The NRA just gave up on me after one survey question
I just got called by the NRA about two minutes ago. The nice lady on the phone asked me to listen to a brief recorded message and stay on the line for a quick survey afterwords. Within a few seconds I was listening to a recorded message by the NRA’s ever-so-even-handed current leader (Wayne Hoofenhafen or something) about some kind of horrifying gun-related bill being proposed in congress that apparently should cause us all to run around screaming as if our hair were on fire.
After the recorded message a somewhat aggressive sounding dude came on line to survey me.
Survey guy: “Do you trust the gun-hating congress to protect your constitutional rights?” (I kid you not. That was the question.)
Me: (After a mildly stunned pause…) “Yes”
Survey guy: “Ok I thank you for your time”
Me: “Have a good evening”
I like short telemarketing calls, don’t you?
Hey don’t get me wrong — I’m all for the Second Amendment. However I am decidedly against sucky survey questions.
Okay, was it a survey or telemarketing?
When they are trying to sell under the guise of a survey, that is “sugging.”
If they are fund-raising under the guise of a survey, that is “frugging.”
They aren’t sucky survey questions if it really isn’t a survey.
How did you get on their phone list, do you think?
Comment by Naismith — April 17, 2009 @ 8:50 pm
What an amazing question! I think I would have burst out laughing and been unable to answer.
Comment by Ray — April 17, 2009 @ 9:08 pm
My hair is on fire! My hair is on fire!
Comment by Ardis Parshall — April 17, 2009 @ 9:19 pm
Well Naismith they didn’t try to sell me anything. I described the whole call. Who knows if they would have tried to get me to make a donation though. I didn’t pass the first question so thankfully I didn’t get to find out.
Comment by Geoff J — April 17, 2009 @ 9:48 pm
Don’t you trust freedom loving patriots to ask you freedom loving questions?
Comment by TT — April 18, 2009 @ 4:02 am
I bet a ward member gave them a ward list. We have one brother in the ward who has everyone on his Michigan Militia email distribution list. I asked him to quit sending me emails and he said “I thought you were interested in liberty.”
“Yes, I want freedom from your spam.”
I still get his emails, but they go directly into the Junk Mail folder.
Comment by Floyd the Wonderdog — April 18, 2009 @ 4:32 am
I remember a few missionaries in my mission who developed a survey that they would execute to passerbies in order to find investigators.
Comment by J. Stapley — April 18, 2009 @ 12:53 pm
Yep, it was definitely a pre-qualification/screening question. I suppose they were only interested in finding freedom loving patriots who feel deep distrust for the gun hating US congress.
Anyone else thinking about this recent report all of a sudden?
Comment by Geoff J — April 18, 2009 @ 1:01 pm
Well its a good thing they’re choosing to report on all these recent gun deaths directly connected to the rise in firearm sales. They are like the scriptures republicans – simply owning one guarantees youre going to use it!
But I bet Kristen J is wishing the Living Scriptures people would adopt that same short sales tatic…
Comment by Riley — April 18, 2009 @ 1:55 pm
Hey, at least
I…I mean, that guy didn’t call on Sunday.Comment by BrianJ — April 18, 2009 @ 4:16 pm
#8 Geoff,
I hadn’t heard of the report, but it doesn’t surprise me. I recall a report that during the Clinton administration there was a record number of militias, and, immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks, the number of militias went down exponentially. It’s no surprise to me that militia numbers are going up.
Comment by ian M. Cook — April 19, 2009 @ 6:50 pm
Gee, thanks, Geoff.
Now when the gun-hating Congress takes away our guns, we can all blame you for skewing the results of this survey….
Comment by Rameumptom — April 20, 2009 @ 7:49 am
Thanks Geoff. I’m glad I didn’t check here all weekend, this post just made my Monday.
Comment by David — April 20, 2009 @ 12:24 pm
Not exactly a model of public relations…of course this guy may very well be a contractor who is paid a percentage of what he raises, and he might be a little sloppy that way. I doubt that the NRA is so incompetent that they would write that question themselves. Of course they should rein in their fundraisers either way.
Comment by Mark D. — April 20, 2009 @ 6:27 pm
His name is Wayne LaPierre. While I own guns and appreciate the 2nd amendment too, I think this guy has blood on his hands….in addition to overseeing a lousy pr effort.
Comment by Jeff — April 22, 2009 @ 6:11 am
Geoff J., I just now hung up the phone having been subjected to the same NRA “survey.” And even though I don’t exactly trust Congress on anything, I, too, answered “yes” to their inane question. Mostly, I felt insulted that they thought I was so stupid.
And P.S., after I said yes, the lady thanked me and immediately ended the call, too. Short survey!
Comment by Hunter — April 27, 2009 @ 7:55 pm
Yep. I just had the same call last night. Sounds like they are still working off the same script. And probably using the same recording of the same angry NRA guy.
The call went almost the exact same with me as it did with you and Hunter. But I was kind of an irritable mood anyway, so when she asked about the “gun hating congress” I was in the mood to argue. So I said “yes I do trust them IF they are in fact trying to limit the gun laws”
“Well sir, thank you and have a nice night.”
ME: “WAIT! Don’t you think it’s a bit manipulative and leading to phrase your questions like that? To flatter me by calling me patriotic (at the begining of the call they said they were calling “patriotic people”) and then refer to them as “gun-hating”?”
-Silence-
ME: “Hello?”
“I’m here. Thank you sir. You have a…”
ME: “Seriously, don’t you think that question is just leading people to the answer you’re looking for?”
“I have no comment”
ME(yelling): “Well then don’t waste my time calling me up asking me questions if you don’t really want to discuss it with me!”
Then she hung up.
Now I fear for my life.
Comment by Brother Matsby — July 7, 2009 @ 3:38 pm
Har!
Awesome Matsby.
Comment by Geoff J — July 7, 2009 @ 4:03 pm
Reminds me of this classic.
Comment by Jacob J — July 7, 2009 @ 5:47 pm
I got one of these calls this morning at 8:10 am. We are also registered on the Do Not Call site. Too bad their number came up Unknown as I want to file a complaint.
Comment by Dennis K — October 16, 2009 @ 7:42 am
I too just (7/28/11) received a call almost identical to Geoff’s call back in 2009. When I asked why he was calling my DNC number he said that the NRA had special permission. Had gun control not been the topic I would have immediately hung up.
The call became even more suspicious when he said that Obama was conducting secret talks to ban guns in America, that the the UN was presently sponsoring a conference to ban guns in America and that “they” are taking our rights away. “They” meaning President Obama. I asked what Obama’s position is about guns and they replied that he is against guns (which is not my understanding of his position). I replied that I’m more concerned about the inaccurate scare tactics the NRA caller was using and got the “Thank you have a nice day.”
Comment by Kerry — July 28, 2011 @ 1:39 pm
What’s scary is that the NRA will use our replies as proof that Americans are concerned, upset, and skeptical about that’s happening in America regarding Obama’s agenda to ban guns.
I got tired of asking surveyors, “Who’s sponsoring the survey?” which always begets, “We don’t know.” to which I reply, “Don’t you agree that it would be stupid of me to answer questions without knowing towards what end the answers will be used?” I’m all for adding surveyors to the DNC list.
Comment by Kerry — July 28, 2011 @ 1:54 pm
The funding drivers are funny you should have stayed on the line they went into the powers of the United Nations. LOL like the U.S. follows anything the United Nations says. I am anti Obama not because of him I have no opinion on him he has made extremely damaging decisions but think he is just trusting and nieve. I am Anti-Obama because he is not a legal president according to the U.S. Constitution. However it is a sticky issue if his mother had stayed in the U.S. he would have been and this makes it a logistic issue not a true issue. However I am against the NRA Bashing him for things that are only theoretical. I do agree 100% with everything they are saying however they could have not come up with the information legally for which they are basing their statements.
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Comment by Krystyna — July 8, 2014 @ 11:27 pm