I actually appreciate it if they text first. If they call, I tell them to send the marketing spiel to my e-mail and I'll get back to them.

I guess the hard sell is because of the Filipino mentality. Most of us are polite. Too polite. Which means when we're asked if we can spare a moment of time, the natural answer is "Yes!"

But the times they are a-changing. Bore too many people with the same old "pamasahe lang po... pangpagkain lang po... sige po... last na ito..." (with puppy dog eyes as you lean on the window) or "Sir, would you like to avail of our promo" (with the harang-harang motion as you walk down the mall) and people become desensitized, even immune to those ploys.

Do it for a while and you'll get a few suckers. Do it for long enough and people will tune you out, just as easily as they tune out ads posted on walls and posts.