This is a true story that I witnessed firsthand.

I am a student at the University of Utah. During my freshmen year I payed for my expenses by working for the University's Alumni association. We would call alumni of the school to update school records and ask for donations... pretty much glorified telemarketers... it was a pretty painful job to say the least.

Anyways, we would be hooked up to these computers who would constantly feed us outbound calls. Our protocol would be to update records of the alumni, and then chat with them in hopes that they would donate a small sum to the university by the end of the conversation. As a telemarketer we would encounter a lot of less than friendly or agitated people throughout our night, but I was actually surprised by the overall friendliness of people. This one night, all of our computers were put on hold and our manager asked us to all gather around one of the girls who had worked there for a very long time.

She was making a "high priority" call, and our manager wanted everyone to witness how a phone call of the likes should be handled. I peeked at her computer screen to see "Mr. Thomas Monson" under the name and realized this was going to be interesting. I could tell several others had realized the same thing, and the 3 or 4 LDS employees were extra giddy.

The call was put over the speakers so we could all listen in. The dial tone droned on as everybody listened. Finally, there was an answer and a males voice droned in. Granted, this happened about two years ago so I don't remember the exact words of the conversation, but it went something like this.

Tommy: hello. (his greeting was lifeless and cold, slightly agitated... but... I would probably be the same way being in the same situation.)

Mary: Hello Mr. Monson, my name is Mary ****** and I am a student working for the alumni association at the University of Utah. We are calling to update some information for our records and I was wondering if I could confirm your mailing address... blah blah.

Tommy: (he wasn't very cooperative, seemed very unfriendly, did not want to talk. Did not confirm his address, or give any acknowledgement. After some coercion he confirmed his information.).

Mary then went on to inquire into his hobbies or whatever sort of bonding possible. She threw him every single possible conversation starter

Tommy: (response was very cold, did not have any interest in any sort of conversation. Everyone could tell that he was getting very agitated and his voice was getting louder)

Mary: (The phone call is a train wreck, but Mary had done everything right. Tommy was just not having any of it. After a couple of painful rejections the manager finally signals to give the punchline and ask for a donation.) Something along the lines of "well... I'm sorry to bother you Mr. Monson, and I just wanted to talk and hear about your experiences but I wont take any more of your time but our last matter of business ***proceed to punchline*** would you consider donating blah blah to the University of Utah?

Tommy: (his demeanor suddenly brightens, he seems intrigued and suprisingly like he may even donate at least a couple of dollars. The following is how he responds I kid you not) "Miss.. what was your name again? Mary? Well that is a nice name. **pause**. Mary?...**cough cough*** are you LDS?

Mary: No Mr. Monson I'm actually Greek Orthodox, I've attended the Greek Orthodox chapel downtown my whole life.

Tommy: (with no hesitation or pause before his response) "I'll have no part in this" **CLICK**


There were 15 employees standing with their jaws open. The 3 or 4 LDS employees acted like they could never have been more embarrassed in their lives. I, for the other hand was laughing my ass off with a few of the other guys who knew and understood the gravity of the situation.

I made thousands of phone calls working at that place.... Never ever ever ever witnessed anything as rude as the one phone call to Tommy S. Monson.

I thought that story was worthy to share to the board.
-Yewt102

I mean, really -- GREEK ORTHODOX?!?! That's code for homosexual, right? AND she probably dated Satan on the side!

;)

Amazing story and I have no trouble whatsoever believing it! About 16-18 yrs. ago he was totally rude to my son's girlfriend at a Chrismas Party in the Church Office Building. My son was there. His girlfriend and her sister's were the entertainment for the night, and he had gone along to watch them.

When it came time to sing "Santa Baby" they asked Bro. Monson who was sitting right up front in the audience to come sit in a chair, and they danced around him a bit and put a Santa hat on him and one of them sat on the edge of his knee for a second. HE CAME UNGLUED! He was outraged and told them that this kind of behavior was completely outrageous, too sexual, stuff like that.

My son came home horrified saying mom, it was nothing, just totally innocent fun,they were just pretending to be flirting with him a bit. He said the crowd was horrified and silent, very uncomfortable. He has never forgotten Monson's mean and innappropriate behavior to those poor teenage girls, all of them active LDS.

Pretty interesting the things these men who are supposed to be so very righteous sometimes do, without one thought of other people's feelings! As if they were God or something, and a mean God at that!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/09/2010 01:57AM by think4u.

I am rude to telemarketers who I know are just calling me to ask for money too. Where is the story here? I personally don't think this happened. Another "faith promoting story" here on the board. I am sure this call was recorded "for training purposes", right? Maybe you could play it for us. Anyone can say anything on the internet. :)

...of the calls that Yewt102 gives sounds very typical of how my alma mater solicits donations as well. These represent the only type of soliciting call that I actually welcome. I'm not surprised that Yewt said that most alumni were friendly. I always love talking with the young students who are making the calls as well. I ask them about their dorm and their major, etc., and often give them advice. It takes me back to a time in my life that I remember with great fondness.

If you have put your number on the national "do not call" list, it cuts back the calls to a bare minimum. I only hear from charitable organizations, and even then, not very often.

he would have been loving, concerned, caring, and above all - charitable to his alma mater. You not a proclaimed profit of Jesus. His profit didn't act the part. His nice guy image is all a put on at General Conference. The "story" here is that these guys are wolves in sheeps clothing and able to con people out of there money through cultish manipulation. That's the story American Jesus. Wtf is your moniker all about anyway?

anyone that concerned about having his holy image tainted would at least be able to pleasantly cough up 5$ for his alma mater
just to save face. I mean even if he got labeled as a cheap skate it still seems preferable to be caught in a huff & giving absolutely NOTHING.

I would have more sympathy for him, but I cant tell you how many times LDS INC hit me up for money for BYU's excellence in the 80's program & I have never been more broke than when attending BYU! after having my substantial savings sucked dry for an lds mission, going to BYU to spin my wheels academically at their astronomically high tuition rates & THEN they want even MOReMONey!

As soon as you said the name of the song I could see a train wreck coming.

The sexual overtones in that song are famous and obvious.

Calling a religious leader out of the audience to participate? Bad idea.

Just because a performer thinks it's entertaining to put someone on the spot doesn't put the obligation on the audience victim to play along, especially with something that is embarrassing and inappropriate considering his position. It sounds like everyone in the room "got it" on this one except the performer.

Nope, the performer screwed up on this one, and crossed a boundary that should not have been crossed. Hopefully she learned a lesson and didn't just put the blame on Monson for not being a "good sport" or something.

My first reaction was that Santa Baby was inappropriate and WTH were they thinking. But you know, adult men have been asking these kids about their sex lives for years, including if they masturbate. Taking that experience into consideration, maybe it didn't seem so inappropriate to them to perform something with slight sexual undertones.

I bet his big ears turned bright red, and stood very erect when he hear her say Gre.....

The girlfriend was walking pornography.

Sounds like a good stand up comedy routine. I can't stop giggling! (I wanted to use "sn ig ge- ring", but the board auto word ban won't let me :-)

...if she had told him she was LDS.

Would he have scolded her for not knowing that he was a mucky-muck?

Would he have scolded her for soliciting him even though he was a mucky-much?

Would he have asked her to give him a break because he was the "Lard's annointed" and only had consecrated money in his wallet?

Would he have donated money because she was LDS?

What?

Don't you think he's had his share of personal harassment from "antis?" I mean how does one know who is really on the other end of the telephone line? Personally, I don't go around "confirming" or giving out my address to random strangers who call me up at night either.

Dunno. Just a thought.


;o)

Tommy probably wanted nothing to do with her. I mean that guy loves to kill of people in his stories and talk about letters he never gets.

BTW could you imagine Ezekial, Moses or Elijah telling similar silly stories that Tommy Monson does....lol Now that would have made the old testament funny.

Alum calls are the only ones I don't mind getting. Most people love their schools because it's a point of pride.
As far as Tommy Monson goes, I have had some dealings with him, and this rings pretty true. The guy is a total prick, and has no time for anyone but himself. I can't imagine most of his widow stories are true because he's just not really a very pleasant person.
The UofU gave him an honorary doctorate four years ago. I was there and he was a real douche before and after the talk, but when he talked he really poured on the sweetness. It reminded me of a grumpy actor who turns the acting on and off at will.

Rude are telemarketers that think I owe them my time or my money. Exactly like the church.

Yeah, if you were the profit...wouldn't you ALWAYS try to be positive, upbeat and on your game? He just seems like a grumpy old fake. I think he will go down as one of the most incompetent profits TSCC has ever had.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/09/2010 12:56PM by madiran.

I can't imagine he answers his own phone.

That's what he said? "I'll have no part in this." What a douche. Didn't Monson graduate from the U? The least he could do is donate a few dollars. You're supposed to help out your alma mater once you've reached a certain level of success. Or at the very least explain to the person on the phone that you're already donating through another channel. I reiterate. What a douche.

I worked doing technical support for a major computer manufacturer for awhile, and I never got used to the staggering narcissism and the verbal abuse that many people feel they are entitled to dealing out when on the phone with someone who is just doing their job. In my case, trying to HELP them.

So much for Christian love.

..seems clear to me he's a prick

Steven Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ..seems clear to me he's a prick

Seems clear it's the other way around, to me.:-)

You'd talk to them till they said they weren't Mormon, then hang up? Somehow I believe that.

Lillium Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You'd talk to them till they said they weren't
> Mormon, then hang up? Somehow I believe that.

NO I didn't say that. That's ridiculous.
I don't care about religious beliefs, nor do I ask. If I get a telemarketing call, I often tell them to take us off their list as we are on a NO Call List. If I get any run around, I talk to a supervisor, or ask for their number to make a report.

have you hung up on your Alumni association? that is where the call was generated from. and a quick hang up would have more indicitive that ole Monson thought it was a regular telemarketer.... and "mary" at least had a little conversation with him ...till she said she was not LDS... which i beleive is really the point here...just sayin... oh and i "like" the smily face at the end of you insult to Steven... not! :(



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/09/2010 03:12PM by bignevermo.

From what I consider an impeccable source, I have heard that Mr. Monson is rude and curt to almost everyone he thinks he can be that way with. I understand he gets especially upset when his car is not ready for him after meetings... I hear he also really enjoys Dr. Pepper.

This is really no surprise... all he had to do to get where he is was live a little longer than the other old guys.

Mon's response has nothing whatsoever to do with whether he is or is not a prophet of Some God Almighty. Mountains of evidence prove, however, that he is not. But he is a scam artist also.

I loathe telemarketers. First comes, warmy-charmy, flirty dishonesty followed by baited hook. I respect Mon's response. At least he is no pushover, tho he happens to be a much deadlier fraud than any lowly telemarketing scam artist.

I saw TSM and wife at Utah Festival Opera a while back. We were two rows behind him. He greeted many folks who approached him and was nice, although a bit uncomfortable. One woman was jawing his ear off for at least 15-20 mins, and when he turned to greet others she literally grabbed his arm to keep his attention. His minders were off to the side in the aisles, so they could not help him.


I would not want his life style in spite of the $$$ and perks. Oh, and knowing you are running a sham would be tough also.

I did that job for a year in college for my alma mater. That sounds exactly like the script used and I'm not surprised in the least to hear this might have been Monson's reaction. I used to get that all the time, but I was surprised that about 75% of the calls were friendly and appreciative of hearing from me. If you could find some common ground with the alumni -- well some of 'em presented awesome professional networking opportunities, some were just really great conversations about the school and the programs and some people denied they ever went to our school. Those were funny to me.

I don't consider it true telemarketing because it's not a cold call and it's really not a sale. People don't get something for donating. Most people have pride in their degree or in their school and if they got scholarships to offset their costs while in school, those who have the means will often donate back to the school to help someone else out. I've done it when I've had the cash -- just to help some broke bright kid like I was get through journalism school. You can keep your money out of the football programs if you want to specify, for example, I want this to go to the School of Journalism ONLY.

Anyway, being called by the alumni association isn't nearly as annoying to me as being called by a random telemarketer who wants to sell me aluminum siding on my brick house or something.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/09/2010 02:57PM by dogzilla.