I just read a post by Deb Brooks about how a pesky telemarketer drove her nuts. It made me think of a situation that happened with my son the other day.
Let me start the story by saying that I respect telemarketers- to a point. I am ALWAYS polite in the beginning. I had a job trying to sell newspapers during college for a brief time and it was miserable. I feel for these people.
However, I have a pet peeve. When I say, "No thank you, I am not interested" and the caller keeps talking through me, it unnerves me. Do people think that if they talk THROUGH you they will sell you something? I wonder if this has ever worked? It must, because they always do it.
Well, I have modeled this behavior for my kids because I want them to always be polite to callers and respect people trying to earn a living. Imagine my surprise when I heard my 12 year old son pick up the phone and say the lines that I say. Then, after a few more seconds of saying, No thank you, he lost it. He screamed, "I don't want your cookies!" He then hung up.
I asked him what the caller was selling and why the outburst. He said the caller wouldn't take no for an answer. He told me he tried to be nice and say no several times. The funny thing is that my son didn't even know what was being sold. He told me he just pictured the girls selling cookies (Girl Scouts, of course). I am not sure why I found this funny, but I did.
Even kids have breaking points when it comes to telemarketers.
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