I worked last winter for a telemarketing firm. (I'm much better now, thanks, I have a real job.)

We were supposed to be calling previous years' customers for a garden service -- fine by me. But soon it became obvious that many of these people had never been customers, didn't know the name of the company, or lived in places that could not have had a garden service. Many were increasingly furious at getting a string of hang-up calls, caused by the computer hanging up after 3 rings to try another number. Our supervisor told me that probably another family member had signed up for the service, or people had entered a contest, or some such thing to get on the allowed list. I simply didn't believe them.

After three weeks of blanketing big parts of Canada and some US districts with these calls, about one out of five calls was an angry one. I left the job in disgust, wondering if there was any way to whistle-blow my company. I still wish I could.

Noni