rimturse

In Denmark most telephone- and door sales are illegal. In Switzerland they are not. This means that we have a steady stream of salemen/women. Some are quite pleasant and polite. I usually listen and then say something like: "Thank you, but I'm not interested in your product." OR "Thank you, but I already have/use your product." Now this is where the nice, polite salesmen give up and leave. Others, are much more STUBBORN. Two weeks ago a woman called to sell books, cd's and dvd's. I gave her the first standard answer and was about to say goodbye and hang up, but wait...

"Don't you read books at all?" she asks with a kid screaming its head off in the background.

"Very little." (LIE)

"But you do listen to music don't you?"

"No - I'm sorry, but..." (VERY little lie)

"Not even radio?" Kid is still screaming

"No." (Now that IS the truth)

What IS wrong with that kid? Why isn't she doing something about it?

I continue: "Listen...I'm really not interested in your products, so it was nice talking to - "

"Don't you EVER watch a DVD?"

"NO!"

In the end she offers to send me a magazine so I can see how great their products are (kid is still screaming!) and I almost accept just to get rid of her until I discover that I have to pay for it. With a lot of rapid talking (in German!) I finally manage to hang up. What was the point? She wasted my time, her time and her kid's tonsils probably dried out.

I should probably be more rude. My brother-in-law was telling me that I could ask the phonebook company to put a small star next to our number - that way, we should get any telephone sales calls. I wonder if I can put a small star on my door with the same result?

Speaking of phone calls once I got a really funny one in Demark. It was from an elderly lady: "Is this the XXXX restaurant?"

Me: "No, I'm sorry this is a private number."

Her: "Oh, but what number do they have then?"

Duh?

Cats are sleeping.