This is so funny, about getting back at Telemarketers

[danwilson]

Hate Telemarketers? You'll Love This!

By Cathryn Conroy, CompuServe News Editor

Tom Mabe should get some kind of award. When he heard that the American Teleservices Association was holding a conference in Washington, D.C., the comedian who hails from Louisville, Kentucky knew exactly what he had to do: Payback time. He called the telemarketers in their hotel rooms while the moon and stars were still twinkling over the Capitol dome offering to sell them a sleep aid. He pretended to be from the Telemarketers With Insomnia Foundation. We know you're going to be surprised by this, but NONE of them thought it was funny! In fact, some hung up on him and even called him a jerk! What nerve.

Tom Mabe really really really doesn't like telemarketers. "What they do is so intrusive," he said. "I think it's trespassing." So he's resorted to his sense of humor. When a telemarketer tried to sell him an alarm system for his home, he told the guy he was robbing the place and suggested the man call back later. Ha! Ha! Another time, a caller tried to sell him a burial plot. He told the telemarketer he had perfect timing as he was about to kill himself. The telemarketer didn't miss a beat: He asked Mabe for his credit card information. Now Mabe is making money on his telemarketer pranks. He has recorded the calls, including his wacky responses, and sold them on three CDs. A fourth is in the works. That's real payback!