Telemarketers Hold Their Peace

Recognizing that many Americans won't be in the mood for sales calls, many of the nation's telemarketers plan to take the day off today.

Sept. 11 is a day for people to be with their families, said Perry Young, director of a telemarketing center in Omaha run by Call Solutions Inc., of Waukesha, Wis.

"If I received a call at home on that day from somebody trying to sell me something, I would be personally offended," Young said.

"It's a day to sit back and reflect and not really press for marketing," agreed Kevin Brosnahan of the American Teleservices Association.

The nation's largest privately held telemarketing company, DialAmerica Marketing Inc. of Mahwah, N.J., is giving the day off to its 8,500 outbound telemarketers.

For DialAmerica, that means tens of thousands of calls not being made. The total number of telemarketing calls affected by all the companies deciding not to make outbound calls is unclear. Brosnahan says his association does not have a reliable number of calls made daily by telemarketing companies.

Not doing business today will hurt DialAmerica, as would any day when people are not working, said Nancy Katz, director of corporate communications. She declined to be specific.

"It's a way to be respectful," she said of the firm's decision to halt outbound calls.

The Arizona Republic also said it will not make telemarketing calls today.

Telemarketers make outbound calls to conduct surveys and bring business to client companies in industries including banking, magazine and book publishing, telecommunications and insurance.

They also receive calls to help the customers of those companies. The industry generated $668 billion in sales last year, Brosnahan said.

West Corp., a telemarketing company based in Omaha with call centers around the country, is letting its clients dictate whether outbound calls will be made, said Carol Padon, vice president of investor and public relations.

"It will probably be very limited," Padon said.