Tom Mabe - Cemetery Telemarketer Prank

Consider this, though.  The telemarketer that reached Mabe is one of many telemarketer companies between Canada and the United States.  We, for example, have gotten 42 calls from twelve different telemarketers in the nearly five weeks since January 25 (I've been logging them all).  That'll probably work out to something like 450-500 telemarketer calls this year.  Maybe Mabe gets a similar number of calls himself, or knows people who get that many calls, and he feels something has to be done.  I don't recall us getting any more than five to ten telemarketer calls a YEAR thirty years ago--IF that.

Different recipients of such calls are in different situations.  I, for example, am a musician, and I rely on my phone for business--it's the primary means by which people can reach me to book me for their events.  I have contacts scattered between Toronto and Ottawa and I need to be reachable.  However, for us to be getting so many telemarketer calls is annoying, almost to the point of harassment.  I applaud moves on Mabe's part.

I don't care that the people at the telemarketer end of the line are just trying to earn money doing what they do.  I get the strong impression that there are very, very few of them who are doing their jobs more out of passion for what they do than for the money they earn.  When you look at it, to what extent does "cold calling" and "telemarketer calling" add to the cultural riches of the world?  They're not going to win an Oscar reciting from their scripts.  And is there any room at ALL for advancement in a job that merely involves calling a bunch of unknown, "faceless" people to offer services or products that most of them will say "no" to anyway?

There was a Bell Canada "telemarketing" commercial circulating about twenty-five years ago--albeit one that deals with telemarketing in a more legit sense of the word--that makes the point that a "satisfied customer is a repeat customer".  How can we, the people who are continually harassed by these "not-so-legit" telemarketers, ever be "satisfied" in the first place when the more we are called by them, the less inclined we are to say yes to them?

Besides, in a lot of cases telemarketer companies are calling on behalf of businesses such as banks, newspapers, charities and so forth.  It seems to me that this makes things more impersonal than if the businesses, who know more about themselves than the telemarketers do, were to call us themselves.  The movie "You've Got Mail" made the excellent point that "whatever else anything is, it ought to begin by being personal"--something I don't think a telemarketer of this "not-so-legit" type can ever be.

People who work in telemarketer companies of this "not-so-legit" type should wake up and smell the coffee.  In the job market, as in relationships, there are plenty of fish in the sea.  There will always be a place for customer service centres and 1-800 numbers for us customers to call that are in connection with advertisements in other forms (e.g. tourism campaigns, online ordering companies and so forth).  But I don't feel there's any place for call centres of the type that repeatedly call people to offer them things the majority of them do not want.  It's call centres of this type that I think Mabe is targeting, and he shouldn't be chastised for it.

"Personally, I wonder if this event warped the TM's little brain and he wound up in an institution?"

One can only hope...

only an [***] would do this?.

Threatening suicide is an idiotic move, because some of the more well-connected TM's might decide, right after you hang him up (or vice versa), to call a mental health center and report that he's been in a conversation with a mentally unstable person in need of admission to the wherever center. He might also report you to the (your) local police department, and if you live in Michigan, threatening to take your own life (for a prank, or for real, but with no follow-through) is more or less equivalent with aggravated assault compounded with first degree (or if you get lucky, second degree) homicide (I say equivalent because suicide is not the same as homicide from a police perspective - and no, I am not a cop, so go ask a cop in your neck of the woods if what I said applies in your locale).

How do I know this?

I have ADHD, and all my life, thanks to the current mental health establishment + the violent media environment + especially the oftentimes cruel treatment (by normal folks) of people deemed 'abnormal' or 'outcast' or 'fringe' by the system, I've had to deal with my own depression (under control now).

I've threatened my own life several times (I did it as a kid, and finally stopped when I turned 17 and realized I could be locked up for a LONG LONG TIME if I did it again) and at an early age (I've lived in Michigan for almost 20 out of the 25 years of my life now) I was informed by the school principal that threatening my own life in Michigan is a felony crime with a combination punishment sentence of multiple years of jail (then it would've been Juvy sentencing) coupled with an extended (multi-year) stay at an insane asylum. Thankfully I've only been inside of the nuthouse system (in actual nuthouses) for a total time of less than a half year or so, spanned across 9 years of admissions and discharges, but I'm not crazy, psycho, etc.; I only went there for depression, stress issues, and ADHD behavior problems, so I was never in the same room as true psychos. And since 2005 I've never actually wanted to knock myself off for whatever reason (I got a new lease on life that year when I decided to work towards getting a Nobel or Pulitzer one day... I am still working on that!)

I understand this was a bad joke by a comedian put on video, and that the video was produced outside of my state, but I'm just saying... do it here in Michigan and it's not the TM whom is the moron, it's the comedian - because MI also has a cyber criminal unit at the State Trooper HQ, and they WILL prosecute suicide threats made only - even if it's just a prank video.

Where I come from, suicide threats and death threats are the same thing. Keep that in mind if you ever want to tell a TM you're going to shoot yourself if he doesn't cut it out.

Better yet, if you already have a court date (and I HIGHLY DO NOT ENCOURAGE THIS [what I am about to suggest is for entertainment only, not as actual advice - if you pull it off, you do so completely at your own risk and any jailtime in Gitmo is your own fault] SO TAKE HEED MY WARNINGS, umm) you can claim to know where the TM works/lives, claim also to have a package of ANFO and ask him to give you his address so you can look it up, verify it, and send him the ANFO postcard... But as I am going to warn you, this would constitute an act of terrorism in the USA (and in the Wash DC area, for receiving addresses, an act of treason charge upon the return address [sender]) so you'd better think twice about THIS kind of prank.

In essence, the best way to deal with TM's is to either hurt their pocketbooks, or hurt their PR images. So just keep up using sites like 800 Notes! And Julia - keep up the good work.

Cheers!

im a telamarketer n this is great the caller went on sellin his s*it

Hello Erica,  I read your post and I wanted to tell you how sorry I am that you are going thru this right now.  I also went thru something similar with some telemarketers, but mostly it was debt collectors for me.  I got injured at work & my ex-employers did not want to pay for the 4 back surgeries + time off and not being able to work.  In any case, I had so many bills that it seemed like everytime the phone rang it was another debt collector. But, I did learn a few things over the past 6 & 1/2 years.  And I thought I would share them with you.  

First of all: put all of your phone #'s on the Do Not Call List. It may not work, but you have to go thru the all of the motions. So get that taken care of.  

Secondly, If these are calls regarding a debt. Do Not Ignore Them. You can try to call  & set up a payment plan. Or if you can't pay them, at all you can simply tell them so. This way if they do continue to call they are breaking the law and you can report them. Then there is paperwork to back up your statement. And also try to keep track of the number of calls and the phone numbers they are using to call you.

One HUGE drawback to going this route is that once you tell them not to call again they probably won't, EVER!  So if you have a problem with your account, etc. they WILL NOT contact you on the phone.  And you may end up with more problems in your account.  But if you specify how you want them to contact you.

I hope some of this helps!  And please write back if I can be of more help.  

Good Luck and God Bless!
Siana



For Example: If I have a Credit Card  balance I can't pay. I would call them @ ask to speak with a supervisor. Explain your situation and if you cannot reach an agreement.  And they are threatening to restart the calls. All you need to say is "I Do Not Want YOU OR YOUR COMPANY to contact me over the phone anymore!"  The ONLY communication I want from you is in the form of a letter."
If these aren't

KEWL STOREE BROH

Try sitting next to the phone for a month, waiting for that dreaded phone call nobody should ever have to receive, saying the person you love is nearing their end, you need to get to the hospital NOW.

You can only do a bedside vigil so many hours each day, before another family member takes "their shift", so to speak. People have to run home to clean up, and to maybe sleep a few hours before going back. Now imagine the phone rings at 6:00 AM, and you know the only reason for a call at that early hour would be to tell you that you need to get back to the hospital RIGHT NOW to say goodbye to your father, and it turns out to be a f-ing telemarketer.

This very thing happened to me just over two months ago. My heart was in my throat when the phone rang, and I pick up to find it's some scumbag from who knows where trying to sell me something.

You people who are making excuses for these telemarketers make me sick. Was Tom Mabe cruel to that telemarketer? Yes he was, and the telemarketer deserved every bit of it. You people, through your so called "job", can cause real physical damage and hurt to people's lives who you just cold call out of the blue. Telemarketers deserve every ounce of scorn, abuse, and bad karma that comes their way. Don't like it? Then get some new morals and a new job.

st as an FYI, telemarketers are exempt from this anonymous or 'blocked caller-id' blocking service.  I myself found this out the hard way when I had finally got my own land-line when I turned 18.  Signed up for an unlisted number and also paid extra for the service that automatically blocks anonymous or blocked calls.  Right away, I still started to get telemarketers calling me, even ones that caller-id listed as...'Anonymous Caller."  When I called the telephone company to complain, the lady I talked to told me plain as day that telemarketers are exempt from this.  This was before the Do Not Call list also I believe.

I soon got a cell phone, cancelled my land-line, and never looked back since

Some people just have no appreciation for humor. I think all of these pranks are hilarious.
I wish I had this kind of wit so I could share in the action. As far as feeling sorry for the TM, they deserve no mercy. Every job has pitfalls. These low life scumbags wont get any pity from me. Keep up the good work. Looking forward to more pranks.

This was not funny.  I think the guy was trying to delay Mabe so he could try to get him some help.  Several years ago our county had a double murder.  A boy killed both of his parents, but first called a friend.  The friend on the other end of the phone heard everything--the mother scream and the gunshot.  I can't imagine how helpless the other kid felt.  I don't like telemarketers either, but this was cruel.  I did love the first coffee shop prank though!!!

I think this was a terrible prank!!!! Suicide is in no way funny!!! You'd find it less funny if someone you cared about actually took their own life!!! The other pranks are funny but I feel you took this to far! Sorry.

You are HILARIOUS!!!! Ansolutly perfect prank for that call- lol... Did you just make that up on the spot ? Im impressed - great sense of humor -
Thanks- Kathy from
Oregon

Why are you here listening to jokes if you have no sense of humor?

I keep getting Calls from someone claiming if I don’t return call to them they will send a us Treasury Magistrate  or judge to get me- 1-201-948-1061