6 ms·

I just had a call from someone conducting an IT survey. I asked the person, "What's in it for me?, I'm at work, time is money." They were confused and I respond

I just had a call from someone conducting an IT survey. I asked the person, "What's in it for me?, I'm at work, time is money." They were confused and I responded, "I'll do your survey if there's a gift card or lunch involved. You are not a client, nor a friend. Time is money."

jimmytucson 14y ago
There's one way to go overboard. My 8 year old just asked me to hook up his PS3. I said, "Kid... time is money. What's in it for me? Every day, I'm hustling." I think people have learned to respect me so much they don't even invite me to parties or funerals anymore. Score!
- theorique 14y ago
  There's a very big difference between a random caller doing a survey (no connection, no ongoing relationship, no obligation) and your own son, or even between the random caller and anyone close enough to you to ask you to a funeral or party. Do you really not see the difference between these situations or are you just doing a reductio ad absurdum?
redwood 14y ago
Time is money, family, and self :)
jakejake 14y ago
I used to work at a marketing firm and we did occasional phone survey which I would have to listen in periodically to ensure the questions were understandable and getting good answers. I was always amazed that anybody would spend 20 minutes answering questions asked by some random person for absolutely no reward. I still don't understand why. And our surveys had to be representative of the area demographics so it was not just all lonely, elderly people. It was people of all ages, race, etc.
- zevyoura 14y ago
  People are bored, and a lot of people want someone to listen to them.
  - philwelch 14y ago
    This is especially true for people with strong opinions.
- TruthElixirX 14y ago
  If I have time I do it because the person on the other end of the line is probably tired of talking to people who are jerks. I worked in a call center before and it is no fun. These people are just trying to make a living so I try to make their day easier if I have some time to do it.
xiaoma 14y ago
You could try that with tourists asking for directions, too.

jimmytucson 14y ago

There's one way to go overboard. My 8 year old just asked me to hook up his PS3. I said, "Kid... time is money. What's in it for me? Every day, I'm hustling." I think people have learned to respect me so much they don't even invite me to parties or funerals anymore. Score!

theorique 14y ago
There's a very big difference between a random caller doing a survey (no connection, no ongoing relationship, no obligation) and your own son, or even between the random caller and anyone close enough to you to ask you to a funeral or party. Do you really not see the difference between these situations or are you just doing a reductio ad absurdum?

redwood 14y ago

Time is money, family, and self :)

jakejake 14y ago

I used to work at a marketing firm and we did occasional phone survey which I would have to listen in periodically to ensure the questions were understandable and getting good answers. I was always amazed that anybody would spend 20 minutes answering questions asked by some random person for absolutely no reward. I still don't understand why. And our surveys had to be representative of the area demographics so it was not just all lonely, elderly people. It was people of all ages, race, etc.

zevyoura 14y ago
People are bored, and a lot of people want someone to listen to them.
- philwelch 14y ago
  This is especially true for people with strong opinions.
TruthElixirX 14y ago
If I have time I do it because the person on the other end of the line is probably tired of talking to people who are jerks. I worked in a call center before and it is no fun. These people are just trying to make a living so I try to make their day easier if I have some time to do it.

xiaoma 14y ago

You could try that with tourists asking for directions, too.