Telemarketing

One nice thing about living in China is that we don’t have to worry about constantly being pestered by telemarketers. Not being able to speak the language when called on our local Chinese number usually results in “I only speak English” followed by a click. If the pesky caller keeps at it then a handoff to the maid results in the end of the call.

If someone calls us on our 817 number from the U.S. then they usually aren’t too thrilled about servicing customers in Asia, as Annie found out today when the Dallas Morning News called:

DMN: “Good evening ma’am – I hope you had a great day.”
Annie: “Thanks, but actually, my day’s just getting started.”
DMN (as Annie tries to stop her to no avail): “Oh – got the night shift huh? Well I am calling because you’ve been selected to receive a free two week trial of the Dallas Morning News…all I need to do is get your address from you.”
Annie: “Do you deliver to Shanghai?”
DMN: “Where exactly is that?”
Annie: “Well, it’s east of Tyler.”
DMN: “We do have a pretty wide delivery area.”
Annie: “It’s in China.”
DMN: “Thank you and have a great day.”