Dialogue

“Good morning, this is Brian calling from K2 Software. I am responding to a recent inquiry you placed on our website about our enterprise management software.”

“Huh? I’m sorry, can you hold on... one sec…. thanks.”

I sit on hold and listen to elevator music for seven minutes.

“Hello, EasyCare Lawn Services. This is Trisha, how can I help you?”

“Hi Trisha, I was just on hold. This is Brian calling from K2 Software. If you have a minute, I wanted to talk to you about enterprise management software for your business.”

“Oh, sorry, we don’t need that anymore.”

The line goes dead. One call down, 140 more to go. This is the life of a telemarketer.

Its my second day on the job. I hear the same script come mumbling out of the cube next to me, just as unsuccessfully.

My phone rings: “Good morning, this is Brian.”

“Hi, I’m calling about your ERP software. We are a bookseller up here in Maryland and thinking about upgrading.”

“OK, great, our software is designed for situations just like yours. Can you tell me about your sales volume?”

“We do about 4 million a year. One warehouse, all sales through the website.”

“Perfect. Let me get you on the phone with an account manager – can you hold?”

I try and transfer the call to a sales rep, but I fumble around with the buttons and the call is lost. I didn’t take down the caller’s number before losing him, and we don’t hear back. This is the life of a telemarketer. 139 more calls to go.