He or she is also called a telemarketer by most people—in almost the same vein that they would use a swear word.  The more educated customer calls them Contact Centre Representative, or Inside/Outside Sales Representative, or Customer Service Associate. Unfortunately they are also termed to be a nuisance, get to disposition the most DNC’s (Do Not Calls).  Riled, insulted and demeaned by clients for no fault of their own.  Cases in point: “Whose are you?”, “Who’s this?”, “Who you?” “What the %#*@ are you calling?” The sad part: they are probably paid the lowest minimum wage.  All said and done, after hearing a zillion calls, and obviously that many accents, demographics and psychographics, they can detect who you are, and where you come from, and what you’re going through—just by the tone and sound of your voice. Just like your face betrays an emotion, so does your voice. And whether you like it or not—they are the original ‘voice detectors’.  The smart ones can also detect with ease if you’re going to buy from them in the first 2 minutes of the call.

This is precisely why they are so much in demand, and employed worldwide—because they can take the smarts with a sense of humour—whether in Sales, Customer Service or Technical Support—across Canada, India, the Philippines, US and even in Latin American countries (although their target markets may be non-English speaking, or bi-lingual).  In reality they are the front-man, the trench or foot soldier, the spokesperson; the only link between trillion dollar companies and their customers. Just to make my point clearer—how many times you have dealt with your bank’s customer service, or to activate your new credit card, cellphone service, or spoken to the cable guy on the phone.  Almost 9 out of 10 times, correct?  That’s the truth, the telemarketer is the underpaid voice of the organization that they work for, and sometimes even as third party, or outsourced—the bridge between a cold call and a sale, a technical glitch and a fix, the one responsible for keeping a customer, or having them leave to maybe never return.  He or she is the most important cog in the wheel of industrialism, capitalism, even communism or fundamentalism. There is a telemarketing brigade out there that could sell anything from financial products to pickled relishes, from matchmaking to political campaigns to non-stick pots and pans.

However, instead of being given their rightful due, these valuable assets of any organization are often at the receiving end.  The best part; they don’t take it personally and move on to the next call without any kind of voice fatigue.  Bear in mind that the telemarketer who is talked down to, is often ridiculed, mocked, chastised, picked on, mimicked, sweared at, called names, and cursed by many of his passive-aggressive customers who are having a hard time with their spouse/colleague/boss/whatever, and has the temerity to take the most hang-ups, is another human being, just like you are.  And many a time he can only laugh out loud when he gets to hear a voice mail like this: “Hi! You’ve reached so-and-so, if you’re a friend, kindly leave a message. If you are a telemarketer, please don’t.” Another gem: “Ha! Ha! Ha! You’ve reached the Merries (not their real name, the actual name is even funnier)—Stan, Agatha, Melanie and Chris—please leave your message and let it be happy, and smart like we are. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!” (This message is in the voice of their youngest child). Well, at least there’s some on-the-job humour available.

Having said that, patience and persistence are key virtues, and no amount of verbal punches can keep a good salesman or saleswoman down. The best salesperson is also the best listener, and for sure a great husband, or wife—out of work. As a phoenix rises from the ashes, so does the proverbial telemarketing gladiator.  Dusting the tedious and repetitive abuse, shrugging it off like one would a pesky mosquito or fly, they lend an attentive ear to their clientele, give astute and knowledgeable advice, build a long lasting relationship with their customers, close the sale and keep ‘the smile and dial’ approach throughout their relentless shift.  Since there are all kinds of day’s celebrated on Planet Earth. Maybe there needs to be a “Happy Telemarketers Day” where these men and women who work graveyard shifts all across the world get the recognition they rightly deserve.  We can, for sure initiate this with a global telemarketing campaign and some real TLC (Tender Loving Care) on the phone. However, is anyone out there listening?

Jude Paul Fernandes is the author of ‘Frost Bites’, 12 short stories about multi-cultures in Canada which is available at the Toronto Public Library.