[Eril-l] Policy for saying "polite no" to overzealous cold-calling/emailing sales reps, and random LibGuide recommendations?

[Arndt,Theresa]

My "policy" is I don't answer the phone unless the caller ID indicates it's someone I actually want to talk to at that time.  They will leave a message.  If it's not a sales call or sales email I'm interested in, I just delete it unless I already have a relationship with the vendor/sales rep.   If I already have a relationship, I will respond that we're not interested but thanks for the information.

I think it's the FTC that recently reported that by next year 50 percent of our phone calls will be spam or scams.   I do not feel bad about screening, even though I really am a polite person and I am always very nice to the vendors/reps with whom we do business.

(Have gotten 4 spam voicemails already today!)

-- Theresa

Theresa Arndt
Library & Information Services
Dickinson College
Carlisle, PA
717-245-1750
arndtt at dickinson.edu<mailto:arndtt at dickinson.edu>

From: Eril-l <eril-l-bounces at lists.eril-l.org> On Behalf Of Matthew J. Gallagher
Sent: Friday, November 01, 2019 11:42 AM
To: eril-l at lists.eril-l.org
Subject: Re: [Eril-l] Policy for saying "polite no" to overzealous cold-calling/emailing sales reps, and random LibGuide recommendations?

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Hi Diane,

I have a 'no cold-call' policy that I really like and have implemented over the last couple years. Having to answer the phone can really disrupt my train of thought when I am deep in specific types of work, so I do not answer my phone from external callers unless I have scheduled it with them. I typically have my ringer muted as well.

I promise that vendors will reach out via email if you continue to ignore their calls. When they do email, I tell them about my policy, instruct them to communicate via email, and they typically respect it.  If you don't require the services of any specific vendor and they persist, simply mark their correspondence as junk so you don't have to worry about ignoring them.

I'm sure the above may sound a bit callous to some, but I'm busy and don't have the time for all the niceties if I am not interested in a product/offer.

Best,

Matt Gallagher
Assistant Professor, Information Science
Collection Management & Metadata Librarian
University of the Sciences
600 S. 43rd St., Philadelphia, PA 19104
Ph: (215) 596-8963


From: Eril-l [mailto:eril-l-bounces at lists.eril-l.org] On Behalf Of Beth M. Johns
Sent: Friday, November 1, 2019 11:41 AM
To: Diane Westerfield <dwesterfield at coloradocollege.edu<mailto:dwesterfield at coloradocollege.edu>>; eril-l at lists.eril-l.org<mailto:eril-l at lists.eril-l.org>
Subject: Re: [Eril-l] Policy for saying "polite no" to overzealous cold-calling/emailing sales reps, and random LibGuide recommendations?

CAUTION: This email originated from outside the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.

Most of the time, ignoring works. Otherwise, I just state "we are not interested, please do not contact me again."

Then if by phone, I just hang up.

I seem to recall that about a year ago we were having a discussion about an overzealous company that went so far as to report a librarian to his or her dean???  I don't think that happens often though.


Beth



Beth M. Johns, MLIS

E-Resources Librarian

Saginaw Valley State University

Melvin J. Zahnow Library

pronouns: she/her/hers

________________________________
From: Eril-l <eril-l-bounces at lists.eril-l.org<mailto:eril-l-bounces at lists.eril-l.org>> on behalf of Diane Westerfield <dwesterfield at coloradocollege.edu<mailto:dwesterfield at coloradocollege.edu>>
Sent: Friday, November 1, 2019 11:22 AM
To: eril-l at lists.eril-l.org<mailto:eril-l at lists.eril-l.org> <eril-l at lists.eril-l.org<mailto:eril-l at lists.eril-l.org>>
Subject: [Eril-l] Policy for saying "polite no" to overzealous cold-calling/emailing sales reps, and random LibGuide recommendations?


Hi all,



Has anyone come up with a written policy that they send to overzealous sales reps of companies you don't have any products from, and to the random people trying to get you to put their never-heard-of-before company on your LibGuides? Then you can send a polite "We're not interested" and just spam them back every time with that policy. If they manage to get you on the phone, I suppose you could read them the policy, say "No thanks" and hang up.



Or do you just ignore them? That's what I do, but sometimes they get overly persistent.



Thanks,



Diane Westerfield, Electronic Resources & Serials Librarian

Colorado College, Tutt Library

diane.westerfield at coloradocollege.edu<mailto:diane.westerfield at coloradocollege.edu>

(719) 389-6661
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