All companies look for ways to market their products and increase their sales. The internet has become a very effective tool and allows companies to reach customers from distances never thought possible. I’ve shopped online for things I know I wouldn’t find in a local store or things that are simply easier to find sitting in front of a computer and typing words into a search engine.
For some internet sites, if you purchase a membership, the company will pay for shipping, and the products they sell are shipped so fast you can receive the product you were looking for within a day or two – some have come the same day, which seems impossible, but it happens.
Computers have made shopping pretty easy, but it can be irritating, too. Like when you go to a website (looking for an automobile, for example) and a little box pops up asking if you would like to chat with a live agent. I’ve found out the hard way that you need to avoid giving your phone number to any site – unless you want phone calls and lots of them. Last year, I received my bill for my homeowner’s insurance and felt compelled to do some insurance shopping. I made the mistake of giving my phone number – for days, my phone would ring from the insurance company salespeople wanting to give me prices for coverage. Another time, I checked on windows for our home. I was only curious because of an ad I saw offering one free window with the purchase of two. That inquiry had my phone ringing for many days.
Not only do salespeople call you when you go to a website, but insurance salespeople call when you get close to, or over, 65 years of age to try to sell you better medicare supplement policies. Those people have become a little tricky by using phone numbers that appear to be coming from someone you might know because they use an area code the same as your phone number.
I don’t mind most of these calls because I simply tell them that I’ve done my checking and have the best medicare insurance supplement that I can get, and I know that because I spent the time to sit with an agent of my choosing to explore the options available in the area I live in.
Worst are the calls that come with a recorded message. I might be old-fashioned, but I still believe in personal contact that allows a conversation between myself and a live, breathing person. I feel insulted that I answer a phone call and am expected to listen to and answer questions from a recorded voice. As much as I understand that the recorded questions help identify a potential purchasing customer, I would still rather speak to a live sales agent.
A warning to those of you getting close to the age you can receive Medicare – the calls from companies wanting to sell their policies to you will start real soon, and you’ll get a lot of them. Those calls will repeat year after year.
I imagine the day will come when our phones will help prevent the calls we do not want, but for now, I answer, and when I know it’s for a Medicare supplement, I politely say I’m not interested because I have the best I can get in Florida, then hang up – that is if I’m lucky enough to get a call from a live person, not a recording.
Have A Good Week!
