It seems the knives are out for face-to-face charity fundraisers yet again. Sigh.
BBC News Magazine has reported that since fundraisers - hilariously referred to as ‘chuggers’ by most people - have gone to working door to door, and NIMBYesque, Daily Mail-chasing councils in Scotland and London have created ‘no cold calling zones’ as a result.
The ‘chugger’ is a much maligned figure. I worked as a face-to-face street fundraiser for a company, Fruitful Fundraising, which went bust a couple of months after I left. People who are lacking both time and people skills would often take out their deepest frustrations on fundraisers. Much like people do in my current job as a telecoms salesman - though not to the same extent as they did when I was fundraising.
Of course, if you’re busy, or if you’re not interested, then fine. But what people seem to forget is that; they are just workers doing a job. The occupation is popular with young people for a number of reasons. Firstly, it’s pritty flexible in terms of hours, great if you are a student. The pay - around the £6 an hour mark (the £8ph figure quoted by Liam Vaughn in the New Statesman is only generally in Inner London - he’s also wrong when he says it’s mostly graduates; in my experience, it’s either students or people like me who were doing it as a stopgap) is better than the just-above-minimum-wage poverty pay offered in retail or McDonalds. Plus, it’s a worthwhile job; getting paid to raise money for charity. That’s usually the main draw.
Especially for door-to-door fundraisers, many of whom work on commission only. That’s right. No basic.
Of course, the backlash against fundraisers, and salespeople in general - who, in most cases, are just as exploited and underpaid as any other low-level worker in the market today - blames the victims for the attitudes of their bosses.
Who said society’s going to hell in a handcart? Oh yes. That same wanker who tells the nearest fundraiser where to place their clipboard.
