We are not children !

[Brissles]

I am getting increasingly fed up when a telephone caller is put through and the presenter tells you that "so and so is here too". Like we are children and we have to say hello to someone. I would love to hear somebody retaliate and say "yes I know " and leave it at that. What a scream that would be.

Also they continually harp on about wanting people to call in and have a "chat", then you can see them visibly thinking "p......s off" at their haste to get them off again . We know there is only so much time, and I hate listening to them anyway- they can be sooo toe curling, and turn the volly down until they've gone.

 

[BurlyBeaR]

feel better for that?

youre absolutely right of course. the whole T Caller thing is very fake and bordering on embarassing when you can tell that thetve cut the caller off ages before the presenter actually says "bye! buh-bye now!" (halliday)

although to be fair it's not just QVC. watch any "interactive" tv show or listen to any radio phone in and they continually punt out the contact details and yet only ever speak to one or two people. This Morning is a prime culprit (or was when i used to watch it) asking people to call in with their problems for Denise thingy, they would ask all morning - must have got hundreds if not thousands of calls, and then took two on the programme.

Viewers are just fodder, numbers, license payers, purchasers. Its like airlines refer to passengers as SLF (self loading freight) - a means to an end - the end being the profit.

its best if we dont have any dillusions about it.

 

[Huggles]

I remember quite a while ago now, Gems TV took a T-Caller, the first time I had ever heard of that happening on that channel. The presenter was in full flow asking what the caller liked about their jewellery and especially about why they bought from Gems...the caller said she was blind. The presenters face froze and you could almost feel his discomfort because he couldn't ask a single question that made their jewellery sound great, mainly because the caller couldn't see it. They've never taken callers since, as far as I know. Good move...I really hate listening to the sychophantic callers who believe they have some sort of relationship with the presenters/guests...'Hello, it's me again, you'll know who I am as I speak to you often blah, blah, blah...I've got loads of your lovely things...' Who gives a damn???????????????? Sorry for any St.com members who phone in if I've caused any offence, but I really wish it was stopped.

When I told everyone at work about the Gems T-caller who was blind, one wit suggested everytime she ordered from then onwards she would have been sent marbles instead of gems. Cruel, but it did make me laugh.

 

[BurlyBeaR]

many blind people can see to some extent. the caller may have been able to see her gems in certain lighting, or if held very close to her face, or at a certain angle. thats why most people refer to it as "partially sighted" or "vision impaired" these days - it's not just a matter of being PC but it actually describes more acurately whats going on.
sorry... its a subject close to my heart. people make assumptions that people with these disabilities cant do things, but things are rarely so black and white.

youre right about presenters looking uncomfortable when someone rings in and mentions their illness or disability though. how they handle it sorts the good presenters out from the bad ones.

 

[BenFongTorres]

T-calls are the stuff of nightmares!!
Thank foook for the mute button.

 

[Huggles]

No Burly Bear...this caller was totally blind she explained that she couldn't see the jewellery at all but bought it based on the presenters descriptions. I apologise if I sounded disrespectful, that really was not my intention. It was just to raise the issue of why they beg for t-callers and then try to get them off asap.

 

[Bexi]

Talking of blind callers, Charlie had one once during a Charlie bears show, he handled it well, wasn't patronising or anything.

I'm not keen on callers, but some people get very lonely and that might be the highlight of their day, talking to someone on the phone.

 

[fulhamphil]

I normally change channels when they come on :31: Wouldn't be so bad if you got a bit more constructive criticism along with all the raptures. I suppose it must be difficult when you're asked such leading questions by the likes of Gobby Young.....'Hi Gladys, tell us why you love L'Occitane so much...'

 

[Nicky-j]

.

youre right about presenters looking uncomfortable when someone rings in and mentions their illness or disability though. how they handle it sorts the good presenters out from the bad ones.

That's true about people in everyday life isn't it? Not everyone, well few people really, know how to react when told something like that. It must be very hard when you know a lot of people are watching and listening to you. On the whole, though, I think the presenters do an excellent job - most of them, when faced with that sort of revelation, react well and ask a relevant question. It's difficult, too, when someone reveals they have been recently bereaved. But I think, if someone didn't want to comment on that, they wouldn't mention it in the first place, so asking a question is an appropriate response often enough.
Maybe I'm wrong, I'm no expert ...

 

[Moth]

The other end of the scale if the long "padding" t-call. It annoys me when an item comes on screen that you're interested in, especially with fashion, and then they take a t-caller and spend a long spend waffling and fudging. The model appears and floats past the camera a couple of times, wearing the garment you want to hear about. They then say goodbye to the caller and move on to the next item and completely skip over what they had on screen at the time. Is this because they don't have much stock on some things and just need to pad it out and hope no one notices? It happens quite often too, so it's hardly a one-off affair.

 

[AngelGab]

I hate the way all T-callers end their call with "thank you for talking to me" hahahaha....it's as if they've been briefed to say that.....they just make themselves sound so desperate!

 

[BurlyBeaR]

I apologise if I sounded disrespectful, that really was not my intention. It was just to raise the issue of why they beg for t-callers and then try to get them off asap.

no no, Huggles you didnt sound disrespectful at all... i was just making the point. if the caller was totally blind though, how trusting of her to completely rely on the presenters descriptions like that.

 

[fellamy]

No Burly Bear...this caller was totally blind she explained that she couldn't see the jewellery at all but bought it based on the presenters descriptions. I apologise if I sounded disrespectful, that really was not my intention. It was just to raise the issue of why they beg for t-callers and then try to get them off asap.

I remember a similar phone call to Julia ages ago. The caller was totally blind and bought items based on the presenters' descriptions. She said how good Julia was at describing the jewellery.