an amused “No” that reminded me of Lily Tomlin’s operator character, Ernestine, when she’d arrogantly snort: “We’re the phone company, and we don’t care.” In Ms. Reynolds case, it was: We’re IBM; therefore, we don’t need to introduce ourselves. I got the same attitude last year from an HP representative. Presented with the same question, she paused for a beat and then stated, “We’re Hewlett-Packard.” (Insert gagging noise here.)
Received a message from "Hank" claiming to be from Experian and that he required a call back. He gave an alternate number from the caller ID of 480-612-8313. When calling the alternative call back number the receptionist answered non-descriptly. When I asked what company I called she responded she is a switchboard for multiple companies. I highly doubt a company the size of Experian, when placing calls to consumers, has a switchboard handling the return calls.
Because the individual did not state the purpose of his call, he is most likely attempting to bypass the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule by having the "consumer" call him. However, deception is covered by FTC's guidelines as evidenced by their very successful "Operation Mirage". With a little research, one can quickly deter these questionable callers.
Fiona Reynolds called for our VP Marketing, claiming to be from IBM. I asked whether she was introducing her company, and she said they'd already been introduced. I inquired, "You've submitted the necessary paperwork?" She assumed they had. Her name was familiar as a sales pest, so I put her on hold for 30 seconds, then said the person wasn't available and offered to take a message, but she decided to call back later. My records show that on September 6, she wanted to “share social media information” with a Marketing Manager. I'd asked if she were calling to introduce her company, and she gave an amused “No” that reminded me of Lily Tomlin’s operator character, Ernestine, when she’d arrogantly snort: “We’re the phone company, and we don’t care.” In Ms. Reynolds case, it was: We’re IBM; therefore, we don’t need to introduce ourselves. I got the same attitude last year from an HP representative. Presented with the same question, she paused for a beat and then stated, “We’re Hewlett-Packard.” (Insert gagging noise here.)
UPDATE: This morning, a woman requested a specific marketing manager. When I asked what in reference to, she said: "Well, she handles social media, that's why I'm calling her." I replied, "Are you calling to introduce yourself to her?" There was a moment of silence, then she hung up. I researched the number here and found my note from a month ago. We receive so many of these calls, it's no wonder I don't remember them!
Called for several fuel marketing execs that no longer work with the company. When i asked she needed help with specifically, she only said she needed to talk to the marketing manager. we have no such general manager. explained she needed to tell me what exact fuel and region she needed help with. she " said " oh well, i guess maybe crude". not a legit business call and believe previous comments.