OMAHA, Nebraska (AP) -- Recognizing that many Americans won't be in the mood to get sales calls, many of the nation's telemarketers plan to take the day off Wednesday on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks.


September 11 is a day for people to be with their families, said Perry Young, director of a telemarketing center in Omaha run by Call Solutions Inc. of Waukesha, Wisconsin.


"If I received a call at home on that day from somebody trying to sell me something, I would be personally offended," Young said.


The nation's largest privately held telemarketing company, DialAmerica Marketing Inc. of Mahwah, New Jersey, is giving the day off to its 8,500 outbound telemarketers around the country. For DialAmerica, that means tens of thousands of calls not being made.


"It's a way to be respectful that day," said Nancy Katz, DialAmerica director of corporate communications.


How many telemarketing calls will not get made is unclear. Kevin Brosnahan of the American Teleservices Association said the group does not have a reliable count of calls made daily by telemarketing companies.


Telemarketers make calls to conduct surveys and sell products and services for client companies in industries such as banking, magazine publishing, telecommunications and insurance. The industry generated about $668 billion in sales last year, Brosnahan said.