Stopped 27 times in 1 day!

dahooligan

I just wanted to know is the situation in the city centre not gettin on anyone else's tits?! In the morning on the wayto work I've to walk down O'Connell st and Grafton street and of I've counted that on average I get harrassed +-13 times per morning by the people giving away those free bleedin papers. Then at lunch time and on the way home I could get stopped anywhere up to 10 times by charity workers or people giving away stuff.

Yesterday was a record 27 times, and I'm not talking about people who stand to the side and try to hand you something from a distance - I have a new respect for them. I'm talking about the annoying buggers that stand in front of you/try to shake your hand/shout at you if you're wearing earphones.

Sure they all have a job to do but this is all beginning to border on harrassment! If these people were calling me on my phone I'd have the Guards involved cos it is a form of unsolicited mail.. but apart from that its bloody annoying and it ads to the stress of the day.

Ah... now thats off my chest I can relax

super_furry

Just ignore them. I just walked into the last chugger to try and stand in my way, but for the most part they'll just try to get your attention by waving and talking to you - just shake your head and walk on.

Dave!

Yeah I hate it too... Especially cos I feel guilty whenever I walk past them! Except for when there was about 5 people scattered around Temple Bar a few months ago, collecting money for asthma! I mean, ffs, collect money for a REAL problem -- like the tsunami or earthquake collections! -- not just to buy more bloody inhalers!

Love

I sympathise. I am a walking target for these people, out of a whole street of people they stop me. EVERY time. I got stopped EIGHT times while walking from the ha'penny bridge to central bank yesterday. Tell the charity workers you are under 18. They can;t get you to sign up then so they'll leave you alone.

Unfortunately that doesn;t work for me. I am under 18, I'm 17, but people keep mistaking me for 20, which is REALLY annoying! One really bitchy charity worker actually refuse to believe i was under 18, insisted that i was at *least* 20 and kept glaring at me as if i was the scum of the earth for lying about being 17. Which i wasn;t, because I AM 17!!

Fair enough, the charity workers are only doing their job. BUT some of them are on commission you know. Which is *why* they;re hassling you. And also, some of those regular-amount-from-your-bank-account-things.. the first three payments go to the company that set it up and after that they get a small commission so the charity dont even get it all.

Iago

Asthma is a serious matter

-It is currently estimated that as many as 300 million people world wide suffer from asthma, and that number continues to rise.
-As more countries become urbanized the prevalence of asthma is increasing.
- Estimates say that by 2025 there could be an additional 100 million diagnosed asthmatics.
- It is estimated that asthma accounts for 1 in every 250 deaths worldwide.

- Worldwide the number of disability-adjusted life years lost due to asthma is estimated at 15 million per year. That means that every year asthma causes the loss of 15 million years from the lives of the worldwide population.

- Asthma was the 25th leading cause of lost disability-adjusted life years in the world in 2001, HIV/Aids was #3 and Alzheimer's was #28.
- The United States has an estimated 10.9% of the entire population suffering from clinical asthma.
- The death rate among 5 to 35 year olds from asthma in the United States is .5 per 100,000 people.
- Approximately 5 out of every 100,000 asthmatics die from asthma each year in the US.
- The number of people with asthma in the US is estimated at 35.5 million. The total population of the US is 316.9 million.
- The total direct costs and indirect costs of asthma in the US in 1994 was around 12 billion dollars.
- Asthma accounts for around 14.7 million missed school days and 11.8 million missed work days annually in the US.
- In 2002 4,261 people died from asthma and of those 187 were children under the age of 18.

Shabadu

Try walking while leaning forward at an extreme angle, almost like your constantly tripping and hurting yourself. Gape your mouth, maybe drool a little. Make lound snorty breathing sounds when you approach them.

Finally- stare intently at them as you go by. If one looks like they're going to say something, make a loud incoherent noise.

I cannot stress how much fun this is to do.

Pinx

I regularly get stopped a few times a day, especially around lunchtime in the area where I work. There are more and more charity workers who don't collect cash on the streets, but rather get your bank account details and then agree to set up a monthly direct debit from your account for their cause. I feel so guilty for not stopping -- they really do try their best to get your attention, even if you feign a sudden interest in shop windows, etc as you pass.

Dave!

Iago wrote:

Asthma is a serious matter

-It is currently estimated that as many as 300 million people world wide suffer from asthma, and that number continues to rise.
-As more countries become urbanized the prevalence of asthma is increasing.
- Estimates say that by 2025 there could be an additional 100 million diagnosed asthmatics.
- It is estimated that asthma accounts for 1 in every 250 deaths worldwide.

- Worldwide the number of disability-adjusted life years lost due to asthma is estimated at 15 million per year. That means that every year asthma causes the loss of 15 million years from the lives of the worldwide population.

- Asthma was the 25th leading cause of lost disability-adjusted life years in the world in 2001, HIV/Aids was #3 and Alzheimer's was #28.
- The United States has an estimated 10.9% of the entire population suffering from clinical asthma.
- The death rate among 5 to 35 year olds from asthma in the United States is .5 per 100,000 people.
- Approximately 5 out of every 100,000 asthmatics die from asthma each year in the US.
- The number of people with asthma in the US is estimated at 35.5 million. The total population of the US is 316.9 million.
- The total direct costs and indirect costs of asthma in the US in 1994 was around 12 billion dollars.
- Asthma accounts for around 14.7 million missed school days and 11.8 million missed work days annually in the US.
- In 2002 4,261 people died from asthma and of those 187 were children under the age of 18.

Point taken, but there are more important epidemics that should be worried about -- eg. AIDS, tsunamis, earthquakes, homeless people.

Kinetic^

Go up to them and move your hand out to take one, just as there about to hand it to you, drag your hand back and just keep walking.

Its a little mean, but they'll get the message.

robinph

I just walk into them if they decide to stand in my way, if the're not quick enough then they will get knocked over.

Love

Hahahahaha! I am so doing that next time...

ALso, some religious-type guy has stopped me twice in Temple Bar and got really annoyed at me because I don't share his beliefs. He was getting on my nerves (I don;t like people who try to force their beliefs on me although i do respect their right to believe in what they want to) He spent ages hassling me when a friend and I were in town so in the end I told him I had a necklace of human teeth in my bedroom...

hehe. THAT got rid of him pretty fast..... *giggle*

tbh

Pinx wrote:

. I feel so guilty for not stopping -- .

Lads, don't feel guilty - they are only doing it because they are getting paid! How many of them have a standing order, do you reckon?


Caimin

DonkeyStyle \o/

Hah, you should take a look for that 'chuggers' thread ... lots of stories like this.

One really bitchy charity worker actually refuse to believe i was under 18, insisted that i was at *least* 20 and kept glaring at me as if i was the scum of the earth for lying about being 17.

Erm, lols.
Why did you even feel the need to explain yourself?
You're not answerable to some random stranger charity dick.
Would you stop for some drunken bum to explain why you can't give him money?

Ok, charity worker, I'm just gonna be doing this (*punches at the air infront of him*), and if you get hit, it's your own fault.

Love

They are paid. Some are even on commission. Which, like I may have already said, is why they hassle you

LegacyUser

I work in town, have done for nearly 5 years, part time and full time. There is this donegal fella on henry street, he sells scratch cards, and every day, every single day, several times a day.... you would think he would recognise me, wouldn't you?
But No, Until eventually I said "you stop me everyday, twice a day, and every time you stop me, I decline to buy your poxy scratch cards, I will never buy your poxy scratch cards, and if you stop me again, I will make those poxy scratch cards vanish... I wont tell you how, I will let you find out for yourself"
He didn't stop me again, that week, or the week after, but a month down the line he was at it again.

Does anyone know the fella I am talking about? He is always there.

Love

DonkeyStyle \o/ wrote:

Ok, charity worker, I'm just gonna be doing this (*punches at the air infront of him*), and if you get hit, it's your own fault.

Haha!

If you say "I'm under 18!" when they start to speak, they stop and leave you alone. It's politer. And it;s the truth.

And in the past I have actually apologised to people (not charity workers!) for not having spare change,... I feel sorry for them... it took me a while to realise that no matter how much or how often you give money, you can;t give to everyone and there is only so much it will help..

Archytas

And there's a new group now... dunno who/what they're collecting fie tho. But they must have been sent to a "how to stop people in the street" seminar. Because now they all try to shake your hand??? And its weird looking when someones walkin towards u with their hand out like that... and some of them have an even odder stance where the arm is up real high but the hand is pointing straight down?? Kinda like a 50cent video but in a - not so cool, I look like an idiot - way...

Love

The walk towards you with their hand out?! They just grab mine before i can get away most of the time!

Ag marbh

Kill metro and herald am givers.

I find the best way to avoid the charity people is to not pretend you're on the phone or walk the other way....Just simply say I already give to <insertcharityname>

Cabaal

Generally I don't get many here in Waterford but when I see one that looks like their going to annoy me I find pretending to talk on your mobile keeps them away.
I don't have to do it often so its not a problem...but it works

Love

I like the Metro and Evening Herald people. If you don;t want a paper just say you;ve already read it or No thanks. I like them though, gives me something to do when on the train

joe_chicken

Love wrote:

I like the Metro and Evening Herald people. If you don;t want a paper just say you;ve already read it or No thanks. I like them though, gives me something to do when on the train

along with listening to rants from people!

dahooligan

Ag marbh wrote:

I find the best way to avoid the charity people is to not pretend you're on the phone or walk the other way....Just simply say I already give to <insertcharityname>

I had one "charity" woman stop me when I was actually on the fone (not pretending) and say that I should be talkin to her and not the person on the fone?!

It is seriously all getting to the above and beyond annoying point! Those guys who wanna shake hands are gonna get a fist in the face soon enough... aaahhhh :mad:

kenmc

I think you should start chatting them up (if they're the sex that you fancy), and see if you can get their number. If they refuse then you can always resort to "Oh I see - you're only interested in me for my money"
Maybe it's time we introduced a right to bear arms (or at least a cattle prod) into our constitution.
I wonder how society managed to exist in the past without the need for these scumbags. Who decided that these vermin would be a good idea??

Altheus

Unfortunately the majority of people need to be cajoled and bothered to even consider donating.

joe_chicken

a simple wave of the hand and a shake of the head will get these people to leave me alone... its kinda cool... i feel like obi one...

if they dont get the hint i whip out the light saber

ferdi

just say no kids

if they get in your way just say at the top of your voice -"EXCUSE ME BUT YOU SEEM TO BE BLOCKING MY PATH"

kenmc

Or maybe we could Derren Brown to give lessons on how to convince *them* to give *us* money! Now THAT would be nice.

Or maybe if we talk nicely to some mafia dudes they'd come over and put so much muscle on them for "protection" that they'd have to stop working cos it'd be too much for them to pay (i.e give us 110% of your takings, or we'll cement you into a bridge).

whiskeyman

We have chuggers.... so now we also have those free paper hander-outers (Metro / Herald AM)
Time we had a dictionary friendly word for them I guess....

Fraggers

(those who give out free rags)

xzanti

Yeah for some reason the herald ppl seem to flock in the one general area at Rathmines and Ranelagh Bridges and then you dont really see them after that... would it not make more sense for them to spread out a bit more... It is annoying tho when you're late for work and you have to keep going "no thanks" at every 10 paces

Ag marbh

Print a t-shirt saying....

I

AM

APATETHIC

Gaz

No, the thing that really gets me is when they offer you a paper even though you are clearly already holding one !!

Eh ... Fuk off b0llocks chops !

kenmc

I have no worries about the paper giverouters - quite like the metro to be honest (don't go near the herald though cos they're just simply trying to muscle in on the metro, cos it started up first as a free morning paper, now the herald want some of the action) - cos they're GIVING stuff, not taking stuff. Same as ppl giving out flyers to events and so on - they don't bother me. It's the a$$holes who try to cajole you into siging up to their charity of choice for the day/week/month/however-long-they're-working-for-them that bug the crap out of me.
And anyone who tells me they're "just doing their job" I'm not listening. Any "job" that involves bugging the crap out of people is not a job. Basically they're real life spammers - plain and simple. Instead of rubbish ending up in your inbox, it ends up in your face. I wonder how many of them volunteer to help charities do something meaningful (e.g. give out blankets to the homeless, organise visits to the elderly, soup kitchens etc)? Could probably be counted on one hand, if that.

Merrick

We happen to have an even more annoying breed than your average charity workers here in Dundalk, and they are the born-again-Christian-type who wander the streets every weekend and force leaflets about Jesus into your hands. They simply won't go away no matter how many leaflets end up ripped into pieces and thrown all over the place... What's worse, they've now laminated them, making them twice as hard to rip up. I respect their right to believe in whatever they want, but the fact that I go home on Saturdays with 50 folded up pages about the state of my soul just makes me want to smack them. Repeatedly.

xzanti

Darth Homer wrote:

No, the thing that really gets me is when they offer you a paper even though you are clearly already holding one !!

Eh ... Fuk off b0llocks chops !

I overheard one of them telling a guy that they make 15 quid an hour for doing it but Im guessing thats on condition they get rid of all the papers or at least most of them, thats why there so enthusiatic about you reading the news..

Saruman

Next time, stop and ask them for their name, their boses name and how to

The herald and metro people are fine. charity workers are a pain. I always truthfully tell the concern people i already give them money every month.. Which i do, im always tempted to cancel since it was through some guy at my door once that i signed up even though i knew he was getting paid and so is his company probaby.

Love

joe_chicken wrote:

along with listening to rants from people!

yes... that too unfortunately!:D

ambro25

You lot are far too considerate

After the 5th such 'interruption' in the street on anyone day, [twisted]"F*** OFF YOU DOZY C**T" with a stare like I'm gonna beat'em, skin'em and eat'em usually does the trick[/twisted] - note that it's usually after I've already dropped a € or €€ in a beggar's cup (just so I feel justified ).

seamus

Iago wrote:

Asthma is a serious matter

.....

If I give a damn, I'll contribute in my own way. I don't need some scumbag harrassing me so they can make money from my charity.

Blisterman

My girlfriend is a chugger. She makes £8 an hour, plus £20 if she signs up 4 people in a day and £8 for every person after that.
That's in England, but I assume it's the same in Ireland.
The most people she's signed up in one day is 1, so there must be a very low success rate for them.

JimmySmith

I used to train the chuggers for a big charity org.
They are trained to get your attention and then your bank account details
They get paid or in 2003 got paid €13 per hour. they get no commission and must sign up 6 people on DD every day to keep their job.

The average was 9 sign ups a day per chugger.

Now to tell the truth i get very annoyed when stopped by them too. I think its got way out of hand now. Before it was a good thing to collect money for charity this way becaUSE IT MADE MONEY AND DINT ANNOY PEOPLE but now its a crime all these people hassling folk. There are far too many and they are muckying the good name of charity in the eyes of the public now.

The best way to stop them is for everyone to stop and talk to them for about 5 mins and then say no thanks. Or even when you all give false bank details and accounts these guys will stop working when they meet their targets. Only to find out a few days later they were conned and never met their targets. Eventually it will be uneconomical to the charity and they will realize that this isnt the way to collect anymore.

Its sad but its been way overdone now and needs to stop before it does damage to charity collections.

Love

Blisterman wrote:

My girlfriend is a chugger. She makes £8 an hour, plus £20 if she signs up 4 people in a day and £8 for every person after that.
That's in England, but I assume it's the same in Ireland.
The most people she's signed up in one day is 1, so there must be a very low success rate for them.

See? Commission. That's why they're so pushy.

In fairness, the Concern ones don;t work on a commission basis (or so they claim, I didn;t check!)

Dyr

Blisterman wrote:

The most people she's signed up in one day is 1, so there must be a very low success rate for them.

so chuggers are essentially human spam then :v:

dahooligan

JimmySmith wrote:

The best way to stop them is for everyone to stop and talk to them for about 5 mins and then say no thanks. Or even when you all give false bank details and accounts these guys will stop working when they meet their targets. Only to find out a few days later they were conned and never met their targets. Eventually it will be uneconomical to the charity and they will realize that this isnt the way to collect anymore.

Its sad but its been way overdone now and needs to stop before it does damage to charity collections.

5 minutes x 13 people stopping me = over an hour a day! I know that if we all made a concerted effort to stop em they would, but that takes time and effort that no one has. It was a good idea at the start and it did work - granted. But with the state its all in now it has to be regulated in some way/shape/form?!

JimmySmith

Bear in mind too that there have been cases where some chuggers are outfitting in T-shirts for charities and getting fake id cards and people are handing them their bank account details. This is happening more and more and is probably part responsible for the huge increase in chuggers on the street lately. Some are even giving their credit card details. So if you are giving be very careful.

In fact if you want to give to a charity then phone thier office and give through the office rather than handing out details on the street.

Cake Fiend

If you're getting stopped by chuggers several times a day, it's your own fault for stopping. I had a chugger try to talk to me not 10 minutes ago in Ranelagh, and I walked straight by him. That's all the effort I had to make. Zero hassle for me, so you don't see me complaining.

Having said that, if one tried to physically stop me (blocking my path, grabbing my arm, etc) I think I'd start to get physical in return.

ambro25

Bambi wrote:

so chuggers are essentially human spam then :v:

HAHAHA! Love that one! Rep +++ @ Bambi

If Charities didn't feel the need to be so swanky and political, but were more concerned with 'charity', they wouldn't need so many chuggers with sales targets to keep'em in their swanky offices, would they? :mad:

I do my own, and so should everybody - I give to people who need it, not some uber-mediacized faceless organisation that's going to use at least half of anything I give to fuel expenditure accounts and Dublin-rate leases... when are people finally goign to wake up and realise that most of these big-name charities have now become a business (and a serious one with serious numbers, at that), no more no less?

Love

Sico wrote:

Having said that, if one tried to physically stop me (blocking my path, grabbing my arm, etc) I think I'd start to get physical in return.

That happens to me a lot. They grab you or jump in front of you an it's nearly impossible to get past.

dahooligan

Sico wrote:

If you're getting stopped by chuggers several times a day, it's your own fault for stopping. I had a chugger try to talk to me not 10 minutes ago in Ranelagh, and I walked straight by him. That's all the effort I had to make. Zero hassle for me, so you don't see me complaining.

Having said that, if one tried to physically stop me (blocking my path, grabbing my arm, etc) I think I'd start to get physical in return.

If you'll refer to my origional post..

dahooligan wrote:

I'm not talking about people who stand to the side and try to hand you something from a distance - I have a new respect for them. I'm talking about the annoying buggers that stand in front of you/try to shake your hand/shout at you if you're wearing earphones.

No one has ever grabbed me, and be assured that they'd soon know about it if they did. But I don't think we're too far away from a situation where these chuggers are told to get physical contact. They're mad, tryin to make sales targets.. as peeps have said already - you know in your heart that 90% of em don't even care what they're collecting for.

jaggeh

i got stopped twice today, within 3 metres of each other. when i politely told the first girl no i dont want a herald AM, her cohort intercepted me as i was leaving their patch. he actually TOLD me to take one, it seemed rather forceful so i plainly and simply told him to shove his stupid paper up his ass. he looked at me as if i had just set a puppy on fire or something.

<edit> and as we all know friday is puppy burning day NOT thursday.

Dr_Teeth

I've never been 'stopped' by anyone in the street, nor has anyone got in my way that I can remember. If someone offers me something I don't want I say 'no thanks' as I walk by.. I don't see the problem tbh.