<p>DS answered the phone last night while I was cooking dinner. I couldn't hear all that he was saying but eventually I figured out that he was giving his SAT scores to the caller. I quickly shook my head no and he told the caller that he couldn't talk any longer and hung up. A few minutes later, a woman identifying herself as the original caller's supervisor asked if I was DS's mother and assured me that they were a legitimate market research organization. I thanked her for calling to reassure me but said that we didn't wish to participate. Afterwards I felt like I might have overreacted. Your thoughts?</p>
<p>It’s not like he was giving his social security number…SAT scores , so what? Not life and death, can’t get credit established with them…do you realize how much of your personal info is out on the internet, including a satellite shot of your house and cars in the driveway? I think you over-reacted to this.</p>
<p>I never respond to any of these ‘market research’ or ‘survey’ calls. If you respond to them it only encourages them to call again. You also have no idea what they might do with the information or what their ‘real reason’ for asking the questions is.</p>
<p>I think you reacted fine and might want to have a chat with your S about giving personal info out to unknown strangers on the phone.</p>
<p>I just tell them that if they want my opinion, then send me money first.</p>
<p>This works great most of the time, and also worked to get me, the wife and the kids signed up with Fieldworks, a market research firm that DOES pay money for opinions!</p>
<p>Since they called back, it was legitimate. The ones that aren’t real use phone banks of workers who don’t even dial numbers themselves. Instead, computers dial the numbers, and, if the call is answered, a free worker’s phone rings, notifying the worker to pick up and start talking. That is why there is a delay when you answer a telemarketer’s call.</p>
<p>A friend forwarded me a market research study for HS seniors who had done SAT/ACT, was paying $75 for 2 hour session. My D had to work that day (yes, minimum wage job, don’t ask) so she declined. Could be legit but I agree about asking to be paid first!!</p>
<p>Son hangs up on anything that isn’t business-related or someone that he knows. Daughter doesn’t answer calls if she doesn’t recognize the customer. She can look it up later on the web to see who the caller is and call them back if it’s legit.</p>
<p>“legitimate” or not, none of their business</p>
<p>I always begin by asking who is paying for the survey, and how they plan to use it. (They always hang up on me.)</p>
<p>Those are fair questions but often they aren’t supposed to reveal these details until AFTER they complete the survey. The callers may not even know this info.</p>
<p>Some of you spend way more time with them than me. I don’t ask about the survey, who funded it, worry about whether it’s legit or not. I just immediately interrupt whatever they’re saying and say “Please take my name off of your calling list” and then hang up.</p>
<p>If you are not comfortable participating in a survey, then it is not an overreaction to refuse to do so. Personally, I enjoy participating and even trying to figure out on my own who is paying for the survey. </p>
<p>It’s also been interesting to see the progress of what kind of calls we get. It all started with the radio station ratings calls. Then products and stores (Giant vs. Safeway; fast food restaurants, familiarity with foreign media – I think that one was for BBC America). Then the political surveys, starting with local and state candidates and issues and ending up with some of the well-known national polls.</p>
<p>It seems to me, plenty of us appreciate all the facts and figures, stats, etc we are able to learn in our research about colleges, financial aid, and all the other stuff that goes into gathering information to make informed decisions. How do you think that information is obtained? If my anonymous information is going to help researchers, etc, and in the end their information helps me, then I am happy to be part of the information gathering process.</p>
<p>^^ But you have no idea who the ‘researchers’ are or what they’ll do with the data and you can bet that a primary motivator for them is a profit driven motive to target your household with ads, etc. More often than not they not only try to time the call to interrupt your dinner but some are downright rude and will simply hang up on you if you say you don’t want to participate. I’m not dependent on any data they acquire and don’t consider it accurate anyway (partly due to people like me who won’t participate).</p>
<p>It’s possible it’s a legit Gallup or other poll. But it is hard to believe the results will be accurate if they only call people with land lines and only get answers from those who cooperate!</p>
<p>We get political surveys all the time (well, this time of year) and I tend to play with their heads once I figure out the questions are biased towards one party or the other. ;)</p>
<p>I actually enjoy participating in the market research calls as long as they don’t take an hour to complete. I figure if they are gathering information I might need in the future, why not. I don’t see it as being any different from Consumer Reports or similar sending out surveys to see how well you like your car. They are the first place I go to look up information about major purchases so why not?</p>
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<p>So what if they called back. My husband NEVER talks to these folks. I told a caller once that he would not talk to them. They called right back and asked to speak to him. The second time, I just hung up on them. They didn’t call a third time.</p>
<p>I participate as well, on the telephone and the internet. I worked as a merket researcher for about 3 months and remember how hard it was. I also like to mess with the numbers, especially when it is a political survey. Lord help the poor kid that gets me when asking about a conservative candidate. I answer the most extreme left position on everything, just to be that outlier.</p>
<p>Ok, I DON’T DO the political ones. I got one call during the last election and was given two choices to answer…neither of them were a choice I would have taken…how do you answer something like that AND how to do you trust the reliability of those “polls” knowing that?</p>