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Why don't telemarketers give up on unresponsive numbers? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 10 months ago by amoroso@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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When receiving unsoliciting phone calls by telemarketers, many people consistently hung up, don't bait, and don't interact. So why don't telemarketers delete from their databases such phone numbers that don't lead to any sales or other business benefits?

Maybe the cost of keeping the numbers is so low telemarketers just don't bother. Or keeping track of what numbers to delete may actually have a cost. Or perhaps telemarketers hope those people will eventually pick up the calls.

Any insight?

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[–] gregorum@lemm.ee 5 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

like i said, i'm going off what a guy in the Verizon store said, which is one step above pulling it out of my own ass, as far as data veracity goes.

but, if i were to guess, i'd speculate that it had to do with the disposability of numbers, how often people change providers after losing a number due to not having to pay or switching off of a parent's plan, things like that. People used to go to great lengths to hold onto old numbers. people don't really care as much now, even when porting them between carriers is easy.