Finally—My Phone Will No Longer Ring

Maybe our newly elected officials can close the loopholes in the National Do Not Call Registry

Published: Wednesday, November 7, 2012 - 11:34

Well, it’s finally happened. The late-night unsolicited phone calls, the lawn signs, the brochures that clogged our mailboxes, and the interminable television and radio commercials have come to an end. Whether you are mourning or celebrating your voting choices last week, one thing is clear: We will all be in a “robo call-free zone” at least for the next year or so.

Despite your political leanings, I think this is something all of us can support.

I suspect that a lot of us have subscribed to the National Do Not Call Registry, which is supposed to curtail any unwanted calls to our home phones and cell phones. Of course the politicians who constructed this edict, not surprisingly, allowed some caveats to the law, mainly that political calls and charitable calls are excluded from the registry.

Several years ago I purchased a “phone call zapper,” which is a small device hooked to the phone line that automatically disconnects any computer-generated calls. It works just fine except somehow it, too, allows political and charitable calls to come through. I guess there is a reason for the charitable calls, but I have to be brutally honest: We have never donated to a charity that contacts us via a phone call, and I suspect a lot of you behave the same way. We donate to many charities and recently sponsored several people in cancer fund raisers. But don’t call me at home and expect a donation. It just won’t happen.

Speaking of political calls, I wonder how many of us actually listened to the entire message of the many that we received. As for those daily election polls that measure who the voters favor, I am skeptical of the results. Who are the folks that actually spend the time speaking to the pollsters? Certainly not us. Exit polls are also under suspicion as far as I am concerned because I think a fair percentage of people fudge their voting preferences just to fool with the pollsters.

So here’s my bottom line: Don’t call me about a particular candidate or issue, keep my name off the list of charitable calls, and don’t ask me who I voted for when I exit the voting booth. Now if only my “phone call zapper” was portable so I could use it on those people standing outside the polling booths. Wouldn’t that be a hoot!

About The Author

Bill Kalmar

William J. Kalmar has extensive business experience, including service with a Fortune 500 bank and the Michigan Quality Council, of which he served as director from 1993 through 2003. He served on the Board of Overseers of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program and has been a Baldrige examiner. He was also named quality professional of the year by the ASQ Detroit chapter. Now semiretired, Kalmar does freelance writing for several publications. He is a member of the USA Today Vacation Panel, a mystery shopper for several companies, and a frequent presenter and lecturer.