Wall Street Journal tech writer Jeremy Wagstaff had a similar idea when he posted a list of his public relations pet peeves. All of his complaints revolve on one central issue: people trying to contact him don't do their homework.

There are lessons here for any call center: be courteous, don't be pushy, and use the information you have about your customers or potential customers. Do some simple research. Don't insult them by asking them for the same information two and three times (it's amazing how often we still hear about call centers asking callers to repeat their account numbers over and over again during the same call).

And finally, handle rejections and cancellations gracefully. There are whole books written about this, but if there's one rule it's this: hold on tightly, let go lightly. Do whatever you can to keep your clients happy, but if they decide to leave, let them go. If you don't, they'll never come back.