Have they got your number?
DEAR READERS >> Today’s SOUND OFF is about telemarketing calls that are using the names of family and friends:
“Dear Heloise: I got a phone call last night, and caller ID said it was from my son. I answered, only to get a marketer for some product I won’t buy. In fact, I encourage others I know to never buy a product from a telemarketer. So many marketing calls are scams. The Do Not Call list doesn’t screen out calls from my son, my friends or my alma mater. When will companies learn this is not an effective way to sell anything?” — Bess G., Sherman, Texas
DEAR BESS G. >> Bess, telemarketing calls are becoming a real problem in this country. Readers, you can eliminate a number of these calls by going online and registering at www.donotcall.gov, or you can call 888382-1222. If you move or change phone numbers, you’ll need to reregister.
DEAR READERS >> Here are some other uses for a wine rack:
• Use to store rolled-up magazines and mats.
• Roll guest hand towels and store for the bathroom.
• Use to store wrapping paper.
DEAR HELOISE >> For the past six years, I’ve worked in human resources and done hundreds of interviews for a large corporation. I’d like to make a few recommendations to help people applying for a position.
First, no matter what your line of work is, stay current. Learn all the new tech gadgets required
for your line of work. Next, make certain your resume is updated and easy to read on one page. You need not go back to your first job if it was more than 10 years ago. When interviewed, dress professionally. Good luck on the interview. — Stacy W., Pendleton, Ore.
DEAR HELOISE >> I’ve never had a garage sale, and I don’t know what to do. Can you make a few suggestions for the garage sale I plan on having this summer? — Karen S., St. Joseph, Mo.
DEAR KAREN S. >> Karen, first, see if you need a permit to hold a garage sale, and if you do, then get one. Make sure everything you’re selling is clean and tagged with a price. Be open to negotiate, because an item is only worth what someone will pay for it. Display items attractively in aisles so that people can move around and pick up an object. Have someone who is in charge of the money. Make sure you have 10 or 15 single dollars, and that way you can make change. Don’t forget to put an ad in the newspaper and a sign out in front of the house. Also, you can mention on social media that you are having a garage sale.
DEAR HELOISE >> I could never find my cellphone in my purse, so I took glow-in-the-dark paint and painted strips on my cellphone case. — Nan D., Canton, Miss.