The Scene: At my office, sitting at my desk working on the company websites. The phone rings. I answer.

Anonymous Woman: Hi there, this is ***** from the yellow pages! I just need to make sure I have your company's information correct. Would you mind verifying it for me?

Me: *suspicious that this may in fact be a marketing call, but not 100% sure so I play along.* Sure.

I listen to the woman on the other end of the phone rattle off our office address, my boss's name, and our main phone number. I confirm all of it, then get really suspicious when Anonymous Woman asks for my name and title in the company.

Me: Rebecca M**, Marketing Coordinator.

Anonymous Woman: Great! We'll use the information you verified to update your free trial yellow pages ad, don't worry, you're not buying anything, it's totally free, and now all we need you to do is go through our automated answering service and answer our questions so we can send you the material on our service and management can review it and decide if it's a service that would benefit your company! I'm transferring you now, it's important that you not hang up the phone until you've answered all the questions for our answering service! I'm transferring you now!

Me: Right.

I hang up the phone. I remember now - I had to deal with this company months ago, finally having to sternly tell them off after they called for the fifth time in one week. I'm not very excited at the prospect of doing it again.

The phone rings.

I answer.

Annoying Telemarketer (henceforth referred to as AT): Hi Ma'am, it's ***** again! You must have gotten disconnected when I transferred you!

Me: No, we didn't get disconnected, I hung up.

AT: What?

Me: We're not interested in receiving the free trial.

AT: What...? *such utter incomprehension cannot possibly be feigned*

Me: My company is not interested in receiving the free trial that you're offering.

AT: Ma'am, you're not buying anything, this is just a free trial, now please answer all of the questions on our automated answering service which I will now transfer you-"

Me: No, I don't think you're understanding me. We are not interested in your free trial, and we are not interested in receiving any information about your services.

AT: Ma'am, you're not buying anything, please just answer the questions on our automated answering service so -"

Me: My company is not interested. And I am not interested in answering the questions on your automated answering service.

AT: What...?

Me: I'm not going to answer your questions. Please don't call here again.

AT: Ma'am, you're not buying anything (OH MY GOD how many times is she going to repeat this???) , this is just a free trial, and we would like to send you information about our services, but we need you to answer the questions on our automated answering service."

Me: I am not interested in your free trial or information about your serivce.

AT: *condescending tone* Ma'am, it's not for you, it's for your company.

Me: I realize that. My company is not interested.

AT: You're not buying anything, this is a free trial. Now please answer the questions on the automated answering service so that your management can receive the information about our service and decide if it would be beneficial to your company, and so you won't get a call back.

Oh, I don't think so.

Me: Not only am I not answering your questions, I do not expect to be called back.

AT: That's why you need to answer the questions on the automated answering service, ma'am, so you won't get a call back.

Me: I am not answering your questions. You will not call this office back.

AT: Maybe I'll call back and speak with your manager.

Me: Go ahead.

Good luck, dear! I answer the phone, and my office manager sure as hell isn't going to want to talk to you!

AT: *curt, clipped tone* Have a nice day.

Me: You, too.

Office Manager Hugh: *calling to me from the other room* Good job, Rebecca!!!!!

And that'll teach me to actually try to talk to the telemarketers instead of just hanging up on them. Although from past experience with this company if you hang up on them, they just repeatedly call and call and call. So I guess it was better to get it out of the way. And they haven't called back!