Tele-Tormentor Series

Would you like to participate in an experiment? It has to do with exploring the amplification power of the Internet, something that apparently allows all us Davids to take on the corporate Goliaths at a volume-level that may register.
Hmmm, that sounded a little….. Goliath-like. Here’s the story - I’m completely fed up with the amount of crappy tele-marketing calls that I get on my mobile phone! This is a number that I’d tended to keep switched off for a fair bit of time as I’d taken an another phone which worked out more cost-effective when I traveled. Recently, I wanted to test out what the new-gen smart-phones are about and what they have to offer. And these instruments are still available only for GSM services, so just when I was about to surrender my old Hutch number, it had to be put back to use again. Score till now, Nokia down 1 for its step-motherly treatment of CDMA. For that matter, I just checked out the RComm site, and there’s just one new model of PDA phone that’s available and thats not a Nokia.

I was already distressed enough with all the GSM providers about their bizarre tariff structures and the way they discriminated against existing customers - we’re typically the last to know about any new plans for instance and particularly, anything that may help us reduce our billing, SMS charges keep going all over the place. But what always got my goat was the incredible opportunistic behavior that they showed when it came to roaming charges, even when you roamed with the same service provider. For instance, I’m with Hutch in Bombay so you’d imagine that when I’m in Bangalore or Delhi where Hutch is present, I’d be treated as though I’m on my home network? Fat chance! They charge me the same as they would if I was roaming on a partner network, and the charges are stiff. Which was the reason for my acquiring the second phone anyway, with RComm, and that went a long way in bringing my bills under control. So +1 to RComm and -1 to Hutch, and I’ve still to get to the point of the Tele-tormentor Series!

While the roaming charges were a good reason not to use my GSM phone when traveling, it wouldn’t have caused me to keep the Hutch phone switched off when traveling. The reason for that is the enormous amount of junk marketing calls that I was getting on that number! I got completely pissed off with the weird calls that would come, and that too when traveling with the roaming charges that I’ve ranted about already. That was the time when I developed the habit of not taking calls from numbers that I didn’t recognize, and I continue that practice even today. And then the GSM phone tended to stay off longer and longer, even when I was in Bombay, till I got ready to give it up - and then didn’t because of Nokia’s discriminatory treatment :o)

And the junk-calls have come right back!

I must also share the fact that I get practically no junk calls on my RComm phone! +1 to RComm for that. And -10 to Hutch - taking their score to -12 in this round, hang your head in shame Hutch!!
So here’s the deal - I’m going to start posting these into my HallOfShame category to explore the power of the blog to see if many of us could get together and form a large enough group and hold these tele-marketers up to ridicule. I believe that we have the right to not be tormented on our mobile phones; just having them and having to be available at all times to people who have the number is torment enough, don’t you think.

I’d like your ideas on how we could build up the volume; online petitions don’t seem to make sense, its got to be a little more flexible and participative, and a whole lot less serious and more interesting. And how could we get the attention of these companies that seem to believe that they can provide shoddy services at ridiculous prices - and then sell us off like data to increase their revenues. Suggestions please, and I will certainly try to implement any piece of technology that will help us get together and be heard.

Are you game? :o)