The mobile phone rings. It displays a number that is not familiar to me. I am riding my bicycle to the department. I am on the upclimb near the convocation hall. A little irritated, I pick up the phone. I do that always, as I feel that it could be an important or emergency call.
Caller: "Hello sir, I am Priya* calling from XYZ bank."
This is my credit card company. I get a bit more irritated. Some of it stemming from the fact that I am still riding uphill.
Me: "Yes?"
Caller: "Sir, we are offering you a pre-approved loan of Rs 88,000/- at a special interest rate."
Me(the irritation is increasing): "No madam, I am not interested."
Caller: "But sir, you could use this money for whatever purpose you want. And this is a limited period offer. We are offering you a special interest rate because of your good credit history. The interest rates will be revised next month and you may not get this special rate."
Me (frustration creeping in): "But madam I do not need the money right now. Whenever I need it, I shall take it at whatever interest rates are offered to me."
Caller: "OK sir, whenever you need a loan, please call me on my cell phone. Please note down my number."
Me: "Go ahead." And I pretend to jot her number.
Caller: "Thank you sir, and have a nice day."
I proceed to my department, happy that I could fend off the caller, without offending her. This is necessary as she is doing nothing else but her job.
About a year ago, such calls were common and I used to receive such calls at least once every month. And then, somewhere in mid-2008, the financial markets crashed. Everybody was running helter-skelter, trying to hang on to what ever liquidity they had. Loans became dearer and credit was drying up. And then, one day I realised that the calls from the credit card company too had stopped. It was a blessing in disguise for me. The crash in the financial market had relieved me from the tension of fending off callers for loans. It has brought some peace to me by taking those calls off my back.
What I regret now is, why did I not actually jot down the numbers of the females who had called me up. The least I could have done is called them up and cheered them during this financial downturn. And probably go out on a date with one of them and then pay the bill using the same credit card on which she had once offered a loan. Next, I could ask her for a loan to clear off the expenses incurred on her and ask her for very special interest rates. Well, a lot more could have happened, if I had jotted down those numbers. Just imagination at work.
*The name is imaginary.
Caller: "Hello sir, I am Priya* calling from XYZ bank."
This is my credit card company. I get a bit more irritated. Some of it stemming from the fact that I am still riding uphill.
Me: "Yes?"
Caller: "Sir, we are offering you a pre-approved loan of Rs 88,000/- at a special interest rate."
Me(the irritation is increasing): "No madam, I am not interested."
Caller: "But sir, you could use this money for whatever purpose you want. And this is a limited period offer. We are offering you a special interest rate because of your good credit history. The interest rates will be revised next month and you may not get this special rate."
Me (frustration creeping in): "But madam I do not need the money right now. Whenever I need it, I shall take it at whatever interest rates are offered to me."
Caller: "OK sir, whenever you need a loan, please call me on my cell phone. Please note down my number."
Me: "Go ahead." And I pretend to jot her number.
Caller: "Thank you sir, and have a nice day."
I proceed to my department, happy that I could fend off the caller, without offending her. This is necessary as she is doing nothing else but her job.
About a year ago, such calls were common and I used to receive such calls at least once every month. And then, somewhere in mid-2008, the financial markets crashed. Everybody was running helter-skelter, trying to hang on to what ever liquidity they had. Loans became dearer and credit was drying up. And then, one day I realised that the calls from the credit card company too had stopped. It was a blessing in disguise for me. The crash in the financial market had relieved me from the tension of fending off callers for loans. It has brought some peace to me by taking those calls off my back.
What I regret now is, why did I not actually jot down the numbers of the females who had called me up. The least I could have done is called them up and cheered them during this financial downturn. And probably go out on a date with one of them and then pay the bill using the same credit card on which she had once offered a loan. Next, I could ask her for a loan to clear off the expenses incurred on her and ask her for very special interest rates. Well, a lot more could have happened, if I had jotted down those numbers. Just imagination at work.
*The name is imaginary.
jab chidiya chuk gayi khet to rone se kya fayda.....now wait for the financial market to again stabilize....but i think by that time u would have already crossed the age limit for dating and who knows u might be father of a child.....:)....i hope market stabilizes for u and otherwise......:)
ReplyDeletelast year, when this was common I also faced the same situation. 1,48,000 pre-approved load. After 3-4 calls in the same week, I asked the person, "Wapas karna padega kya? To phir nahi chahiye" ;)
ReplyDelete@Prateek,
ReplyDelete"who knows u might be a father of a child?" yaar itni der nahi lagni chahiye markets stabilise hone mein... nahi to apni lag jayegi
Vinay, good 1. Starting noting down the nos atleast now. Better late than never :D
ReplyDelete@PK (aka Anon)
ReplyDeletethe problem is that there is no one calling now :( if i had a faint hint that a crisis of this magnitude would hit the financial markets, i would have taken down their nos. instead of pretending to take them down.
i've read statements saying that this financial crisis is of unprecedented magnitude... i'm now realising it. the recession has affected my time-pass