A tactic for handling dunning phone calls

and anyone else you would rather not talk to. You will need a speakerphone to do this right.

Have Pandora set up on your computer, ready to play some of your favorite music. Pause it at the start of a favorite track - something nice and long like 'Inna Gadda Da Vida" is always good.

When the bill collector / political pollster / irritating charity calls, simply say "Hello", so the computer picks up the call and hands it off to the human operator. When they start their spiel, ask them to hold a moment, and un-pause Pandora.

Enjoy your music, and when the caller hangs up in disgust, simply hang up the speakerphone.

Works well with loud TV shows, too.

So far, only one guy who called had a sense of humor, and commented on the music before hanging up. Most just hang up after a few minutes - the record so far is just over five minutes.

I figure if they are going to bug me, they might as well pay more of a phone bill in the process, and in the case of robocallers, it ties up a line on their system for as long as possible, perhaps saving someone else the irritation of receiving the next call.