Phone Locking

I've been watching a cheap plastic chopper/grater/juicer thing (I had one similar years ago free with a catalogue.......it wasn't bad actually, I've still got it too)

Anyway, the phones were locked while the presenter demonstrated it and remained locked till he'd finished his demo. I'm confused as to why they don't open the lines earlier? I'm sure there's a very good reason :hi:

I've been meaning to ask this for ages, it's not like I've only just noticed lol

They say it's too give everyone a fair chance whatever that means plus if you remember the episode of Open All Hours with the episode where Arkwright spelt the word speciol with an O and Granville said why he said because there's always a clever dick who will have to come in and tell me I spelt it wrong and then I got him, well when they say phones are locked always some super thicko who will go "Bet they are not closed will try it" Wham! £1.50 to Bid shopping.

steveh31 said:

They say it's too give everyone a fair chance whatever that means plus if you remember the episode of Open All Hours with the episode where Arkwright spelt the word speciol with an O and Granville said why he said because there's always a clever dick who will have to come in and tell me I spelt it wrong and then I got him, well when they say phones are locked always some super thicko who will go "Bet they are not closed will try it" Wham! £1.50 to Bid shopping.

Click to expand...

Steve: A couple of Christmas's ago, we had the complete Ronnie Barker collection as a pressie. Open all Hours is as funny and fresh now as it was then

steveh31 said:

They say it's too give everyone a fair chance whatever that means plus if you remember the episode of Open All Hours with the episode where Arkwright spelt the word speciol with an O and Granville said why he said because there's always a clever dick who will have to come in and tell me I spelt it wrong and then I got him, well when they say phones are locked always some super thicko who will go "Bet they are not closed will try it" Wham! £1.50 to Bid shopping.

Click to expand...

Oh wow, clever thinking and a nice little earner I bet

The times I've heard them say that people are trying to come through but the phonelines are locked!!!!

But surely it would be better for them to have people ring in and also buy something from them hence making them more money.
GRRR! I hate the phones being locked- and I also hate it when they have all the graphics on apart from the price- when they do a demo or pitch.
Just get the price on and then do your demo!
They would sell more in faster time as opposed to spending 5 minutes talking about the product then bringing the price in and only allowing about 2 minutes to buy before the clock hits zero.

Also some people might ring up when the phones are 'locked' thinking that they will be somehow be first in the queue when the lines are 'opened'. Presumably people phoning in before the lines open are cut off after a short while, or do they let them hang on the line to no avail?

Another question - is the £1.53 call charge for the complete call regardless of length, or is it £1.53 for each minute?

It's such a con. Sit-up is full of cons. :wonder:

Price Plunge said:

Another question - is the £1.53 call charge for the complete call regardless of length, or is it £1.53 for each minute?

Click to expand...

It's for the call

Price Plunge said:

Also some people might ring up when the phones are 'locked' thinking that they will be somehow be first in the queue when the lines are 'opened'. Presumably people phoning in before the lines open are cut off after a short while, or do they let them hang on the line to no avail?

Another question - is the £1.53 call charge for the complete call regardless of length, or is it £1.53 for each minute?

Click to expand...

I think it's per call

Edit: bit slow, Benny beat me to it :call:

I've wondered why they lock the phonelines too, I know they go on about giving everyone a fair chance, but I don't believe a word they say

You have to remember TV Shopping is aimed at the lowest intelligence and aimed at the people who believe everything they hear and people who think they can make a few quid on selling the stuff on that's why they let you multibuy now and with margins being so tight at the moment any extra money is welcome to keep the ship afloat.

Just remember the tv quiz channels from a few years ago they made all there money from the telephone calls and sometimes would only take a call every hour in some cases but people kept ringing, Bid are a business not a charity they are there to make a profit for the shareholders not to be an entertainment channel they don't really want they want people like most of us they want people who will buy the stuff. They couldn't care less if 50 million people tune in if only 10 people buy.

I wonder if I could lock my phoneline to all the sods who keep phoning trying to sell me stuff.

I can understand locking the phones if it's a super special item they're showing with limited quantities and a good price, not however just for the sake of it...yep I'd imagine that they are indeed hoping to catch a few people out. Also the lecture again...not so bad if it really was a diamond ring, or a decent watch going for a couple of hundred quid....but not some of the tat they're showing lately and I swear it's getting worse! Last night the lecture was about Marilyn Monroe because they were selling a gawdy watch with an image of her face on it..it was frankly horrible, and I cannot think of ANYONE would want to wear it...really nobody! Well it ended up going for £9.99 and of course you got that "cod eyed" stare from the presenter shortly followed by the shrugged shoulders, the shake of the head and the words "just buy it". (Caroline Lyndsay's good at that one!) Drives me mad.

All people want to do if they see something they might want to buy is to know the price end of......a demo can be useful, but on the whole are completely redundant. We don't want lectures,silly games, trickery, being told we're winning 'cause they're running out of time.....put up a price and let it drop...thank you!

Phones locked earlier on an item with Far. Not just that but the 30 second clock came into play too. A £1 price promise shown bottom right.

What was the offer?

A Sally Hansen french manicure varnish duo with 3 packs of nail strips

:confused2:

Mommabear said:

Phones locked earlier on an item with Far. Not just that but the 30 second clock came into play too. A £1 price promise shown bottom right.

What was the offer?

A Sally Hansen french manicure varnish duo with 3 packs of nail strips

:confused2:

Click to expand...

easily one of the dodgiest things they do, as impartial as i like to be, i simply cannot think how and who is it fair on

i can only assume they do this on items they expect immediate traffic from.

mr tom said:

easily one of the dodgiest things they do, as impartial as i like to be, i simply cannot think how and who is it fair on

i can only assume they do this on items they expect immediate traffic from.

Click to expand...

Well said Mr T. As always you are fair and truthful and avoid winding anyone up


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

They'd even locked the line on a pair of rubber brushes....FFS - They cost 99p each in Poundstretcher!

merryone said:

They'd even locked the line on a pair of rubber brushes....FFS - They cost 99p each in Poundstretcher!

Click to expand...

What the hell? :confused2:

'Phones Locked' is just a superficial device to build tension and desire-it's designed to create the impression that there is a wave of demand for the product.
The presenter will often say '...please stop calling, the lines are locked' or '...there are people trying to call'-it's just bull to lubricate the sales.
Similarly when you see an item that fails to sell, for example if there are say, twenty five remaining, the presenter will often say when it clocks out '... fourteen on the phone lines, we'll let you confirm'. It's not true but they say it to maintain the impression of desire and momentum.
When you tune in you are entering a world of bull and insincerity where the only motivation is to get your money.