Is it just me?

[Snacks]

I am not angered by charity phone calls.
However, yesterday I received a call from a specific cancer charity. I had a hungry, crying child (it was 4:30pm) and was not in the best of moods however I was very pleasant to this gentleman and told him that I thought cancer research was an extremely worthwhile cause. That's why I give to the cancer council every month, although I know that does not go directly to his particular organisation. I am currently giving all I can and informed him as such. (Sometimes I give $20-$40 to charities if I have it but this fortnight is very tight.)
The man said he understood but told me they are not asking for regular donations, only a once-off for this month. I appologised again and said I am giving all that I can already.
This is where I started to get cross: he didn't let up - he asked again if I could please spare a small amount for the month.
Is it only me who finds this incredibly rude? I realise he has likely been told to do this by the organisation - I have little doubt it works in getting the occasional extra donation. But regardless of who decides he has to push for it - it is SO RUDE . So, I said, "I have just said no" and was forced to hang up on him.
I don't like being rude to people on the phone. I don't get angry with calls asking for money, just sad that I don't have more to give. However, when you feel like you have to show someone a bank statement in order to get them to lay off it really steams me up! Does anyone else think this is rude, or should I loosen up and be more understanding? Does anyone here work for a charity? What's it like from the other side?

[LimeSlice]

I used to do phone collection from Australians Against Child Abuse and the Make a Wish Foundation...

It is hard, but I was never rude to anyone. There is a script you need to follow, they have pages and pages of comebacks for any negative response, but you only try one or two of them in any call. It is about guaging the person on the other end though - any indication at all of hope is a sign for you to keep pushing, gently!
It reminded me a bit of this in the JW door knocking thread - how Keike mentioned that even when a person says "no thanks" there is something that says "maybe..." and so they come back again. It is the same premise.
It is a sales job, so manipulation is key - not enough to rely on everyone's good nature especially when you have quotas to meet and $ targets per call.

None the less, you are already calling at the crappiest times of day, it is important to keep this in mind when deciding which tactics you are going to use to get the donation. And then there is getting the donation on a credit card Another manipulation in itself lol.

[Raupe]

I totally agree with you snacks. I would love to give more to charity but we are living on toasted cheese sandwiches as it is (aka we can hardly afford food). I'm studying full time and work any day I'm not in Uni, but they don't take that as a valid excuse. They make me feel horrible for letting "the poor sick kids" down or the "starving puppies". Way to make me feel horrible. If I have money, I donate. If I don't, I can't. It's that simple really. Why don't they call SIL, she's got thousands to waste! I know it's there job, but I agree that they should back off if I tell them no.

[Raupe]

Wouldn't it be great if they knew who actually has money spare! That way they could 'push' the right people! Tehehe I live in a dream world

[Bumperstump Cummerbund]

I've gotten this so often lately, it feels like I spend all day hanging up on people! Obviously a polite refusal is an unsure refusal these days It makes me feel like the scum of the earth to say no, and then they keep pushing, I just hafta hang up!

[Joeve]

Yes I have had this too... The guy actually asked me "Can I ask why you are saying no?" I said "well at the moment DH is off work due to unforeseen circumstances and the tenants in our investment property- the husband had just lost his job, so they are 4 weeks behind on their rent, so we are paying 2 mortgages on one wage" and he said "Yes but surely you have a spare few dollars...." meh.... I hung up and felt ok as I always support charities that I choose to....

[misty]

Sometimes you just have to be rude. If the don't take the first "no, thank you - good luck" as an answer (my stock reply to anyone asking for anything) they get another "no" and hung up on. because they don't let up. They do seem to mistake being polite as a sign of weakness. My thing isn't usually that I don't have money, but rather I do not like being cold called. I donate when I want to donate, on my terms or not at all. There are so many causes out there nowdays that it is simply impossible to give to everyone without yourself going bankrupt.

Don't feel bad about it. You are not being rude in hanging up, they are actually being rude in calling to ask for money - I mean if random people (those you know and strangers) suddenly started ringing up asking you for money and not taking 'no' as an answer, you wouldn't put up with that.

[briggsy's girl]

i hear the introduction at the moment and politely interrupt with "as much as i would love to support your charity, we simply don't have the money to help at the moment, so i'll let you get off this call and onto another"

i have had one person push it. they got a firm but polite no, have a nice day, and i hung up

i guess working in a call centre (esp as a supervisor taking the calls that have escalated) i'm probably more confident with call control and i don't allow myself to be pushed
i GET that they need to call or they'd get nothing, and i regularly donate what i can, but if i'm rudely pushed by someone, they go to the bottom of the "maybe when we have money" pile.

[~Hestia~]

Sometimes you just have to be rude. If the don't take the first "no, thank you - good luck" as an answer (my stock reply to anyone asking for anything) they get another "no" and hung up on. because they don't let up. They do seem to mistake being polite as a sign of weakness. My thing isn't usually that I don't have money, but rather I do not like being cold called. I donate when I want to donate, on my terms or not at all. There are so many causes out there nowdays that it is simply impossible to give to everyone without yourself going bankrupt.

Misty you took the words right outta my mouth!
I once had a charity ask me "what, you can't afford $10?" when I said finances were tight! First of all it's none of their business, second it's just plain rude.

[krysalyss]

Sometimes people calling are scammers. It doesn't happen often but if people start to be really pushy, and they can't provide credible evidence as to who they are then it could be a scam. I am pretty careful about giving out my details. Because I already give quite a bit (for my income) to charity I rarely give when approached. There are a couple I do, but I always ask them to send me the form in the mail. I then check the return address when I get it to make sure it is the right one for the charity.

[OceanPrincess]

No, not just you at all Snacks!!

Back in my single, disposable income days, I regularly supported lots of charities - including several sponsor kids through World Vision. Once I got married, I kept it up, as I'm Christian and believe that giving is a big part of our faith, but once DD came along and I stopped work and we had the mortgage coupled with DH trying to start his own business, things became very very tight - like my IL's paying a mortgage repayment for us once I had to ring all the charities and cancel our donations as it was seriously crippling us, our budget just couldn't allow it - as DH said, God doesn't want us to starve ourselves to support other charities.

Well - when I rang World Vision, the woman made feel like absolute cr@p. She went on about how I'd been a supporter for so long and then how my children would miss the support and they'd struggle to find another supporter. It got to me so much that I ended up in tears on the phone. I told the woman that it was lovely giving when I was able but that I just wasn't able at the moment and I had to think about my own child. That shut her up... until she started on about suspending my sponsorship instead of cancelling it

I appreciate that there are targets and stuff... but seriously, she should have let up when I was crying!!!

[OceanPrincess]

Double post

[Early Kids]

I never do the phone ones, but if they are standing outside the shopping centre I drop my spare change in the cup. I also regularly support the PMH foundation, red nose day, breast cancer foundation and there's another that sell things too... bonne babes I think it is?

I find the ones that ring just push too hard, if I say no it means I have nothing to spare.