This is Not the Way to Get Donations

[Moosenogger]

I got a call from a telemarketer asking for donations for a children's fund. I told him, "Sorry, but I'm not interested in donating." The telemarketer asked if anyone else lived at the home, and I (stupidly) told him that my mother lived with me. He then asked if she'd be interested in donating, and I told him, "No, she wouldn't."

This jackhole proceeds to tell me, "Well, I don't think you know if your mother would donate or not." This was said in the most snide tone any human being could voice.

I was so shocked at this idiot's audacity that I just said, "Okay" and the telemarketer said he'd call back later.

I wish I hadn't been so blindsided by his comment. I would have given him a proper reaming and told him to go **** himself with a rusty tool.

[Pixilated]

Hope your mom gives him a verbal black eye. "Well, I would've donated to your organization, but after your condescending rudeness to my daughter ... not a chance."

I once had a telemarketer who was trying to sell me something ask if she could talk to my husband. I don't have a husband. Wasn't till later that I thought of putting one of my male cats on the phone.

[Sheldonrs]

A word of caution; I get calls all the time at work from people who received calls from people CLAIMING to be us, asking for donations. Most of the time the people claiming to be us get angry and rude if the person says they aren't interested.
We NEVER call for donations. So the callers asking for donations are frauds looking for money and/or ID theft.

If someone calls you for donations, don't give over the phone. Look up the organization on line and find out the legitimate way to give if you are interested in their work.

[Moosenogger]

Exactly, Sheldonrs. I don't give anyone any info over the phone. If you want a donation, there better be a more secure option than reading my credit card number over the phone. Otherwise, the company is SOL.

[Kitten in the box]

I had a similar thing happen to me. One time I was at a festival with my friend when this guy stopped me and asked me for a donation to help the wetlands for birds in the bay area. I politely told him no and proceeded to walk around him. Apparently this wasn't good enough as he got IN MY WAY to keep pestering me and pestering me until he finally told me I was selfsih and unkind. I then yelled at him and said "Yeah its true. I AM FUCKING SICK OF YOUR CRAP! FUCK THOSE BIRDS!

and i left. Now let it be known i don't really feel that way about birds or wetlands. and I would have donated later on if that guy wasn't being an asshat about it. yes mr. donation man was livid after i said that, but there is a right and wrong way to go about asking. and apparently there had been numerous complaints about him prior to asking me for donations.

[Flying Grype]

The only person I've snapped at in person for getting in my face about it was a guy handing out flyers for the LDS. He asked once, I said no politely, he asked again, and I lost it on him. They had a church near my subway station and they were flyering there a lot, but they usually weren't obnoxious about it.

On the phone -- for some reason the only calls I ever got asking for charity money were selling tickets to these thousand-dollar-a-plate dinners to raise money for the widow/ers and families of cops and firefighters who died in the line of duty. Eventually I said, "Look, it's a great cause and I hope it does well, but I don't know how I got on this call list, because the tickets cost two weeks' wages for me." She apologized and I didn't hear from her again.

[MoonCat]

Some people tend to be asshats about donations or anything involving charity. We had a special ad section we were selling one year, that involved advertisers buying space on a flyer full of "safety suggestions" for trick-or-treating. We also had a new girl on the phones.

This chick was cold-calling business trying to sell these ads. On one call, when the business turned it down, she asked, "Is it just the money, or do you just not care about the kids?"

[RealUnimportant]

We have a term here in the UK, "chugger" - it's a delightful portmanteu of Charity & Mugger. These are people *paid* to go up to you in the street & demand you sign up to support their cause. This in and of itself is obnoxious, but the plain fact is that the wage they earn (& the commision on this paid to the hiring agency) usually means that even in the event they get some signups, the charity itself doesn't see a penny unless the donator keeps their payments flowing for more than a year!

[Little Retail Rabbit]

We have a term here in the UK, "chugger" - it's a delightful portmanteu of Charity & Mugger. These are people *paid* to go up to you in the street & demand you sign up to support their cause. This in and of itself is obnoxious, but the plain fact is that the wage they earn (& the commision on this paid to the hiring agency) usually means that even in the event they get some signups, the charity itself doesn't see a penny unless the donator keeps their payments flowing for more than a year!

Comedian Sean Lock has an even better term for them:


CHUNTS!