The Wit and Wisdom of Andy Rooney
December 7th, 2007 categories: San Diego Real Estate
I am a regular for tuning in to watch Andy Rooney on Sunday evenings. Most of the other stuff there really doesnt interest me that much but Andy Rooney does.
I could only wish I could think the way his brilliant mind works. I love his style and without too much effort, I can hear his voice in my mind just any time I want to smile with his zany brand of wit.
One of his monologues was on Telemarketing and Junk Mail and it was just amazing to me. His common sense and logic is just so on the mark but he thinks in ways that most of us dont, regrettably. He can take just about any annoyance and without violence, hatred or too much anxiety, he comes up with the common sense solution that works better than all the complex stuff that our society dishes up.
In the Telemarketing arena, instead of laws and useless and complex legal solutions, he said in 3 simple words a wonderful cure for the annoyance we often suffer when telemarketers call right at dinner time.
His 3 words€¦ Hold On please€¦€¦€¦
Saying this, while putting down your phone and walking off (instead of hanging-up immediately) would make each Telemarketing call so much more time-consuming that boiler room sales would grind to a halt.
Andy continued with other examples of easy solutions for telemarketers. Do you ever get those annoying phone calls with no one on the other end? This is a Telemarketing technique where a machine makes phone calls and records the time of day when a person answers the phone. That way they would arrange a call for about that time better insuring someone would he home to answer the call. What you can do after answering, if you notice there is no one there, is to immediately start hitting your # button on the phone, 6 or 7 times, as quickly as possible. This confuses the machine that dialed the call and it kicks your number out of their system Gosh, what a shame not to have your name in their system any longer !!!
Andy also has a great solution for Junk mail. Now I have personally done this a few times but I keep forgetting to do it consistently. Andy suggests the following:
When you get “ads” enclosed with your phone or utility bill, return these “ads” with your payment. Let the sending companies throw their own junk mail away.When you get those “pre-approved” letters in the mail for everything from credit cards to 2nd mortgages and similar type junk, do not throw away the return envelope.
Most of these come with postage-paid return envelopes, right? It costs them more than the regular 41 cents postage “IF” and when they receive them back.
It costs them nothing if you throw them away! The postage was 39 cents before the last increase and it is according to the weight. In that case, why not get rid of some of your other junk mail and put it in these cool little, postage-paid return envelopes. This will also help out the postal service by replacing some of the lost mail they dont deliver because of the increasing e-mails that are cutting into their profitability. If we all did it, maybe they wouldnt have to keep increasing the cost of postage. Its worth a try. If you want to remain anonymous, just make sure your name isn’t on anything you send them.You can even send the envelope back empty if you want to just to keep them guessing! It still costs them 41 cents.
Cant you just hear Andy in his wonderful raspy voice say all these things? His wit and charm keep me loyal to tuning in but I would love to hear a full 60 minutes of his insights and wit. I hope all of you on ActiveRain enjoy this as much as I enjoyed bringing you some of Andys wit and wisdom. I just love the way the man thinks and if only I could say it just the way he does. There is only one that can and its its himself, the real Andy Rooney. Thankfully he is still around to share it all.
If you still want more or just to hear his wonderful voice, listen to Andy go on about Whats Not in the some of the food we eat.
William! I just love your new site! How awesome it looks. And, I think Andy Rooney is a hoot.
Hi Linda Thanks for dropping by and you are so right, Andy is a hoot . Many thanks for the compliment too, it is so much appreciated!
I’m going to hit the phone like that, I promise. Thanks William.
Hi Missy, Thanks for dropping by and I am pleased to know that there will be more than just me laying down the phone as I say “Hold On Please”. I think they will get the message. As to the hitting the # key when no one is on the line, that also sounds like just the thing to do to get off these calling lists. I hope our clients read this and take advantage of Andy’s great advise.
YES.. I love Andy Rooney..
“When you get “ads†enclosed with your phone or utility bill, return these “ads†with your payment. Let the sending companies throw their own junk mail away”. Will start doing this one..
However I urge everyone not to send back credit offers but to shred them instead..
Hi Kaye, That is goood advice actually. But be sure to send back the empty envelope. I actually wish they would stop sending these offers in the first place. Thanks for coming by and BTW, Merry Christmas my friend!
Oh I quite agree, Andy is the BEST. I always chuckle when listening to his calm rantings. I missed this one though and I will plan on doing just what he suggests.
Thanks William and happy holidays!
Hi Gena, Thanks for dropping by . I am a sucker for Andy’s inspirations as well. Hope it all works out the way he says,lol.
The food piece he did was enough to make me wonder why we buy so much artifical foods. Imagine having no strawberries in Strawberries and Cream pie filling,LOL Too Funny!
This is sheer brilliance! Why didn’t I think of this sooner? You can bet I’ll be taking every single step he suggests!
Hi William, Just dropping by to check on your blog, I heard about the attack on Gena’s AR blog. Hopefully, the rest of your posts will be up soon.
I have always been a fan of Andy Rooney and the way he delivers his wisdom to us.