I'm not a great fan of "chuggers". Although they almost always make extraordinary efforts to be polite and cheerful, there is something rather unpleasant about being waylaid by an earnest young person clutching a clip-board, who tries to engage you in a conversation as a prelude to signing up to donate to their good cause.
It is not a job that I would want to do.
I'm sure that spending the day being ignored, avoided or abused must be a soul destroying experience. Not only are these people less welcome on a busy shopping street than that bloke miming getting out of a glass box, but they have to wear a hideous tabard as well.
I don't like what they have to do for a living but I have some sympathy for their situation, so I don't consider it fair to be rude or unpleasant if I get tagged
There are much better ways of making an encounter with a charity mugger a joyful experience, as I discovered yesterday afternoon.
I was strolling along one of the busier pedestrianised streets of Macclesfield.
I had just been to the library and as I had forgotten to take a bag with me, I had an armful of books.
I spotted the chuggers in the distance and as I got closer, it occurred to me that the largest book that I was carrying was a similar size to the clip-boards that the sales team were armed with.
I had an idea.
One of the team was right in front of me, but instead of veering away and using traditional evasive tactics, I caught his eye and headed straight towards him.
Before he had a chance to open his mouth, I stepped up and said,
"Hi.", then pointing at the book I was carrying, said "would you like to buy this?"
He hesitated, taken off-guard.
"Er... No. No thanks."
"OK. Sorry to have bothered you."
I nodded farewell and before he had a chance to work out what had gone wrong, I walked on.
Sometimes it's the little things that make life worth living.
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You've love this one! I HATE utility companies coming to my door. So as I heard them next door, I flicked the switch on my main meter and plunged the house into darkness and got a fiver out of my purse. When said utility company knocked on my door and I opened it clutching a lit candle, a fiver and asked if they had any electricy they could leave as a sample; they backed up my path really quickly!
ReplyDeleteExcellent!
ReplyDeleteThe eccentric response is so much more satisfying than simply telling them to "Push off".
Not only is it fun for you, but I'd like to think that it cheers up the Cold-caller too.
I am not very quick to think of good ideas, so I just walk round them. I did however one day, let a chugger approach me, and politely told him that I was not prepared to pay his wages. He looked blank, pretending not to understand. I went on to say, 'you are not doing this for nothing are you'.
ReplyDeleteI just wonder how effective this method is for raising money for the charities.
ReplyDeleteEven if the wretched folk who prowl the streets are only on a pittance, it can't be terribly lucrative, can it?
I think this method can be very lucrative. Once they have someone signed up for a few quid a month, most people would probably forget about it and not even notice it leaving their accounts. How many people check their statements every month, I bet some people never check them, then wonder how they have got into debt. Even if they do check they are more likely to let their charitable donations continue, because they can't be bothered to stop them.
ReplyDeleteGood point.
ReplyDeleteI've just been having a look at the "Public Fundraising Regulatory Association" website. There's quite a lot of interesting stuff there about Face-to-Face fundraising (the polite term for chugging).
It looks as if the charities can do pretty well from it.
http://www.pfra.org.uk/face-to-face_fundraising
As far as witty rebuttals go, 'Your getting paid so why should I sign up' is by no measure original. If you are going to go through all the effort of having a dig remember in future that fundraisers are always polite, no matter how much abuse they've had throughout their 8 hour shift on their feet and they've heard every lame excuse in the book. A simple 'sorry, no' does often suffice. And rather than reading from somebody else's script, know the facts first. Volunteers often don't have the training or do have to work around another job to pay rent. 'Chuggers' do get paid, that's part of the investment that sees a 30% return and they get to eat whilst committing to the hours.
ReplyDeleteIt's simple, ANYONE can afford £3 a month if they're willing to sacrifice that one burger they're about to add to their waistline. Charity is altruistic, being honest and just admitting that your stingy will REALLY brighten up a fundraisers day.
From my own experience, 'Anonymous' is correct that fundraisers are generally polite and cheerful in the face of considerable rudeness and hostility.
ReplyDeleteI know I'd struggle to maintain that level of niceness if I was in their situation.
I still wont sign up with a chugger. I give my charitable donations to who ever I want to, it is always my choice.
ReplyDelete