Chuggers
I don't doubt there are several threads devoted to hating street fundraisers, I've already seen a couple and I didn't feel that the reflected the job as I experienced it and I want to take a moment to reflect on the other side of the story.

I was a team leader at a fundraising agency that worked for lots of different charities.

A couple of things I think people overlook concerned with how street fundraising worked when I was involved in it (the situation may well have changed particularly given the rise in secondary street fundraising)

1. Our agency had a contract with the charity which promised that for every pound they spent, they would get three back.

2. If a donor cancelled their gift within the first few months (attrition) then the agency would provide a new donor free of charge.

3. The teams had set targets that we had to meet. If we met them we went home early. We were paid an hourly rate which increased the longer you spent with the agency. There was no performance related pay or commission.

4. Each fundraiser had a full week's training and the team leaders had the power to send anyone who didn't comply with the training and the code of conduct home without pay. The guidelines can be found here www.pfra.org.uk/ they included a verbal disclosure explaining the nature of our pay.

5. All the techniques described as annoying by people complaining about street fundraisers are pointless. They do not result in signups and are often in conflict with the guidelines.

6. 90% of the people who decided to help the charity that I was representing who signed up through me started by explaining that they would listen to what I had to say but would not sign up. On every occasion that this happened the person signed up to support the charity and gave overwhelmingly positive feedback about their experience when questioned by an independent team who phoned to confirm the donation.

7. If done properly Street Fundraising is arguably the most personally engaging way of connecting someone with the core values of a charity. It is particularly effective for those charities who cannot take risks and need a guaranteed return on their financial commitment to finding new donors and those charities who have complicated aims that cannot be explained in a poster of television advert.

8. People will doubtless reply to this thread with lots of hate and say 'you'd never get me to sign up' the thing is... I turned quite a lot of people away with a smile and a thank you within a few seconds of having stopped them. We didn't sign up students, the unemployed and people who would miss the cash so the majority of the mouthbreathers on here would have been excluded anyway.
( WormuIus, Wed 2 Jun 2010, 23:32, 7 replies)

no thank you ;)

(nimrodihnio making gravy for one., Wed 2 Jun 2010, 23:45, closed)

I was that chugger
As I replied on a previous post
I needed the work but it just wasnt for me.
Our team leaders were slave drivers and I just didnt have the chutzpah to carry it off.
I left after being spat on.
But now when I encounter chuggers I usually stop to have a chat and explain I understand what they are doing, as Ive been there. I cant sign up but wish them well.
I signed up for a couple of charities when I was doing it and it took years to get them to stop calling me every six months for an upgrade.
Usually if I mention the firm I worked for they nod knowingly and we exchange pleasantries before they get on with their job.
I can see both sides and I prefer the side I'm on now.
Thank you but no
(insomniac-surfer oh go on then, just this once, Thu 3 Jun 2010, 0:23, closed)

I don't see the point of being hostile to street charity collectors.
Charities do it, therefore presumably it's the best method for them. And unlike, say, businesses who do cold calling, most people would agree that the organisations involved having as much money as possible is a good thing.
(apeloverage committed the vile act of onanism on, Thu 3 Jun 2010, 3:33, closed)

Take the opposite tack and fuck with them...
Because I work right near Sydney harbour, I get these people approaching CONSTANTLY.
Usually I just sidestep or give a mumbled "sorry..." but ocasionally I get inventive.
Responses I have used so far:
I'm terribly sorry, but I don't speak any English. In fact this is the only phrase I know. (repeat if necessary)
You're raising money to torture bears? Why would you do that! (glare angrily and wave off any response)
Good God woman, I'm married! Can't you see the ring??? (wave hand at chugger)
(point at the sky) If God wanted a cure for AIDS, He would not have sent it to us. Do you have faith in God?
(pat pockets) I'm sorry mate, I don't smoke.
Donate to WSPA? You're kidding right? I'm assuming you haven't seen this morning's newspapers? (shake head in a knowing way).
(remove mobile from pocket as they approach) I'm sorry mate, I'm just on the phone at the moment (immediately replace phone in pocket and shrug).
Other ideas gratefully accepted and trialed.
( difficultchild, Thu 3 Jun 2010, 4:47, closed)

Sorry, mate...
I'm on the phone. Now, do fuck off.
(Tighthead, Thu 3 Jun 2010, 7:53, closed)

on the other side of the coin
I've got half an hour out of the office to go for a stroll and chill out and I have to spend it repeatedly telling idiot, that jumped out in front of me to block my way;

"No thanks"
"No really I'm not interested"
"Look just FUCK OFF"
( Ring Of Fire A petty, drooling belming butthurt retard., Thu 3 Jun 2010, 7:56, closed)

I do agree with what you say
and I do try and be polite, they're trying to earn a living like anyone else. I have extra respect for those who leave me alone as soon as I say I'm a student or even spot that I'm a student from a distance and don't try and stop me at all. The ones that piss me off are the ones that when I've said I'm a student whinge "Surely you wouldn't miss £2 a week?" and won't take no for an answer. Some students live off less than someone who is unemployed gets from the state and even the ones who are slightly better off than that are only just barely! I have stupid amounts of debt, won't be able to afford a house til I'm in my 30s or start paying into a decent pension any time soon and you have the cheek of whinging that surely I can afford x amount of money?! Grr. But yeah, definitely good on those who don't do that.
(Petite chien is going to do science to it, Thu 3 Jun 2010, 12:14, closed)