5 ms·

There are two things to like here: 1) No one like solicitation calls and its nice to see someone stick it to them and 2) he is shifting the economics to be more

There are two things to like here: 1) No one like solicitation calls and its nice to see someone stick it to them and 2) he is shifting the economics to be more representative of the costs to all parties. There is a cost to the person being called (being annoyed, interrupted etc) and by charging that cost to the caller only callers who still have a positive return will call. The price to make a call now more accurately represents the resources it consumes to the calls should get both more infrequent and higher quality.

bored 13y ago
Every call becomes a mini timeshare
mathattack 13y ago
I was trying to figure out the economics... 10p - Is that roughly 15 cents? I assume that's a per minute charge. So he gets 60 minutes/hour * 15 cents/minute * 1 dollar/100 cents = 9 dollars per hour talking on the phone? It seems a correct cost - probably a little more that the fellow on the other end of the line, but he's the one with the money. It also seems very cost-ineffective unless he's a minimum wage employee or very lonely.
- sebnukem2 13y ago
  Well, his first goal was to reduce the number of unsolicited calls, so it is very effective. The fact that he makes little money on the side is just the cherry on the cake.
  - dredmorbius 13y ago
    Right. Factor in the reduced interruption cost of receiving 10-20 fewer calls/month into the cost/benefit calculation. That's one less interruption per 2-3 days.
- JonnieCache 13y ago
  You've got to factor in how funny it almost certainly still is. After a while that will ebb away and he'll probably do the same cost benefit analysis and go back to hanging up on them. I bet the first minute is still charged up front though.
- SonicSoul 13y ago
  it's somewhat automatic if he puts them on hold shortly after receiving the call, and maybe checking in once in a while to assure he'll "be right back". could even be scaled to multiple lines!
  - cabalamat 13y ago
    > it's somewhat automatic if he puts them on hold shortly after receiving the call Preferably with an automated message in an overly cheery voice saying "your call is important to us"
- slashcom 13y ago
  Well he only gets 7p according to the article, so more like $6.50/hr. AFAIK, receiving calls in the UK is generally free (as in, it doesn't count as minutes as it does in the US), and the calling party foots the bill. He's essentially made his line a toll number.
  - petsos 13y ago
    Wait, it costs money to receive calls in the US?
    - joseph 13y ago
      On a mobile phone, for most carriers, received calls are deducted from your plan's allotted 'minutes'.
    - martincmartin 13y ago
      Only on cell phones. Most cell phone plans include some number of free minutes per month (e.g. 450), then charge an exorbitant rate per minute after that. When you receive a call, it counts towards your free minutes or the rate.
      - paul_f 13y ago
        Are there other kinds of phones?
    - gcb0 13y ago
      Got in the US after growing up a decently regulated coutry. Bought 750min plan. Used phone first week to do a few conference calls to a 1-800 number. next week i was already out of "plan minutes" because i had to 'pay' for the 1800 calls. not to mention SMS costs, and data being billed up to 3x (actual data plan, smart phone plan ($30), tethering ($25-50), plus tax)
      - OafTobark 13y ago
        What carrier is this? Back in the day I recalled my old carrier stating 1-800 did not count against your minutes. Now I have unlimited so doesn't even matter
- vidarh 13y ago
  For over 21's, minimum wage in the UK is 6.19, rising to 6.31 in October. 7p per minute would add up to 4.20. That's higher than the under 18's minimum wage, but well below even the 18 to 21 minimum wage... If his time is worth that little, he'd be better off getting an entry level retail job.
- lozf 13y ago
  Part of the reason he's not able to charge more is the approval process for a higher rate number is much more complex. If he want's to be more than a minor annoyance he can always leave them on hold for 20 minutes, or route them through a tele-marketer torture script with Asterisk or FreeSWITCH.

bored 13y ago

Every call becomes a mini timeshare

mathattack 13y ago

I was trying to figure out the economics... 10p - Is that roughly 15 cents? I assume that's a per minute charge. So he gets 60 minutes/hour * 15 cents/minute * 1 dollar/100 cents = 9 dollars per hour talking on the phone? It seems a correct cost - probably a little more that the fellow on the other end of the line, but he's the one with the money. It also seems very cost-ineffective unless he's a minimum wage employee or very lonely.

sebnukem2 13y ago
Well, his first goal was to reduce the number of unsolicited calls, so it is very effective. The fact that he makes little money on the side is just the cherry on the cake.
- dredmorbius 13y ago
  Right. Factor in the reduced interruption cost of receiving 10-20 fewer calls/month into the cost/benefit calculation. That's one less interruption per 2-3 days.
JonnieCache 13y ago
You've got to factor in how funny it almost certainly still is. After a while that will ebb away and he'll probably do the same cost benefit analysis and go back to hanging up on them. I bet the first minute is still charged up front though.
SonicSoul 13y ago
it's somewhat automatic if he puts them on hold shortly after receiving the call, and maybe checking in once in a while to assure he'll "be right back". could even be scaled to multiple lines!
- cabalamat 13y ago
  > it's somewhat automatic if he puts them on hold shortly after receiving the call Preferably with an automated message in an overly cheery voice saying "your call is important to us"
slashcom 13y ago
Well he only gets 7p according to the article, so more like $6.50/hr. AFAIK, receiving calls in the UK is generally free (as in, it doesn't count as minutes as it does in the US), and the calling party foots the bill. He's essentially made his line a toll number.
- petsos 13y ago
  Wait, it costs money to receive calls in the US?
  - joseph 13y ago
    On a mobile phone, for most carriers, received calls are deducted from your plan's allotted 'minutes'.
  - martincmartin 13y ago
    Only on cell phones. Most cell phone plans include some number of free minutes per month (e.g. 450), then charge an exorbitant rate per minute after that. When you receive a call, it counts towards your free minutes or the rate.
    - paul_f 13y ago
      Are there other kinds of phones?
  - gcb0 13y ago
    Got in the US after growing up a decently regulated coutry. Bought 750min plan. Used phone first week to do a few conference calls to a 1-800 number. next week i was already out of "plan minutes" because i had to 'pay' for the 1800 calls. not to mention SMS costs, and data being billed up to 3x (actual data plan, smart phone plan ($30), tethering ($25-50), plus tax)
    - OafTobark 13y ago
      What carrier is this? Back in the day I recalled my old carrier stating 1-800 did not count against your minutes. Now I have unlimited so doesn't even matter
vidarh 13y ago
For over 21's, minimum wage in the UK is 6.19, rising to 6.31 in October. 7p per minute would add up to 4.20. That's higher than the under 18's minimum wage, but well below even the 18 to 21 minimum wage... If his time is worth that little, he'd be better off getting an entry level retail job.
lozf 13y ago
Part of the reason he's not able to charge more is the approval process for a higher rate number is much more complex. If he want's to be more than a minor annoyance he can always leave them on hold for 20 minutes, or route them through a tele-marketer torture script with Asterisk or FreeSWITCH.