What do I do when my company asks me to call customers and do market research?
Out of nowhere, everyone on the development staff just received an email telling us that we are going to be calling customers and asking them survey questions.  We have never done anything like this before, and in every job I've ever had I've been in a position where I do not talk to customers directly.

We are being told this is a policy that all the other subsidiaries of our company follow (we are one of several purchased companies) and that we are just now catching up.

I have a rather striking phone phobia, especially about calling perfect strangers.  And I **hate** telemarketers and phone surveys.  I can't imagine putting anyone else through anything like this even if I could imagine myself capable of making the calls.

Apparently we are to make two calls on Friday and then about eighteen on Wednesday next week.

Is this normal in the industry?  I have never heard of anything like this.  How can I fight this and get the message across that I am a programmer, not a telephone market researcher?  Do I just need to suck it up and do whatever they ask me?  I'd rather clean the toilets...
What do I do when my company asks me to call customers and do market research?
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Out of nowhere, everyone on the development staff just received an email telling us that we are going to be calling customers and asking them survey questions.  We have never done anything like this before, and in every job I've ever had I've been in a position where I do not talk to customers directly.

We are being told this is a policy that all the other subsidiaries of our company follow (we are one of several purchased companies) and that we are just now catching up.

I have a rather striking phone phobia, especially about calling perfect strangers.  And I **hate** telemarketers and phone surveys.  I can't imagine putting anyone else through anything like this even if I could imagine myself capable of making the calls.

Apparently we are to make two calls on Friday and then about eighteen on Wednesday next week.

Is this normal in the industry?  I have never heard of anything like this.  How can I fight this and get the message across that I am a programmer, not a telephone market researcher?  Do I just need to suck it up and do whatever they ask me?  I'd rather clean the toilets...