Major Hangup

A telemarketing executive says people in Maryland are too nice to work for his company. The phone sales firm opened up an office in Frostburg, a coal mining town of 8,100 people with high unemployment. But the people in the town aren’t aggressive enough to do phone sales, says Unitel vice president Ken Carmichael. “The culture and the climate in western Maryland is one of helping your neighbor and being empathetic and those sorts of things,” he complained. The company is closing down the Frostburg office and moving 100 jobs to Florida, where there is presumably a more pushy workforce. (AP) ...The public appreciates that: it’s easier to hang up on jerks.