How to ruin a chugger's day!

String them along and waste their time. Thats what I do. They are no better than telephone scammers. The charity gets fuck all, the rest goes to to multinational companies.

If you want to donate do it via website.

I just tell them I don’t use credit cards or bank accounts anymore, but if they can bill me in Bitcoins I will happily donate… for some reason they always walk away at that point, rude buggers! 😛

I got hit up by a Greenpeace chugger once. Rude little shite.

I stated how I already gave to 3 charities, one of which is an environmental body. He asked me to name them, which I did, so he could argue how Greenpeace was a better ‘sort’ of organisation. I went onto list the environmentally conscientious activities I make time for in my every day life; having my own vegetable garden, composting and bike riding to name a few. With every claim I made this little feral cut in saying “so do I” or “me too” .. I walked away but had him chasing me half way through Garema Court saying .. “I haven’t finished talking to you vest girl” (as I was wearing a vest .. big surprise) .. seriously, some of them need to be taken down a peg. It’s best to choose what charities you want to give to and commit to them, others who approach you will have to find someone else.

HenryBG said :

p1 said :

Henry82 said :

Really what they need is a compulsory badge for all charity collectors. One that advises people if they’re paid or volunteer. How much commission they get, and what % of the money goes to the actual charity. Kind of like the nutrition labels on food.

For a second then I though HenryBG had said something I agreed with.

I agree anyway, for what it’s worth.

How come these Chuggers never pester me when I walk through Civic?

Wait, You leave your house?

Kinda thought someone who trolls as consistently as you would be somewhat more reclusive than all that ‘outside’ business!

joingler said :

What would that achieve? I reckon my actions may have actually done some good. The manager is aware of his actions. She will speak to him and maybe he will change his attitude and not do this anymore to anyone.

Or he’ll get fired and end up killing himself cause he couldn’t even hold down a chugger job. Kudos to you for not being able to say ‘f*ck off’ to someone abusing you =)

There is not one person in Civic, or anywhere else for that matter who has approached me for money and received even the slightest response, let alone a single red cent.

However, the lovely gentleman who volunteers for the salvo’s, and sit’s quietly inside the centre, gets my lunch change pretty much daily, usually only a few gold coins, but when I only have silver or no change, he gets a note or two.

I will only ever give to those who do not harass me in the street!

joingler said :

What would that achieve? I reckon my actions may have actually done some good. The manager is aware of his actions. She will speak to him and maybe he will change his attitude and not do this anymore to anyone.

Or maybe not. Being appointed a manager doesn’t endow you with super powers. Most people, including managers of other people, are afraid of conflict, particularly with someone who may be an aggressive douchebag. I suspect that this is why life in the APS is such a misery.

Anyway, colour me cynical, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the manager-person feigned upsettageness in order to fob you off, and then went back to sipping her coffee while reading RA or the local equivalent. Conflict avoided, customer soothed, problem solved.

Henry82 said :

I’m not sure if it’s a win, they still got your details.

Really what they need is a compulsory badge for all charity collectors. One that advises people if they’re paid or volunteer. How much commission they get, and what % of the money goes to the actual charity. Kind of like the nutrition labels on food.

Fair point. But I can easily mark their emails as spam. I can also change my number if things get too bad. But since the letter, I have had no correspondence at all except for their monthly newsletter (which I said to the operator on the phone I was happy to keep receiving).

He then accused me of all sorts of things, swore at me and told me if I actually cared about anyone in the world apart from myself I would give to him. Wanting to show him how much of a douchebag he was being, I gave in. I signed up but deliberately put the wrong expiry date on my debit card.

Geez man, why didn’t you simply tell him to go f*ck himself.

Pretty simple really.

What would that achieve? I reckon my actions may have actually done some good. The manager is aware of his actions. She will speak to him and maybe he will change his attitude and not do this anymore to anyone.

HenryBG said :

How come these Chuggers never pester me when I walk through Civic?

Your reputation precedes you.

Eyeball In A Quart Jar Of Snot said :

The main problem is that unless you sign up for payments over several years the vast majority of your donations do not go the charity but rathter to a PR company called Cornucopia Fundraising.

+1

I’ve heard 80% of a person’s donation in the first year goes to Cornucopia Fundraising. Decreasing every year after that, not sure of the exact percentages. It would be nice if they were up front about things like that.

http://www.cornucopia.com.au/how_we_do_it.html

Overheard said :

Just because a collector takes a commission does not make it all bad. Not always.

My nutrition label idea doesn’t brandish a collector either way, it just makes it just makes the collection process transparent.

Overheard said :

I won’t relay it all here. Dot points: bust your balls and spend hours of time and thousands of dollars to raise tens of thousands OR employ others to raise $1mil+.

I get it, 30% of something, is better than 100% of nothing. But in my opinion its misleading to say “i collect on behalf of a charity” when in actual fact it’s “i collect so money for a charity, but i take a lot for myself”

Overheard said :

I don’t like being accosted at the best of times, but telling a chugger to ‘**** off’ is, in my book, equivalent to telling the charity to ‘*** off’..

No it isn’t, it’s telling the person who is harassing your for money to f*** off. If i, or anyone else wants to donate, they can do it one of many ways without a middle man. I don’t need someone reminding me every time i walk through Garema Place

Overheard said :

Suspend disbelief, and consider that maybe, just maybe, the charity is doing the best it can with the available resources..

I think there are much better things to do. First things first, if i was a charity, i’d run my own website, similar to http://www.everydayhero.com.au/ except where there is not middle man taking at least 10% of the cut.

Of course, if I get harrasses by a charity they have just ensured that I will never pay them a cent,

That’s a bit absolute, Thumper.

What if a rogue somehow gets a guernsey with your favourite charity? What if some nutter somehow dons the bright vest and approved badge for, say, the RSPCA? Would you tell them to ‘Go’n git —-‘ and never donate to them again based on the actions of one person?

Community and volunteer groups do sadly occasionally attract nutters that don’t reflect the organisation’s overall approach or ethos.

The main problem is that unless you sign up for payments over several years the vast majority of your donations do not go the charity but rathter to a PR company called Cornucopia Fundraising.

johnboy said :

The trouble with the chugging is sure Charity A might get more money. But charities in general are getting a smaller cut of the available giving pond.

Charity A gets a short term win. Charities in general lose out.

It’s not ethical.

Fair point. I’ve been a hands-on fundraiser on and off for 20 years, and in that time, the number of active charities seems to have increased many-fold while people’s disposable income hasn’t increased in proportion.

As charities find more effective ways to separate givers from their readies, others are likely to lose out. No easy answers. None that I have, anyway.

Henry82 said :

I’m not sure if it’s a win, they still got your details.

Really what they need is a compulsory badge for all charity collectors. One that advises people if they’re paid or volunteer. How much commission they get, and what % of the money goes to the actual charity. Kind of like the nutrition labels on food.

Just because a collector takes a commission does not make it all bad. Not always.

After a previous story here, and having seen one of my fave charities was going down the chugger route, I called the fundraising manager and had a long chat about the rationale, the practice, the policies, etc.

I won’t relay it all here. Dot points: bust your balls and spend hours of time and thousands of dollars to raise tens of thousands OR employ others to raise $1mil+.

I don’t like being accosted at the best of times, but telling a chugger to ‘**** off’ is, in my book, equivalent to telling the charity to ‘*** off’.

Suspend disbelief, and consider that maybe, just maybe, the charity is doing the best it can with the available resources.

Just a thought……

p1 said :

Henry82 said :

Really what they need is a compulsory badge for all charity collectors. One that advises people if they’re paid or volunteer. How much commission they get, and what % of the money goes to the actual charity. Kind of like the nutrition labels on food.

For a second then I though HenryBG had said something I agreed with.

I agree anyway, for what it’s worth.

How come these Chuggers never pester me when I walk through Civic?

To OP, This is called winning.

To Henry82(lol i had to do a double take aswell), thats a incredibly excellent idea that needs to be implemented.

Henry82 said :

Really what they need is a compulsory badge for all charity collectors. One that advises people if they’re paid or volunteer. How much commission they get, and what % of the money goes to the actual charity. Kind of like the nutrition labels on food.

For a second then I though HenryBG had said something I agreed with.

I’m not sure if it’s a win, they still got your details.

Really what they need is a compulsory badge for all charity collectors. One that advises people if they’re paid or volunteer. How much commission they get, and what % of the money goes to the actual charity. Kind of like the nutrition labels on food.

Well played on several counts, not the least of which is you chose to provide feedback to the organisation — in a fairly innovative way! — and they were quite rightly mortified.

The Cancer Councils are another mob who are very courteous, and I mention this since they will be out and about now in the lead up to Daffodil Day.

I always ask them for the charity’s website so I can make a one-off donation.

It’s hilarious to watch them try to find excuses as to why that won’t work and that I have to sign up with them for a monthly donation.

If they call me names and abuse me it’s even better. Stupid commission sucking scum.

ask the chugger how much of their commission they are donating …

That’s not a bad idea, if it was me personally I’d remind the chugger about the change for good program which UNICEF runs in conjunction with one world airlines prior to walking away.

It’s very much so one off donations, of course when you donate that way it does mean that a chugger out there dies a little inside and misses out on their morning latte…

At least the chuggers are easy to ignore. The no.1 worst thing about working in Civic is how often people ask you for money…

There’s a bloke who goes from table to table INSIDE McDonalds asking for money, which is just not on. Of course the young female staff aren’t going to kick him out…

There’s also a woman I see begging in Civic every day. One minute she’s begging outside the old Impact shop, the next minute she’s enjoying a coffee at Guru. It’s a lifestyle!

Sorry to spoil your post OP, but I’d use the same principle as Real Heroes Walk Away.

They’re called chuggers (charity muggers) for a very good reason.

I used to give monthly to UNICEF but they stuffed up changing my credit card number so I did then let it slide. I have since had calls from very persistent UNICEF call centre staff who really harangue you to sign up. I always give a one of donation of a decent amount but let them know that if they insist on trying to sign me up they won’t get anything. They do eventually back off.