"Is Your Dad Home?"

I wonder what kind of training telemarketers get. Definetely not enough to remove all those age-old prejudices and conventional ideas.

//Translated from Hindi
TM - "Hi can i speak to the person in who's name this phone is registered?"
ME - "Not at home"
TM - "What time will he get back from work?"
ME - (What the fuck?) "Ahh, late evening"
TM - "And you mom?"
ME - "At work too"
TM - "She's also working? ('doing service')"
ME - "Yeah"
TM - "Any holidays?"
ME - "Sundays"
TM - "Ok, i'll call up then"
ME - "Sure, fine"
<*click*>

It's kinda infuriating how they assume your "father" is simply the one who's earning and everyone else is just wasted at home. I mean, that lady just assumed that the phone would be registered in my dad's name, and didnt even bothering confirming whether it actually is so or not.

The last time i got a call like this, i was pretty morbid.
There was some telemarketing chick asking if she could speak to my dad.
Well no, i said, he's not around.
Could she call later?
No, i said, i dont think you could speak to him.
She was perplexed. Why, she asked.
Because he's dead, i said.

I could literally feel her shock over the phone. I guess it was kinda cruel of me to put her in a spot like this, but i didnt care. She was flusterred and after muttering some lame half-assed apologies, she hung up.

See, i wonder if i should really talk to them like this or not. I mean, this is still India. We may have a modernised exterior, but under the facade, the heart that beats is still black and stuck in prehistoric mode. She was just doing her job, just regurgitating the shit her superiors trained her to do. Not her fault.
But still, i guess since i cant ever reach their superiors, i just say whatever's on my mind.

Next time, i'm gonna ask them whether this is what they have been trained to ask or is it just their assumption.
Next time, i'll be civilized before i get medieval on their asses.