I also respond epending upon my mood. If I have a little time to waste I play games with them. Stuff like, "This is not a good time for me, give me your number and I'll call you when I get to it" or, depending on the product..."Water softener? No, the only time I have hard water is when I freeze it....Take it out of the freezer seems to soften it up every time...."; or like 'Spaw said, start to sell them something....We have an outfit that used to call us about heater repairs. I used to tell them I burn wood for heat, and the reply would be, "oh so you have a fireplace?"...The correct response just before hanging up is "No, we build a fire in the living room floor"