So, the CRTC launched the Do Not Call list in Canada yesterday at www.lnnte-dncl.gc.ca and BIG surprise, the site was overwhelmed in the first day. 1.2 million phone numbers registered the FIRST day. For a country of 30 million people, that is HUGE! With the site crashing, the calls starting coming fast and furious at a rate of up to 1,562 call per MINUTE!!!

I would not complain about a site crashing or not being able to get through to a call centre. If people honestly believe any government agency or private company will ramp up to take a one day deluge, they are seriously out of their mind. I say BRAVO for getting it back up so quickly and registering the mass they did.

This also speaks to the great hatred Canadians have for telemarketing. If only the law was a little broader and did not contain so many exemptions, such as newspapers, political parties and any company you already have a business relationship with. I think people will be surprised that they will still get many of the calls they get today with no recourse other than to listen to the spiel, continue to play tricks on the poor souls manning the phones and / or simply hanging up on the dead air you get for 5 seconds because the auto-dialer is just a little off.

PS: Don’t call me, ok?

Stay interested and interesting!

John