Quotes from 1998


December 27, 1998

"Our philosophy is that outbound telemarketing is perceived by many customers to be obtrusive and invasive of their privacy at home, and we try to avoid calling customers at home."

David Hochberg, a spokesman for Lillian Vernon, a catalog marketer of ladies' clothing. From DM News, December 14, 1998. The story is about the "Real Call" system that calls homes and leaves commercial messages on home answering machines. Lillian Vernon can be reached at (800) 285-5555.

C.A.T.S. Comment:  We salute Lillian Vernon's philosophy that respecting a customer's privacy should come before profits. By focusing on customer desires and not attempting to profit in the short term, Lillian Vernon will profit in the long term due to customer loyalty. As we enter 1999, C.A.T.S. suggests that we support companies like Lillian Vernon by not spending our dollars with companies that telemarket their customer base.


December 20, 1998

"Closing your eyes and shaming the messenger will only serve to keep the message alive and, inevitably, encourage the further legislation you so desperately hope to avoid. So far, you seem to want to help Private Citizen achieve one of its goals; that of effective and meaningful regulation of the telemarketing industry's privacy abusive practices. Keep it up, we appreciate your support."

Robert Bulmash, President of Private Citizen Inc. commenting about the telemarketing industry in a letter to the editor of Teleprofessional Magazine. From the November 1998 edition.

C.A.T.S. Comment:  Without the continued corporate arrogance demonstrated by the leaders of the telemarketing industry, as well as the industry's continuing widespread non-compliance with the regulations, the anti-telemarketing movement could not have achieved the level of success that it did in 1998. Last month alone, C.A.T.S. founder Robert Arkow was interviewed by three NBC-TV affiliate stations.

In spirit of the season, C.A.T.S. wishes the telemarketing industry a very happy holiday. We couldn't have done it without you.


December 13, 1998

"The extent to which a company must comply with a privacy principle should take into account the seriousness of any harm to the individual arising from the use of the information....Consequences to the individual when a company uses information about him or her for marketing purposes are not harmful or serious."

Elizabeth Scanlon, a reporter for the DMA Washington Report, in an article dated December 1, 1998. The DMA Washington Report is produced by the Direct Marketing Association.

C.A.T.S. Comment:  The DMA is taking the position that unless you are "harmed" they can abuse our private information and call us on our unlisted numbers. To the DMA, we at C.A.T.S. have one request: Please put us on your "Do Not Gall List."
Thanks to Steve Druger for the quote.


December 6, 1998

"If we [the telemarketing industry] do not restrain ourselves, we will be restrained. Regulations will be enacted, consumers will increasingly purchase or subscribe to household screening devices and increasingly embrace do-not-call lists....Once consumers have put themselves effectively out of our reach, they won't come back."

Clifford Hurst, president of Career Impact, a training and advisory firm. From a speech delivered by Mr. Hurst at the fall American Telemarketing Association convention. Mr. Hurst's comments were printed in the November issue of Teleprofessional magazine. He can be reached at: (207) 646-8399 or at careerimpact@cybertours.com.

C.A.T.S. Comment:  Mr. Hurst's comments were on the mark. Telemarketing will end not by regulation, but by individual citizens putting themselves out of the reach of telemarketers.

C.A.T.S.' mission is to empower consumers with the tools to fight this invasive industry. Whether you use a screening device, refuse to give out your phone number, file a lawsuit, ask for "Do not call policies", join Private Citizen, or simply waste the time of the telemarketer, each of you has a responsibility to make every "courtesy call" into our homes unprofitable for the caller. By keeping them on the phone now, we will get them off the phone later -- permanently.


November 29, 1998

"The ATA [American Telemarketing Association] Victory of the Month for May is a group award shared by all of those states that obviously get the message and understand the benefits the telemarketing industry brings to their state. These eight states all defeated legislation creating a state run "Do-Not-Call" list in 1998. Cheers to those ATA members in Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Virginia and Vermont. We hope to add California and Illinois to this victory list before the year is over."

From the American Telemarketing Association (ATA) web site.

C.A.T.S. Comment:  The Telemarketing industry's mantra is "We do not want to call people who don't want to be called." So why would the ATA oppose a state "Do Not Call List"? Could the answer be that 99% of the population would go on the list?


November 22, 1998

"It’s consumers like that who make the law stronger for all of us."

Beth Givens, Project Director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, on KNSD TV (NBC for San Diego), commenting about C.A.T.S. founder Robert Arkow and his actions against telemarketers. Air date: November 12, 1998.

C.A.T.S. Comment:  We have added the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse to our links. If you want to learn more about your right to privacy, this is a must-see web site.


November 15, 1998

"When a company applies for participation in Tele-Watch, they sign an affidavit that they are in compliance with all federal, state, and local laws and regulations."

Joan Mullen, Tele-Watch Board of Governors, commenting in TeleProfessional Magazine, July/August edition, 1998. When TeleProfessional Magazine ran a test of industry compliance in early 1998 and mailed requests to 17 Tele-Watch members, asking for a copy of their "Do Not Call Policy", only 6 complied with the law.

C.A.T.S. Comment:  We believe that all Tele-Watch members are complying with the law. We also believe that tobacco is not addictive, there IS a tooth fairy, and O.J. is looking for the real killer. Please, Ms. Mullen, put us on your "Do Not Gall List".


November 8, 1998

"I interact daily with colleagues in this industry. For service agencies, as well as in-house call centers, we are all sensitive to and absolutely comply with the law. We are at and above an acceptable level of practice."

Mary Weyand, president-elect of the American Telemarketing Association (ATA), and president and owner of TMW Marketing. During the time Ms. Weyand made the above statement, Teleprofessional Magazine was testing telemarketer compliance with the law. After mailing requests for "Do Not Call Policies" to 48 telemarketing service bureaus, only 17 responded. Among the agencies tested were prominent members of the ATA.

C.A.T.S. Comment:  A 35% compliance rate with the law is not "at and above an acceptable level of practice." Ms. Weyand claims that her colleagues "absolutely comply with the law." Remember the fellow who said, "I am absolutely, 100% not guilty!"? Seems to me, Ms. Weyand, you're in good company.


November 1, 1998

"Why don't all telemarketing service bureaus contact their suppliers of telephone services and ask them to create meaningful inserts to include with their billing statements [to customers] about the benefits and virtues of a well regulated and honestly conducted [telemarketing] industry, which creates jobs and provides an important service to a large segment of the population?

Errol Copilevitz commenting in Teleservices News, October 5, 1998. Mr. Copilevitz is the senior partner of Copilevitz and Canter, P.C., a pro-telemarketing law firm with offices in Kansas City, MO and Washington, DC. The article is titled "Misleading Insert Hurts Industry."

C.A.T.S. Comment:  Since when is the telemarketing industry an "important service to a large segment of the population?" Since when is the telemarketing industry "well regulated and honestly conducted?" Since when are telemarketing calls "benefits and virtues?" Please, Mr. Copilevitz, put us on your "Do Not Gall List."


October 25, 1998

"We wanted to change the name to lay out what we will be doing in the future."

From John T. Calk, vice president of Marketing and Business Development for APAC Teleservices, now called APAC Customer Services. Source: Teleservices News, October 19, 1998.

C.A.T.S. Comment:  What APAC will be doing in the future is undoubtedly what they're doing in the present: bothering people with unwelcome sales calls. Does Mr. Calk really think that a new company name will change the public's image of APAC and the telemarketing industry in general?


October 18, 1998

"That is a 35% rate of compliance with a pretty simple regulation. To put it succinctly, that is pathetic. To put it bluntly, it is criminal."

From Teleprofessional Magazine, June 6, 1998, commentary by Editor Bob Van Voorhis. He wrote this after his magazine sent out 48 requests for "Do Not Call Policies" and after three months, received 17 responses.

C.A.T.S. Comment:  As the industry continues to ignore the law, state legislatures will continue to pass more anti-telemarketing laws. Considering the fact that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is a "weak" law, the telemarketing industry's continued non-compliance to the TCPA is doing the anti-telemarketing movement a tremendous favor.


October 11, 1998

"Why not educate the public on the value of the telemarketing industry, and then describe fairly and accurately the rights of consumers who choose not to take advantage of the opportunities presented."

Errol Copilevitz commenting in Teleservices News, October, 6, 1998. Mr. Copilevitz is the senior partner of Copilevitz and Canter, P.C., a pro telemarketing law firm with offices in Kansas City, MO and Washington, DC.

C.A.T.S. Comment:  Thanks to the media and groups like C.A.T.S., Private Citizen Inc., and Consumer.net, the public is getting educated on the "value" of the telemarketing industry.

And Mr. Copilevitz, since you feel that junk calls are "opportunities," have I got one for you: Provide me with your home telephone number; I will arrange for you to receive hundreds of "opportunities" via phone; and you, too, will learn the "value" of the telemarketing industry.
C.A.T.S. Note: We let Mr. Copilevitz know about our "offer", but as of February, 2000 he has not responded.


October 4, 1998

"For many Americans, quality time at home has become a scarce resource."

Richard Notebaert, chairman and chief executive officer of Ameritech. From Teleservices News, October 2, 1998. The statement was made in regards to a new service that Ameritec is launching that will help curb telemarketing calls.

C.A.T.S. Comment:  Ameritec is playing both sides of the issue. While they offer a service for $3.95 per month to block telemarketing calls, they also are one of the biggest telemarketing concerns themselves, making thousands of calls a month! If Ameritec truly believed in privacy and peace at home, they would stop their outbound calling.


September 27, 1998

"To be effective, direct mail must be highly targeted and followed up with a telemarketing/telesales call."

From Call Center Solutions Magazine (formerly Telemarketing Magazine), September 1998 issue, by Nadji Therani, the magazine's Editor-in-Chief.

C.A.T.S. Comment:  Nadji, You have always claimed that telemarketing industry's mantra is: "We don't want to call anyone who does not want to be called." So why are you suggesting that companies call people that did not respond to, and probably rejected the previously sent offer by mail?


September 20, 1998

"Outbound, unsolicited e-mails are generally considered spam and intrusive."

From Call Center Solutions Magazine (formerly Telemarketing Magazine), September 1998 issue, by Nadji Therani, the magazine's Editor-in-Chief.

C.A.T.S. Comment:  Nadji, what about those outbound, unsolicited telephone calls that are generally considered "junk calls" and intrusive? Maybe you should work on those next.


September 13, 1998

"If groups like Private Citizen, Inc. and Consumer.Net are a bother to us, it is only fitting. We created them. When the Robert Bulmashes, Robert Arkows, and Russ Smiths of the world have tried to go through proper channels to opt-out of our activities, we have given no reaction other than disdain, dishonesty, and more than occasionally, churlish and profane responses."

From Teleprofessional Magazine, June 6, 1998, commentary by Editor Bob Van Voorhis. He wrote this after his magazine sent out 48 requests for "Do Not Call Policies" and after three months, received 17 responses.

C.A.T.S. Comment:  Great comment, Bob. Too bad the industry "doesn't get it."


September 6, 1998

"Separate mailings to between 50,000 and 100,000 consumers and businesses within a 15-mile radius of the [Chicago] Wolves arena, the Rosemont Horizon, will drop this month. The consumer mail pieces pitch an offer for discounted ticket packages while the corporate pieces offer a seven-game group sales layout. The direct mail effort will be followed up with telemarketing."

From Teleservices News, August 6, 1998, "Hockey Club Hones Target Market." The story relates the direct marketing efforts of the Chicago Wolves, a minor league hockey team.

C.A.T.S. Comment:  The mantra of the telemarketing industry is: "We don't want to call anyone who does not want to be called." So why are they calling people who clearly rejected their previous mail offer? Seems to us that there are more "Wolves" outside the arena than inside.


August 30, 1998

"I invite you to click on the 'Professional Plaintiff’s' very own web site (www.stopjunkcalls.com) and see if you aren’t slightly nauseated by their ability to skew facts."

Ms. Angela Karr, Managing Editor, TeleProfessional Magazine, November 1997 issue.

C.A.T.S. Comment:  After Ms. Karr wrote this, a test performed by her magazine proved that our facts were NOT skewed; i.e., most telemarketers do ignore the law.
We wonder if Ms. Karr found the results of her magazine's test equally nauseating?


August 23, 1998

"The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and the American Telemarketing Association (ATA), as well as countless individuals, have fought for years to bring this industry [telemarketing] to a self-regulating environment. Thousands upon thousands of dollars and man-hours later, some companies are jeopardizing the efforts of those individuals and associations by failing to institute a simple mechanical procedure that is literally a no-brainer."

Ross M. Scovotti, Group Publisher, Teleprofessional Magazine, commenting on the results of a test performed by the magazine to check whether telemarketers provide a "Do Not Call Policy" upon demand, as required by law. The magazine sent out 47 requests and received 17 responses. Of those responses, one company claimed they were exempt from the law.

C.A.T.S. Comment:  We commend Teleprofessional Magazine for running this test. But soon after the results were made public, several well-known telemarketers wrote to the magazine, suggesting they create an "editorial review board." This is, in essence, a form of censorship.

We at C.A.T.S. find it provocative that an industry which claims "free speech" to avoid restrictions on junk calls to our homes, now suggests censoring Teleprofessional's editor for criticizing them.


August 16, 1998

"The ATA (American Telemarketing Association) has reached out to consumer groups on numerous occasions and will continue to do so."

Mary Weyand, president-elect of The American Telemarketing Association and president and owner of TMW Marketing, Fullerton California. From Teleservices News, August 10, 1998. The ATA can be reached toll free at (800) 441-3555. Ms. Weyand can be reached toll-free at (800) 424-9378.

C.A.T.S. Comment:  ATA's president Mary Weyand claims they reach out to consumer groups. But when C.A.T.S. inquired about the groups that ATA supposedly reached out to, we were refused the information.  Perhaps Ms. Weyand should follow the example of President Clinton by redefining a "consumer group" as a group of consumers (typically on a telemarketing list). By that definition, ATA members reach out to "consumer groups" thousands of times a day!


August 9, 1998

"We have modified to our benefit, or helped to defeat every piece of federal telemarketing legislation that has been introduced.  I plan to not only continue this effort, but to devote even more resources to it."

Mac Hansbrough, commenting to Teleprofessional Magazine, January 1994. Mr. Hansbrough now is the president of Telewatch, a so-called industry "self regulation" organization.  Mr. Hansbrough can be reached at (888) 814-4888 or at telewatch@aol.com

C.A.T.S. Comment:  Telewatch and Hansbrough are attempting to convince legislators that telemarketing is good for America.  Given the fact that the telemarketing industry makes vast donations to various politicians, is it any surprise that effective legislation is not forthcoming?


August 2, 1998

"The Telemarketing Profession has been recognized as the best way to prep future leaders in today's business world due to intensive confidence building and sales savvy."

King James Arthur (he claims this is his real name), author of the "Telemarketers Unite" website.

C.A.T.S. Comment:  If J. Paul Getty, Nelson Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie knew that today's telemarketers would become tomorrow's business leaders, they'd turn over in their graves. Please, "Your Majesty," put us on your "Do Not Gall List."


July 26, 1998

"One more bad announcement doesn't bode well. Analysts now lack a great deal of confidence in the public statements issued by management."

Laurie Kolbeins, managing director at Texada Capital, an investment banking firm, Wayne, PA, commenting on the performance of APAC Teleservices stock. The company's stock has gone from a peak of $59 per share in October 1996 to the current price of $5 per share.

C.A.T.S. Comment:  The "smart money" doesn't believe what a telemarketer says. Why should we?


July 19, 1998

"Cumberland Waste Service Inc., Shippensburg, PA, is one such company that saw its conversion rate of sign-ons as compared to calls jump above the industry average of 3-4 percent to 9.87 percent."

From the article "Trash Pickup Company Sees High Return," Teleservices News, July 6, 1998. The article is about a trash pickup company using telemarketing to sell its services.

C.A.T.S. Comment:  Isn't it ironic? A junk hauler becomes a junk caller.


July 12, 1998

"We interrupt a quarter of a million dinners a night!"

When C.A.T.S. founder Robert Arkow took Dateline NBC undercover to a telemarketing convention in May 1995, an unidentified salesman from the Amcat Teleprofit booth made the above quote, unaware that he was being videotaped by Dateline's hidden camera. Amcat manufactures predictive dialers, the machines that dial hundreds of calls a minute. Dateline air date: November 15, 1995. Amcat Teleprofit can be reached at: (800) 364-5518 or www.amcat.com.

C.A.T.S. Comment:  Fortunately, we were able to capture this quote with Dateline's hidden camera and microphones so that all of America could see and hear for themselves what the telenuisance industry calls "the convenience of shopping at home."


July 5, 1998

"An outbound [telemarketing] campaign will achieve an overall response rate two to five times more than that of direct mail alone."

Joan Mullen is vice president of industry relations based in San Jose, CA, for Ron Weber and Associates Inc. From Teleservices News, May 4, 1998. Ms. Mullen can be reached toll free at: (800) TEL-MKTG x 131.

C.A.T.S. Comment: Ms. Mullen is correct. Telemarketing does achieve a greater overall response rate than direct mail. We suspect most of the responses are: "Put me on your Do Not Call List" or <CLICK!!>.


June 28, 1998

"The term Telemarketing referred to the process of using the phone to take inbound and make outbound calls.  However, sensationalistic journalists and broadcast media became fixated on producing negative story after negative story about outbound telemarketers and outbound telemarketing, and as time went on the term became associated with outbound calls only, although since the 1960s, telemarketing centers handled inbound calls, outbound calls and customer service."

Rich Therani, Group Publisher, Technology Marketing Corporation, explaining why the publishers of Telemarketing Magazine decided to change the name of it to Call Center Solutions Magazine.

C.A.T.S. Comment: A rose by any other name...
Perhaps, Mr. Therani, what needs changing is not the name of the magazine, but the nature of the industry.


June 20, 1998

"The ATA (American Telemarketing Association) has never assisted any [telemarketing] company in stepping outside the law."

Mary Weyand, President, Board of Directors, American Telemarketing Association.  From Teleservices News, June 8, 1998.  Ms. Weyand and the ATA can be reached at: (800) 441-3335 or visit their Web site at www.ataconnect.org.

C.A.T.S. Comment: The ATA doesn't have to assist telemarketing companies in stepping outside the law. They seem to do it quite well by themselves.


June 14, 1998

"...and I agree that a phone call from a stranger who knows who you are, complete with a harangue about the virtues of a product one neither needs nor wants, can be as welcome as an unexpected visit from one's mother-in-law."

Richard E. Penn, Chairman and CEO of Telemarketing Concepts Inc., commenting to Teleservices News about the negative image of the telemarketing industry.  Mr. Penn can be called toll free at: (800) 666-0858.

C.A.T.S. Comment: Sounds fair to me, Mr. Penn. So the next time your company calls me--I'll be sending you my mother-in-law.  By the way, she hates telemarketing calls too!


June 7, 1998

"Each one of us can tell stories of dinner time interruptions by amateurish business-to-consumer callers."

Michael A. Brown, president of The Business Marketing Consultancy, commenting to Teleservices News, April 6, 1998.  Mr. Brown can be reached at: (800) 373-3966.

C.A.T.S. Comment: Are you suggesting, Mr. Brown, that a "professional" business-to-consumer caller would leave my dinner -- or my response -- any less cold?


May 31, 1998

"I think we should encourage others, especially legislators, to direct their praise or criticism toward the stock market business or the diamond business or the office products business and not toward the call center business."

Stan Body, President of Beautyrock Inc. commenting to Teleservices News, April 6, 1998. He can be reached at (613) 932-2525.

C.A.T.S. Comment: I'm sure that computer hackers, car thieves and drug dealers would also prefer that others, especially legislators, direct their praise or criticism toward the stock market business or the diamond business or the office products business and not toward their business.  Seems to me, Mr. Body, you're in good company!  


May 24, 1998

"Many major telemarketers violate telemarketing laws on a regular basis--and know it."

Russ Smith commenting to TeleServices News, May 4, 1998.  Russ is the publisher of the Consumer.net Web site and testified at the FTC Internet hearing on the industry self-regulation panel in 1997.


May 17, 1998

  "If 10 percent of the people who get telemarketed would tell them 'Give me a copy of your do-not-call policy,' it would grind the [telemarketing] industry to a halt."

Robert Arkow, founder of C.A.T.S., commenting to NBC television reportor Len Cannon duirng a segment of Dateline NBC. Airdate: November 15, 1995


May 10, 1998

"It's more expensive to defend one of these [telemarketing] suits than to pay them off.  We have clients who have paid to settle claims on a nuisance basis.  We also have clients who have refused to settle, litigated and won."

William Raney of Copilevitz & Canter PC, a law firm in Kansas City, MO and Washington, DC, commenting to Teleservices News, March 9, 1998.  Mr. Raney can be reached by telephone at: (800) 998-3977

C.A.T.S. Comment: "Nuisance claims"???  Perhaps the telemarketing industry, which intrudes daily into our homes, should reevaluate who the real nuisance is.


  May 3, 1998

"The Private Citizen directory that we send out is as much a do-not-call list as a telemarketing minefield.  What we say to telemarketers is, 'You can call into this list, but if you do somebody is going to blow up in your face.  So leave us alone.'" '"

Bob Bulmash, President and Founder of Private Citizen Inc., commenting to Teleservices News, March 9, 1998.

C.A.T.S. comment: The Private Citizen Notification And Offer is more of a nuclear bomb than a minefield. While the law (TCPA) only covers commercial solicitations, the Notification And Offer covers ALL junkers, including political and charity calls.


April 26, 1998

"Should you wish to be restored to our telemarketing lists....please do not hesitate to contact us."

From American Express's "Do Not Call Policy". American Express can be reached at: (800) 297-8378.  When the electronic voice asks for your 15 digit ID number, just wait about 20 seconds for a live representative to answer.

C.A.T.S. comment: We contacted several telephone representatives and supervisors at American Express.  None of them could remember ever taking a customer request to be put back on the telemarketing list.  We asked them to have their marketing department call us, but they did not return the call.  When we read the above statement to one representative, she laughed and said that she "would love to have what they were smoking when they wrote that."
So would we!


April 19, 1998

"Privacy is a right and not a privilege, but in this country it is becoming more of a privilege and not a right."

Robert Arkow, Founder of C.A.T.S., commenting to the Newhall (California) Signal.


April 12, 1998

"Telemarketers treat us as Pavlovian dogs responding to the ring of the bell."

Bob Bulmash, President of Private Citizen Inc., commenting about telemarketers to The Newhall (California) Signal And Saugus Enterprise.

C.A.T.S. Comment: Bulmash's statement is a dead ringer!


April 5, 1998

"Telephone courtesy is a two-way street, and how your workforce reacts to this type of negative reception to their outbound calls will affect strategies, not to mention attrition rates, if not reckoned with."

Paul Gammarano, manager of the telemarketing outsourcing at American Express, commenting about an article in the New York Times on June 22, 1997.  The article, entitled "Answering the Phone as an Act of Revenge," gives various ways to annoy telemarketers.

C.A.T.S. comment: More than 80% of Americans are annoyed by telemarketing calls. Get a clue, Mr. Gammarano; your "two-way street" is rapidly becoming a dead end.


March 29, 1998

"Telemarketing is simply sociopathic behavior."

Bob Bulmash, of Private Citizen Inc., commenting to the New York Times, June 22, 1977.
To read an explanation of the comment click here.


March 22, 1998

"Telemarketers, it seems, have replaced defense attorneys as the new pariahs for the nineties. The negative images conjured from mentioning you're in the business of dialing for dollars are often worse than those elicited by the fellow who allows he's a door-to-door salesman, a personal injury lawyer or a street mime."

Richard E. Penn, Chairman and CEO of Telemarketing Concepts Inc., commenting to Teleservices News about the negative image of the telemarketing industry.  Mr. Penn can be called toll free at: (800) 666-0858.

C.A.T.S. comment: Thank you, Mr. Penn. We could not have said it better ourselves.


March 15, 1998

"There are those of our members that just make this [suing telemarketers] a sport.  Rather than watching football or playing golf on a Sunday morning, they do this.  This is their fun.  I think it's a hell of a lot better sport than playing canasta."

Bob Bulmash, President of Private Citizen Inc., commenting in Teleserevices News, March 9, 1998.

C.A.T.S. comment: Since Private Citizen's creation in 1988, its members have collected over $150,000 in settlements and judgments against telemarketers.


March 8, 1998

"A company that has had past violations can absolutely become a TeleWatch participant. Each company with past violations will be judged on a case-by-case basis, with TeleWatch attention directed to the nature of past offense(s) and toward what a company is doing to prevent those and other violations from occurring in the future.

Mac Hansbrough, Executive Director of TeleWatch, a (so-called) industry self-policing group. (From TeleProfessional Magazine, January, 1998.)

TeleWatch can be reached at (888) 814-4888 or at telewatch@aol.com.

C.A.T.S. comment: Repeated calls (and e-mails) to TeleWatch, for their procedure to report violations, were never returned. So much for "self-regulation". Perhaps they should change their name to "TeleBotch".


March 1, 1998

"Telemarketers have the audacity to claim that most people don't mind [telemarketing calls]. In reality, numerous studies indicate that about 80% of folks strongly object to getting unsolicited sales calls, and most of the remaining people are lukewarm about it at best."

Robert Braver, author of the Telejunk Page. (Braver has filed a lawsuit against a Century 21 Real Estate office in Norman, Oklahoma.)


February 22, 1998

"Conventional telemarketers aren't the only ones you can say goodbye to using the TCPA. The law also covers high-tech telemarketers. So, if you get a pre-recorded solicitation, or if your fax machine is tied up with a sales pitch, each violation could be worth 500 bucks in small claims court."

Stone Phillips of Dateline NBC. (Air Date: November 15, 1995)


February 15, 1998

"We expect that over a period of three to five years, TeleWatch will begin to have a positive effect on the reputation of the telemarketing industry."

Mac Hansbrough, President of TeleWatch, a so-called "self-regulating organization" for the telemarketing industry.

C.A.T.S. comment: Considering the reputation of the telemarketing industry in America today, they might have better luck rebuilding the reputation of O.J. Simpson. (Telewatch can be called toll free at: (888) 814-4888.)


February 8, 1998

"Back when telemarketing was considered a flaky business, we had the HUGE task of educating other companies about the benefits of telemarketing. We had to convince them how well it could work...and more importantly, that WE weren't flakes."

From TMW Marketing's website. TMW's President, Mary Weyand, is also President of the American Telemarketing Association (ATA), a tax-exempt industry advocacy group.

C.A.T.S. comment: When C.A.T.S. sent TMW several e-mails asking for their "Do Not Call Policy", they ignored our requests, thus violating Federal law. A word of advice to TMW: You may have convinced the industry that you're not "flakes", but If I were you, I'd keep a safe distance from the Kellogg people.


February 1, 1998

"Until the right way to conduct effective, ethical and quality telemarketing was found, every mistake in the book, and then some, was made."

Nadji Tehrani, publisher of Telemarketing Magazine, in his editorial, July, 1997 issue.

C.A.T.S. comment: Of course Mr. Tahrani, the telemarketers of today do "ethical and quality telemarketing", right? (Yea, sure they do!)


January 24, 1998

"If President Clinton can (allegedly) claim that having oral sex with someone other than your spouse is 'not adultery', then how can one find fault with AOL’s claim that telemarketing their customers is a 'member benefit'? (Of course, in Clinton's case we know whose 'member' benefited.)"

Robert Arkow, founder of C.A.T.S.


January 18, 1998

"But when DATELINE called 30 of the largest telemarketers in the country...only seven of those companies actually sent us a copy of their written ('Do Not Call') policy."

Len Cannon, Dateline NBC Reporter, commenting about how telemarketers comply with the regulation that telemarketers provide their "Do Not Call Policy" upon demand.


January 11, 1998

"Since I work at home, I was the recipient of about three telemarketing calls per day. I was channel surfing, and we saw this thing, and my wife looked at me, and I looked at her, and I said, 'Could this be real? There is a God.'"

Richard Zelma, commenting to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about watching a Dateline NBC segment featuring C.A.T.S. founder Robert Arkow, and Private Citizen's founder Robert Bulmash. (After viewing the Dateline segment, Mr. Zelma joined Private Citizen. Since then, he has collected over $30,000.00 from telemarketers. Way to go, Richard!)


Janurary 3, 1998

"Telemarketing is invasive and sociopathic. If they [telemarketers] feel this is bashing, it gives me a feeling of how far the industry is from reality, how thickheaded they are."

Robert Bulmash, President of Private Citizen Inc. commenting about telemarketers to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.


Quotes from 1997