Poll Dancing
I don’t
usually answer my phone if I don’t recognize the number. I don’t answer because most of the time it is
either from someone telling me “There is nothing wrong with your
credit, but it is imperative that you speak to the representative as this is your
final warning before expiration.” The expiration they
speak of is an offer to buy something…I never stay on the line long enough to
find out what.
Or
It is from a
debt collector trying to collect $650 on an old gas and electric bill that was
run up by my ex-wife after she sold the home that she asked me to leave. The bill was bogus, it was an error, but the
debt collector does not want to discuss it, he just yells and threatens to ruin
my life. The last time I spoke to him I
asked if he would like my address to send me a collection notice. He said yes and I told him “Good luck with that” and hung up.
Today I
answered a call as it looked like a number I knew.
“Congratulations you have been
selected to win a Celebrity cruise to Bermuda.
Hang on and answer some questions to confirm your eligibility.” Coincidentally we
are scheduled for just such a cruise this spring, so I held on the line.
“Will you vote for Hillary Clinton?
Press one for yes, press two for no.”
I hung up,
but it got me to thinking. How accurate
are these polls? This poll for example
is taking a sampling from people stupid enough to think they have won or might
win a cruise to Bermuda. I thought these
polls were supposed to be random samples.
I have never
seen a poll which claims “68% of people stupid enough to think they
just won a cruise to Bermuda will vote for Hillary Clinton, 22% will not vote
for Hillary Clinton, and 10% don’t know where Bermuda is.”
Isn’t any
poll that is taken by phone suspect? By
definition it is not a random sampling as it eliminates people who refuse to
respond to polls. There should be a poll
taken to determine how people who refuse to answer polls intend to vote.
Oh wait…
I sometimes take online polls & surveys--& lie for the fun of it!!
ReplyDeleteSo far I haven't received on-line polls unless it comes with a number withheld which I never answer. If people can't be bothered to tell me who they are then I can't be bothered to answer. As for voting.... well.... they'd wait a long time for me to make up my mind.
ReplyDeleteFunnily enough I have just had a call from someone trying to get me money back on a non existent PPI - The scary thing is that they the knew my name and my address as well as my phone number (mobile) which isn't even on contract, it's pay as you go - how do they know this stuff???
ReplyDeleteI don't answer calls from unknown (usually out-of-state) phone numbers either. But who are these "random" people who always get polled? I'm 65 years old and I've NEVER been called. And how do we know they aren't lying? I would, just to mess with 'em. Or maybe negotiate with them. "I'll want a big tax break from your candidate (they all have favorites), a 'get out of jail free' card (like the bankers have), a time share on Camp David, and maybe a plane ride now and then." Unless their candidate is Ted Cruz. Then I'd just hang up. ;)
ReplyDeleteThe only time i answer when i don't recognize the number is Valentine's Day or the day before Mother's Day. If a flower/candy/whatever delivery is on the way, i don't want to miss a call from the delivery person whose number i don't recognize.
ReplyDeleteI love the invention of Caller ID. I might not be as smart as my smart phone, but at least that feature I have going so it helps avoid answering calls I might not want to answer. That and the fact I work at home so even if I get suckered into answering a call such as a survey or a poll, etc., I just quickly tell them I'm at work and to call back later.....
ReplyDeletebetty
No I will not vote for Hillary Clinton. No I will not vote for Donald Trump. No I don't want to go on a free cruise. Okay, I get what you're saying.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. ☺
i been always very careful about such thing and try my best to avoid unknown numbers ,sometime i show it to my hubby or son when they are at home to attend it
ReplyDeletein my country it is also often to receive fake messages that you have won price or else i hear about people who believed such crap and beard loss but i never trust in such fruit which does not come from seed i grow myself
I like to plead the 5th to the poll takers... if they are lucky enough to get past the caller ID.
ReplyDeleteI never respond to polls, and when people call to try and sell me something I tell them to wait while I get my credit card and then I set down the phone and take a nice long walk.
ReplyDeleteI usually don't answer unknown numbers but if I get careless, I just hang up. I don't trust any of them.
ReplyDeleteMost of the time the calls are about a cruise I never won but would like to LoL. I have learned my lessons not to answer them finally.
ReplyDeleteI think if we ALL (like all the voters) would start lying on polls or refusing to answer them, the candidates couldn't gear their phony promises depending on what the polls said people wanted.
ReplyDeleteThat could possibly lead to the candidates showing us what they really stand for.
Heh, heh. "Good luck with that." Fished in. Excellent.
ReplyDeleteWe won that same trip to Bermuda! We block every number that calls us with polls or bogus gifts - Bob says his list is getting bigger than his actual contact list.
ReplyDeleteWhenever a human asks me to answer a survey is, I caught a trout on a crawfish once." That usually does the trick.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm glad to hear that we're not the only ones who get told "there's nothing wrong with your credit, but...." These people are one of the few bold enough to leave messages. The other unrecognized numbers just hang up when they're unanswered!
ReplyDelete