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Telemarketers...

08 02 07 - 20:03 I'm on the bus at about 4PM. My mobile rings. I see "anonymous" light up on the outer display of my v3x as the person who'se calling.

I might as well answer it, I'm not doing anything important. It's silent for a few seconds... then I hear another phone ringing.

I think "Has someone pulled the conference line thing on me? Am I now talking to someone else who also has no idea what's going on?"

Then someone answers. Is it a telemarketer?

Him: "Hello, my name is ..."

Hmm, no, it's not an Indian voice. Who is this?

Him: "... and I'm from Telstra. I'd like to offer you a better mobile plan."

Ok, it's a telemarketer. Might as well talk to him - let's see what Telstra say to 3's $29 cap. I'd be interested to know.

Me: "Ok, what do you have?"

Him: "How much are you spending a month on your current mobile plan?"

Me: "Twenty-nine"

Him: "Forty-nine?"

Me: "Twenty-nine dollars"

Him: "Oh, twenty-nine. How much of calls does that include?"

Me: "About $120 worth"

Him: "Do you go over that?"

Me: "No"

He pauses for a moment.

I wonder what he's going to say next.

Him: "I'm sorry, sir, we do not have anything to offer to you. Good day"

Me (trying not to laugh): "Thanks."

I close the flip of my phone, and begin laughing. Good old Telstra, having to resort to telemarketing...

(I apologise to the non-Australian readers of this blog who may not know who Telstra is. It's a (only just recently) privately owned, but previously government-owned telephone company who owns a great chunk of the Australian telephone network, and tries to make it as hard as possible for anyone else to do anything useful...)