27/07/2012

The Bad Language Hotline

Two German entrepreneurs have devised a way for passive-aggressive citizens to blow off some steam - dial a telephone number and give the person on the other end a verbal lashing.

It's a great idea. A phone number that you call and say some truly disgusting things to the person at the end. It's like Babestation but... no it's just like Babestation.

The swearing hotline, know as "Schimpf-los" ("swear away") in German, has operators standing by seven days a week for frustrated individuals to jeer at and taunt using the most unsavoury language they can muster.

I hope it still has the standard warning, "These calls may be recorded for security purposes."

Ralf Schulte and Alexander Brandenburger, the creators of the service found inspiration in their own stressful daily routines. What, they were swearing at people down a phone and thought, "Hang on. There's money in this."

It will definitely work. I get angry at people on the phone all the time and it really great. I normally wait till they have called me and tried to sell me something. Just the other day I had the classic one. Someone called from my bank, and it went like this.

THEM: "Hello Mr Allen, I'm calling from the Halifax. This is a customer service call. First, for security, can you give me the last three characters of your postcode?"
ME: "Nope."
THEM: "I'm sorry."
ME: "You called me. I'm not giving out those details."
THEM: "We just need to confirm your identity. It's to prevent identity theft."
ME: "Identity theft? I would be mobile theft too, because whoever you think I am would've nicked my mobile."
THEM: "Well, someone could be impersonating you."
ME: "Someone could be impersonating you! You called me. For all I know you are just pretending to be in a call centre. We can all put on thick accents!"
THEM: *hangs up*
ME: "Job done!"

The German service costs 1.49 euros per minute - a figure Schulte feels is completely justified. "For getting everything off your chest, it's a bargain."

And that's where the idea is genius because it can make a lot of euros. All we need to do is set one up in Greece and send Gordon Ramsay over there and we have the Eurozone crisis sorted.

>Read the source story
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