I was called several times in a row by someone who I thought at first was just a telemarketer who had a really, really, REALLY bad case of the Mondays. The first time, he demanded (in a bad british accent) what the name of the CEO of my company was. I'm not supposed to give this information out, plus, c'mon!
I asked him why he wanted this info: "we're updating our spreadsheets and stuff"
I asked him where he was calling from: "Steelfish media, on the North Shore."
We do not use any sort of company that sounds at all like this (i handle the mail, so I see every bill, etc.) What was rather odd was the guy was becoming, very quickly (2 questions!), very angry.
I pressed on: "what does your company do?" "umm. (pause).. Magazines and publishing and stuff" I hung up. This guy didn't seem to know what they did as a company, and he was snapping at me.
Less than a minute later the phone rang again. I didn't answer. Then again. Finally I picked up, and of course, it was him — and I could hear a few voices in the background. This time he launched into how we were CUSTOMERS of the company. I asked him if we were customers, wouldn't they know the name of our head guy? He was furious by now, screaming at me. He said he himself didn't know, that he was there only to do the spreadsheet. I said that look, maybe his job sucked, and that I had had it once, making lots of calls, but that I couldn't release the info.
He yelled again that we were customers - and I couldn't help it - I asked what we buy. He stuttered a lot until saying that we use a "platform" of theirs. I guarantee you we don't, and I told him so. I asked him if he could tell me who their CEO was, and he said "Julian Michaels" — and this was what the caller -ID said on his phone. Finally I said I was not going to give the info out, and that he was really hostile. He said "forget doing business with us" which, of course, I wouldn't, and couldn't — given I don't know WHAT they do, and it seems like he doesn't either. He hung up.
If you are approached by this company for info - I would not give them any. They do not seem to be legit based on the fact that their own people cannot describe what it is they do, and are willing to lie about what it is, or are so abused that they yell at anyone they make cold-calls to. We are certainly NOT a customer, and using this tactic to ensnare people to give up info is just scary. I would NEVER work for them in any capacity, and would never be a customer due to this interaction. If, ever, in fact, I could figure out what it is they are selling.
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