I think, therefore I write

Tag: Spam calls

Where did you get my number?

Phone call 1:

Caller: Hi Ma’m, We are calling from Axis bank. Do you want a personal loan?
Me: No, I don’t. And I don’t remember giving my number to Axis bank at any point. Where did you get my number?
Caller: From the database Ma’m.
Me: Which database do you get it from? I have registered under Do Not Disturb and if still my number is being accessible for such Ads,  I want to raise a complaint.
Caller(Timidly): Sorry Ma’m. (Hangs up the phone)

Phone call 2:

Caller: Hi Ma’m, We are calling from ICICI bank and this call is about a free credit card. Are you interested?
Me: No, I don’t. And I don’t remember giving my number to ICICI bank at any point. Where did you get my number?
Caller(Confidently): From XXX company’s database Ma’m. (Here the company is the previous company I worked for)
Me: I don’t think companies are supposed to give away numbers like that, that too especially when I am not working there anymore.
Caller: Then you can talk to the company Ma’m. Now about the credit card…
Me: I will talk to the company and even if they give you are not supposed to call numbers registered under Do Not Disturb for advertisement purposes of your convenience. If this continues, I might have to raise a complaint on your bank.

(Caller hangs up abruptly)

Phone call 3:

Caller1: Hi Ma’m, We are calling from CITI bank. Are you interested in getting a credit card?
Me: No, I don’t. And I don’t remember giving my number to CITI bank at any point. Where did you get my number?
Caller1: From the database Ma’m.
Me: Which database do you get it from? I am asking because I have registered under Do Not Disturb and if still my number is being accessible for such Ads,  I want to raise a complaint.

(Caller1 fumbles and hands the call to Caller2 with whom I repeat the same query)

Caller2: Ma’m, our boss gives us the database details and we just call from the back office ma’m.
Me: Then connect this call/escalate this to your boss. I want to know how this is happening.
Caller2: Ma’m. This is a new offer. So we just call all numbers just like that. (Thinking this will save them as it is happening for everyone)
Me: Isn’t what you are doing illegal? It’s wrong to call the numbers under Do Not Disturb and I can complain against you for violating this.
Caller2: Sorry Ma’m. We will delete your number from our database. (Hangs up)

do-not-disturb-iphone

Source: topmobiletrends.com

I used to be the super polite girl who listened to all the advertising calls and then refused with great difficulty. Then as the calls increased, I outright started refusing but without asking anything in return. Now, I don’t leave any person who calls me for advertisements which I didn’t sign up for. Even if it takes a couple of minutes, I make sure I give a piece of my mind. This indeed reduces the calls from the respective advertisers. However since there are 1000s of such spam callers, it keeps going on. Most callers hesitate and stagger back the moment you ask “Where did you get my number?”. They don’t have a proper answer because they just take/buy it from the various sources offline and online.

Speak up for yourselves. Stand up against such crude selling of data. It’s your number and you have it to receive valid phone calls, not spam calls. If you need a loan or a credit card, you will approach the bank and they too know it. There is no need for them to call you everyday and check if you have had a change of mind.

Until later 🙂

“Gift Vouchers” and “Complimentary Coupons”

As we all know, there are quite a many gift vouchers and complimentary coupons floating around in the name of advertising. With a lot of experience, we have also come to know the tremendous role of that little * which redirects to a footnote, “Terms and Conditions apply” or “Offer valid only on blah blah” etc. Having had such experiences of our own and after this fiasco, me and Aditya never opted for gift coupons or filling anything for the same purpose.

However, as we were offered the inner circle membership card after a shopping session at Max, we noticed there were a lot of our frequent haunts which were covered in that card and hence decided to take the card. At the least, we can redeem the points into some shopping. We got a bunch of vouchers with the card which were the usual group with hidden terms and conditions. While we threw everything out, the coupons for Cafe Coffee Day caught our eye because it is a frequent haunt and the terms were conducive for us. Also one other coupon which offered a “Pick one out of the 4 – Movie for two, Aroma facial, Day out, Dinner for two” kind of thing was okay in terms. So we decided to use just those 2. Of course, it came with a very short period of validity which did not bother us. We were just thinking if we are able to use it within that time, we will use it else chuck it. We chose a movie for 2 because only that made sense to us and got tickets for Besharam. Other than the personal feeling that we could have gotten tickets for a better movie, that coupon was okay. The CCD experiences were the reason behind this post.

We did happen to go to Cafe Coffee Day a couple of times within that validity period and here’s what we faced:

It took some time to the attendants to understand that it is indeed Cafe Coffee Day’s coupon in spite of the logo. They were baffled of how to apply the coupon in spite of the simple bar code scanning system according to which the coupon was designed. We indeed succeeded in using it at the phoenix market city and Indira nagar outlets. The experiences were funny. At phoenix market city, we used the coupon which said Cafe latte free on a bill of Rs.100 or more. The Cafe latte was served in a paper cup instead of the normal porcelain cup. We joked about it that they had done so because it is just a complimentary drink or maybe they ran out of washed cups and let it pass. It didn’t bother us much.

The funnier one was at Indira nagar outlet. There, we had a bill of 150 odd rupees and wanted to apply the coupon for Rs. 150 and above which gave Tropical Iceberg as the free complimentary drink. Surprisingly, the coupon was not recognized by the scanner and so we applied the coupon which had a Choco-frappe complimentary on a bill of Rs.140 and above. Adit was joking to me that they will serve the frappe in a paper cup but in fact they served it in the normal way – in the big glass. The height of it was the glass had 90% ice cubes and 10% of frappe. I was like “Who puts this many ice cubes in a drink?” I was wondering if they are doing it intentionally because they are giving it away for free and when I pointed it out to the CCD guys, all they had to offer was an awkward smile and a seemingly innocent blink.

One might think “Why is she making a fuss about this? After all, they are giving it for free. She has at least got something out of it”, That’s not it. People do not go and ask for coupons. They force it on us stating the various double-edged benefits. Then they put a short validity on the benefits and lure common people to buy something unnecessarily just to get gifts. Even if we are not fooled by all of this and just use it based on chance and choice, they do not give the complimentary items as they are supposed to be. All I am saying is, instead of giving a glass full of ice cubes in the name of a complimentary drink, you can refrain from giving out coupons. The things that go unnoticed in the name of advertising, promotion of products are countless. It’s better to not take any coupons at all and if you chance upon them while buying something genuinely needed for you, it’s better to just ignore them. Ignoring such things only encourage the dealers to do more such things. Out of the ocean of advertising vouchers, there are only a few which are genuinely promotional and give you what they promise. Others are just plain hokum. Wake up, people!

Until later 🙂