For all of you who dislike Best Buy....

[The Miner Part 2]

why the do they always ask my phone number?!!!

They want to know where you drove from. Some places down here ask for your zip code, others ask for phone number. All they want to do is know how far you drove in order to shop there.

then why not ask for my area code? i really dont get it..

Not sure where you live, but in Fort Worth the area code is (817) for the entire city, along with quite a few other cities, including Arlington. We've got probably 10-12 Best Buy stores in the (817) area code, so area code doesn't narrow it down at all.

well i live in chicago now, but a few months ago i lived in the burbs of chicago and obviously the two cities were much different populations. the questions from the two cities didnt change. they still wanted the same info.

again, im not trying to be a jerk, but i need to ask, madison do you not believe best buy is taking our phone numbers and selling them to the highest telemarketer?

I don't get telemarketing calls. Very rare anyway. I shop at several places that ask for phone numbers, so I have to say that no, I don't think they are selling the numbers to the telemarketing industry.

Speaking from the telemarketing industry's side (I did telemarketing for quite some time, and trained several thousand telemarketers in my time), why would a company pay for a list of phone numbers with no names? Most who want that, use a random dialer now. They plug in say (817) 555-???? and the computer dials every single number from (817) 555-0000 through (817) 555-9999. When someone picks up, they are automatically directed to a live telemarketer.

So no, I don't see the phone number request having anything to do with telemarketing. Like I said though, everyone at any store that I've asked about it, simply responds that "X" company wants to know how far I drove to shop there.

but why is best buy allowed to ask what our number is? why doesnt mcdonals ask our number?

[Madison]

but why is best buy allowed to ask what our number is? why doesnt mcdonals ask our number?

Any company is allowed to ask, it's up to us if we give the information or not.

My only guess as to why Best Buy asks and McDonald's doesn't, is simply McDonald's doesn't figure people drive very far to get fast food, and some people get it on their way somewhere else, so the study wouldn't be accurate. For example, my wife works 37 miles away from where we live, and visits fast food places near her work. Now obviously she's not driving that far to get fast food and come home, so the data would be inaccurate if they did a study.

[nuggets]

Speaking from the telemarketing industry's side (I did telemarketing for quite some time, and trained several thousand telemarketers in my time), why would a company pay for a list of phone numbers with no names? Most who want that, use a random dialer now. They plug in say (817) 555-???? and the computer dials every single number from (817) 555-0000 through (817) 555-9999. When someone picks up, they are automatically directed to a live telemarketer.

So no, I don't see the phone number request having anything to do with telemarketing. Like I said though, everyone at any store that I've asked about it, simply responds that "X" company wants to know how far I drove to shop there.

That type of dialing is illegal in most states. If a business gets your name and number and you don't have a written guarantee saying they won't sell it in, it's safe to assume they will sell your name.

[nuggets]

For some people, life is about bigger and better things than making money.

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Yea, it really sounds like they're all making a living off this

[Madison]

Speaking from the telemarketing industry's side (I did telemarketing for quite some time, and trained several thousand telemarketers in my time), why would a company pay for a list of phone numbers with no names? Most who want that, use a random dialer now. They plug in say (817) 555-???? and the computer dials every single number from (817) 555-0000 through (817) 555-9999. When someone picks up, they are automatically directed to a live telemarketer.

So no, I don't see the phone number request having anything to do with telemarketing. Like I said though, everyone at any store that I've asked about it, simply responds that "X" company wants to know how far I drove to shop there.

That type of dialing is illegal in most states. If a business gets your name and number and you don't have a written guarantee saying they won't sell it in, it's safe to assume they will sell your name.

I've only done telemarketing here in Texas, and the auto dialers were perfectly legal (at least at the time, which was over a decade ago, so I have no clue about the current status).

As to selling name and phone number lists, it's not that hard to not get telemarketing calls. I'm not sure why this has become a big issue in this thread, but who cares if you give Best Buy your phone number? They still don't have your name, and what's to stop you from giving a fake phone number? I get maybe, maybe 6 telemarketing calls per year. About one every two months, and I've had the same phone number for right around 7 years. I also give my correct phone number at Best Buy, Target, and anyone else who asks. I've put it on the net several times for surveys, and other things of that nature, yet I still only get a handful of telemarketing calls per year. I don't see the issue here at all.

Now if you want to talk about spam mail, I get tons of that garbage, and could understand a bunch of fuss about that.

[thedude]

As to selling name and phone number lists, it's not that hard to not get telemarketing calls. I'm not sure why this has become a big issue in this thread, but who cares if you give Best Buy your phone number? They still don't have your name, and what's to stop you from giving a fake phone number? I get maybe, maybe 6 telemarketing calls per year. About one every two months, and I've had the same phone number for right around 7 years. I also give my correct phone number at Best Buy, Target, and anyone else who asks. I've put it on the net several times for surveys, and other things of that nature, yet I still only get a handful of telemarketing calls per year. I don't see the issue here at all.

Now if you want to talk about spam mail, I get tons of that garbage, and could understand a bunch of fuss about that.

Most retail stores use that number to store customer info. (what you bought and when). It can be needed for a bunch of reasons (resolving customer complaints, proof of purchase, and recording what things you buy). Sometimes stores will call you after the fact to see if you want to extended warrenty, while to selling the number to an outside agency.

[The Miner Part 2]

As to selling name and phone number lists, it's not that hard to not get telemarketing calls. I'm not sure why this has become a big issue in this thread, but who cares if you give Best Buy your phone number? They still don't have your name, and what's to stop you from giving a fake phone number? I get maybe, maybe 6 telemarketing calls per year. About one every two months, and I've had the same phone number for right around 7 years. I also give my correct phone number at Best Buy, Target, and anyone else who asks. I've put it on the net several times for surveys, and other things of that nature, yet I still only get a handful of telemarketing calls per year. I don't see the issue here at all.

Now if you want to talk about spam mail, I get tons of that garbage, and could understand a bunch of fuss about that.

Most retail stores use that number to store customer info. (what you bought and when). It can be needed for a bunch of reasons (resolving customer complaints, proof of purchase, and recording what things you buy). Sometimes stores will call you after the fact to see if you want to extended warrenty, while to selling the number to an outside agency.

well there ya go.

im still a pariniod freak so im giving them fake numbers.

[thedude]

As to selling name and phone number lists, it's not that hard to not get telemarketing calls. I'm not sure why this has become a big issue in this thread, but who cares if you give Best Buy your phone number? They still don't have your name, and what's to stop you from giving a fake phone number? I get maybe, maybe 6 telemarketing calls per year. About one every two months, and I've had the same phone number for right around 7 years. I also give my correct phone number at Best Buy, Target, and anyone else who asks. I've put it on the net several times for surveys, and other things of that nature, yet I still only get a handful of telemarketing calls per year. I don't see the issue here at all.

Now if you want to talk about spam mail, I get tons of that garbage, and could understand a bunch of fuss about that.

Most retail stores use that number to store customer info. (what you bought and when). It can be needed for a bunch of reasons (resolving customer complaints, proof of purchase, and recording what things you buy). Sometimes stores will call you after the fact to see if you want to extended warrenty, while to selling the number to an outside agency.

well there ya go.

im still a pariniod freak so im giving them fake numbers.

just remember to save your sales receipt.

[knapplc]

As to selling name and phone number lists, it's not that hard to not get telemarketing calls. I'm not sure why this has become a big issue in this thread, but who cares if you give Best Buy your phone number? They still don't have your name, and what's to stop you from giving a fake phone number? I get maybe, maybe 6 telemarketing calls per year. About one every two months, and I've had the same phone number for right around 7 years. I also give my correct phone number at Best Buy, Target, and anyone else who asks. I've put it on the net several times for surveys, and other things of that nature, yet I still only get a handful of telemarketing calls per year. I don't see the issue here at all.

Now if you want to talk about spam mail, I get tons of that garbage, and could understand a bunch of fuss about that.

Most retail stores use that number to store customer info. (what you bought and when). It can be needed for a bunch of reasons (resolving customer complaints, proof of purchase, and recording what things you buy). Sometimes stores will call you after the fact to see if you want to extended warrenty, while to selling the number to an outside agency.

well there ya go.

im still a pariniod freak so im giving them fake numbers.

That's really the way to go if you're concerned about your privacy, or simply tell them "no thanks." I've done that and had clerks tell me they "needed" my number to go to the next screen to complete the transaction, at which point I'll either give them my number or a fake.

My main gripe, if you want to call it that, over the whole phone number thing is that it takes more time. The quicker I'm in and out of a store the better - I have more important things to do than hang out at Best Buy or Menards or Target. I want what I want, I want to get in and out quick, and I don't want a lot of extra "stuff" taking up my time.

[Madison]

As to selling name and phone number lists, it's not that hard to not get telemarketing calls. I'm not sure why this has become a big issue in this thread, but who cares if you give Best Buy your phone number? They still don't have your name, and what's to stop you from giving a fake phone number? I get maybe, maybe 6 telemarketing calls per year. About one every two months, and I've had the same phone number for right around 7 years. I also give my correct phone number at Best Buy, Target, and anyone else who asks. I've put it on the net several times for surveys, and other things of that nature, yet I still only get a handful of telemarketing calls per year. I don't see the issue here at all.

Now if you want to talk about spam mail, I get tons of that garbage, and could understand a bunch of fuss about that.

Most retail stores use that number to store customer info. (what you bought and when). It can be needed for a bunch of reasons (resolving customer complaints, proof of purchase, and recording what things you buy). Sometimes stores will call you after the fact to see if you want to extended warrenty, while to selling the number to an outside agency.

I remember Circuit City doing giving that reasoning once (the warranty part, so if I had a problem in 90 days, it would be in the records as to when I bought the TV.) Didn't get any additional telemarketing calls though.