Money magazine recently published an article on the most dangerous jobs in America. “Direct marketer” must be number 11, 'cause it wasn't listed among the top 10.
If you don't think we rank up with timber cutters (1) or roofers (6) or electrical power installers (7) in terms of having a risky occupation, you're not paying attention. Should the vitriol directed at the industry get any nastier, I'm going to contact the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and claim telemarketers are being hunted for their pelts.
Where did all this animosity come from? Consumers wanted a federal do-not-call list and they got it. That should have been the end of it. But I suspect that people are reacting to tough economic times by striking out at an easy target. And our elected leaders in Washington aren't doing a hell of a lot to discourage the nastiness, as it beats focusing on the country's real troubles.
But if the level of aggression doesn't scale back soon, we're going to have to replace the term “He went postal” with “His number was dialed once too often.”
I welcome a dialogue on this, but I sure wish it could be conducted at a reasonable volume. If you see me at any of the upcoming marketing conferences, be sure to stop me and let me know your feelings — at a decibel level appropriate to, say, High Mass rather than a motorcycle-club rally.
I should be easy to identify: I'll be the one wearing the Kevlar name tag.
RICHARD H. LEVEY (rlevey@primediabusiness.com) is a senior writer for Direct. His Loose Cannon column appears every Monday on Direct Newsline (www.directmag.com).
