2000-08-01 - 01:34:12

The Manager writing yet again. The moving seems to be done. All of Lily�s goods have been shifted, and a tired Uberhamster and Lily are now unpacking, though lots of goofing about seems to be going on also. This will probably be my last fill in for some time. It�s been fun writing for you folks.

From the sudden surge in the Uberhamster�s hit count, I fear that many of you new folks out there have come here expecting to find crunchy Uberhamster goodness, and instead have found my ramblings. Do not fear new people! Things are not like this normally. That I have spent the last week entertaining all of you out there is a very odd occurrence, which probably will not happen again for a good amount of time. I�m only here because the benevolent Uberhamster wanted to have you, his readers, enjoy new content while he aided his girlfriend Lily with her move into the Hamster Empire, and knew that he would be too tired to update. So for all you folks who have surfed in for the first time, dig into those archives, and see what a true Uberhamster entry is like. Much good stuff in there.

I have a new way of dealing with phone solicitors. As a simple matter of course I ask for their full names the instant that they call me now. First and Last, and what their operations full name is. I also ask for a phone number, just in case we get cut off. After all it would be quite unfortunate to loose our connection and be unable to finish our transaction should I be interested. I think it�s only fair that I should know who I�m talking with, after all, they want to do business with me. Once upon a time a salesperson would take pride in giving a firm handshake and introducing themselves. Things are not the same in the phone sales world it seems.

Upon asking their information I am almost always immediately faced with lots of suspicion and occasionally outright hostility. I think that it�s only polite for them to identify themselves fully. After all, why would I want to do business with a stranger? How can we ever enter into a trusting business relationship if we are strangers? Few seem to share this viewpoint. Most hang the phone up loudly.

Exactly what I want. I dislike phone solicitors for a very specific reason. Most of them will not take a clear and unambiguous no for an answer. When I�ve been polite in the past, and simply said I�m not interested, most of them plow on as if my �no� was meaningless. The sheer disrespect shown by doing that is an insult of fantastic degree in my way of seeing the universe. And if that is not enough, to be truly rid of them, they force a person to do one of two things. 1) Repeat ones refusal several times, often having to get actually loud and hostile in ones refusal of their offer, or 2) Hang up on them. I find both of these options to be very poor. Both force me to take a negative action to another human being. Both leave me feeling in a worse mood once I put the phone down. Since they have called me, the burden of politely ending the conversation is on their heads. It�s their job to hang up first.

To that end, it seems asking for all the information seems to work exceptionally well. Not a single one of them has been willing to tell me full name, business, and phone number. And until I get such information the conversation will never move past that set of requests. They simply leave rather than give the info up. Such rudeness, but it�s theirs, not mine. And that�s how it should be.

�Man�s loneliness is but his fear of life.�

Eugene O�Neill