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Street Canvassers

I'm finding the Plan canvassers to be obnoxious. They often set up three or four pairs up people along one stretch so that the sidewalk turns into a canvassing gauntlet. I was also under the impression they were volunteers so I was cutting them some slack, but they're actually employees working on commission. Why the city is allowing them to conduct business on the sidewalks is beyond me.
 
That article is a load of crap, which makes perfect sense given that all of the information presented has come directly from a PR firm. The canvassers might not be on commission in the sense of getting directly compensated for each sign-up, but I know people that are out there doing this and they've told me that their pay is tied to how much they raise for the charity. Their sign-ups put them into a band, and the band determines their pay. I suppose it's not strictly commission, but they're definitely incentivized to sell. And anyone that's walked through the city can see that they're deliberately saturating areas. Perhaps what they mean is that they're co-ordinating their contracts, so that the Plan canvassers don't end up on the same stretch as the Greenpeace canvassers. Funny how they do seem to stay out of each other's way.
 
As a student who couldn't find work this summer, I actually did the job for 2 days, until I was told I wasn't meeting target and was fired, basically. They pay (thank gods), but it was horrible work. Except, since I did work for the group that's based near Yonge and Dundas, I always now keep my head down and RUSH past them whenever I see them.

Actually, it was Public Outreach (mentioned in the Grid article), and yes, it's cultish, but the people are super-uber-terrifyingly nice.
 
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DKsan said:
Actually, it was Public Outreach (mentioned in the Grid article), and yes, it's cultish, but the people are super-uber-terrifyingly nice.
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Except that "cultish" and "super-uber-terrifyingly nice" are hardly mutually exclusive!

Two days to make a target? Awful!

The Grid article was pretty bad too, but at least some of the comments are worth reading. Interesting too that the cultists like Maria Rio ("PO is the best job I’ve ever had!") and Jeff ("You over-privileged twat. You’re the scum bag") are busy thumbing-down even well-written but negative comments about street fundraising and replying to those comments.
 
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Charity harassing

On my walk home I passed 1) Because I Am A Girl, 2) Plan, 3) Amnesty International. I am fed up. It seems the latter two have decided to compete with the former posting tag-teams on Yonge, Bay and elsewhere. Its annoying how far in advance they starting engaging you with their relentlessly cheerful pantomimes and irresistible lines. Today is was "hey this is crazy, we're wearing the same trousers! Lets talk about that!"

The problem is having to say "No" or "Yes" every day, over and over. They are beginning to degrade the sidewalk experience. (Note I've supported numerous charities and still do, but despise sidewalk credit card approaches. Are these people commissioned? If so what is the impact on overhead?
 
buildup said:
On my walk home I passed 1) Because I Am A Girl, 2) Plan, 3) Amnesty International. I am fed up. It seems the latter two have decided to compete with the former posting tag-teams on Yonge, Bay and elsewhere. Its annoying how far in advance they starting engaging you with their relentlessly cheerful pantomimes and irresistible lines. Today is was "hey this is crazy, we're wearing the same trousers! Lets talk about that!"

The problem is having to say "No" or "Yes" every day, over and over. They are beginning to degrade the sidewalk experience. (Note I've supported numerous charities and still do, but despise sidewalk credit card approaches. Are these people commissioned? If so what is the impact on overhead?
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'Because I Am a Girl' IS Plan Canada. It's their campaign. Amnesty and Plan both have street canvassing operations run by Public Outreach. They're so relentless because if they don't sign up enough people, Public Outreach won't get their contract renewed by the charities. And of course they wouldn't do it if it didn't work. Not sure what solution there really is that wouldn't cause worse problems than the initial one. Best to just lower your head and scoot past, or a quick smile and a "Sorry, not today."
 
textbook definition of "First World Problems" here :rolleyes:

for the record, I don't enjoy being harassed by charities either, but I just figure life can't be perfectly tailored to every individual's every single little want and need and peeve. I guess I just have to deal with it and remind myself that there are worse things in life than being annoyed and inconvenienced.

Degrading the sidewalk experience??? There is not a "sidewalk experience" pal -- walking home is just walking home, it's not an experience. Eating your breakfast is just eating cereal -- it's not a "taste experience" no matter what some TV commercial tells you. I'd post something about using toilet paper but ShonTron will ban me for bad language! :p
 
Kat_YYZ said:
textbook definition of "First World Problems" here :rolleyes:

for the record, I don't enjoy being harassed by charities either, but I just figure life can't be perfectly tailored to every individual's every single little want and need and peeve. I guess I just have to deal with it and remind myself that there are worse things in life than being annoyed and inconvenienced.

Degrading the sidewalk experience??? There is not a "sidewalk experience" pal -- walking home is just walking home, it's not an experience. Eating your breakfast is just eating cereal -- it's not a "taste experience" no matter what some TV commercial tells you. I'd post something about using toilet paper but ShonTron will ban me for bad language! :p
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You first points were pretty good, on second thought I agree with you on reflecting. Your last paragraph is sort of silly and wrong at the same time. Good start, bad finish.
 
I guess I'm misinformed, I thought "Because I'm a Girl" was Belinda Stronach's initiative. Thanks for the info.
 
I don't like the "harassment" by some of them but I understand it so I don't really get to bent out of shape about it. How else can they get donations?
 
It's not harassment. They are licensed, legit, canvassers. And mostly they are just young, idealistic and chatty kids.

Canvassing works, because most people will not give to charity unless they are asked to give to charity. And those charities listed above do very important work.

I am sympathetic to donor fatigue ... you can't give to everyone. But a little social grace will see see one through a sidewalk charity gauntlet. At the very least, just smile and wave and say "keep up the good work."
 
I worked for Public Outreach a few years ago, and it was indeed a very brief experience. They pay 12 bucks an hour and gave me a week to meet the numbers required for continued employment. I did not meet the mark and was let go in a reasonably clear passive-aggressive way. For the most part, their rosters consist of idealistic university students who need a part-time summer job, and they do uphold a fairly comprehensive set of best practices. I found them to be endlessly more professional than other, for-profit, street and door canvassing teams that I've worked for in the past.

I find no problems saying "no" to them, without the least tinge of regret or hesitation. This may be a bit of arm-chair psychoanalysis, but I used to find myself bothered by them because I felt guilty for not contributing, and I felt like a sucker for letting them waste my time with an unnecessary guilt trip that I did not have the guts or presence to get out of. My solution now is to walk confidently, initiate eye contact (they're often fishing for push-overs, I feel), respond to their "Hello!" and when they ask whether I've got time to chat, I simply say "No thanks, I'm in a hurry." A bit of sidewalk dominant behavior has saved me an endless amount of grief and now the experience is quite inoffensive, for me.
 
The worst is those Black History solicitors that try to sell you racist pamphlets. I have been harassed by them a few times. I have seen them at Yonge/Dundas and Yonge/Bloor and other parts of the city.
 
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