Why Are People So Rude To Telefundraisers ? They are people, too.?

Question

I work as a telefundraiser. That means I call people and try to raise money for a non profit charity. I get paid minimum wage to sit there and do what the non profit charity can't get volunteers to do 6 days a week, 8 hours a day. The charity is a very legitimate one. It's nationally recognised. If it weren't for me and my coworkers, the charity wouldn't be able to help very many people.
What I don't understand is this... why are people so rude to me when I call ? I get hung up on by some before they even find out what I'm calling about. Or, I get hung up on during the middle of a sentence. Sometimes I even get called nasty names.
Why can't people at least be polite and say "I'm sorry. I'm just not interested in helping those people." or "Helping people just isn't my thing. Sorry." ?

Answer 1

People are sick and tired of it because i think theres justy too much of it.First of all they areasking for your money and sometimes they just go on and on without letting you to end the conversation.Its an invasion of privacy and hence an irretation is expected.I know that they are doing their job too but they should accept it as a part of their work.

Also the fact that thers no face and just voice people sometimes tend to be more rude.

Answer 2

My dad is one of those people who angrily hangs up or says rude things to telemarketers/fundraisers, and it really bugs me. I mean, what if I got a job doing that, would my dad be rude to ME like that?

I dont understand why everyone is so annoyed with getting a call. Even if--in the extream--you get say, 15 calls a day. So they call, you find out why, you NICELY say "Excuse me, but No, thank you, can you please not call me back again?" and then sure, if they continue to talk, say it once more. After that, yeah, you can hang up and not be rude because you did say goodbye. And how much did that cost you... maybe 10 seconds? So, 15 calls times ten seconds... wow that sure must be annoying that whole two and a half minutes of your day, so that another HUMAN BEING on the other end of the line can get on with their job.

Would you slam the door in someone's face if they knocked asking for you to donate to a charity?

How about instead of asking this person to get a new job or get tougher skin, go and get call display so you can just not answer the phone. It saves you the 2.5 minutes of your life each day.

Answer 3

Because the last thing I need after a hard day of working is a phone call from a number that my caller ID doesn't recognize. Only to have someone attempt to say my first name correctly or worse still a computer which doesn't do anything once I say 'hello'. I understand your frustration, I worked as a telemarketer in high school, but put yourself in that person on the other end's shoes. Say you were busy doing something, then you rushed to answer the phone only to have someone harassing you about giving to charity. Their called donations for a reason--people donate out of the kindness of their hearts, not because someone called them in the middle of having dinner and attempted to convince them to do so. If your charity is legitimate, it means that people already know about it and when they want to make a donation; they will.

Answer 4

I think people allow themselves to behave badly when they're not held accountable for their actions. What I mean is that since you're not face-to-face with the potential givers, they feel they don't have to be cordial or polite to you. And I think that some of the problem also lies in the fact that there is a terrible stereotype where telemarketers are concerned.

People get grumpy when they are interrupted, whether at dinner any other time. Other than that, I guess I would say that there are just some rude people out there. Good luck with your work, in college I was a telemarketer (to earn money, not for a charity) and I had a tough time too. Just keep at it.

Answer 5

If you were to call me, you would get a recorded message saying that anyone soliciting funds (for ANY purpose) or attempting to sell a product should take me off their list, and refrain from calling me again. I give what I choose to give, where I choose to give it, for the causes I am concerned with; much as I would like to, I certainly do not have the ability to give to everybody. I don't need people calling me telling me about yet another cause, worthy or otherwise.

When you call someone, you are calling on THEIR phone, which they put in at their own expense, taking up their time, and interrupting their day. While I don't personally think it's good to be rude to anyone if it's avoidable, quite frankly, some telemarketers/telefundraisers are trained to be persistent to the point of rudeness themselves. If rudeness is the only thing that will get the message across after politeness has failed (which has happened to me any number of times, unfortunately), then that is what I will, reluctantly, employ.

Might I suggest you either get another job, or develop a thicker skin?

Answer 6

You're right, it's very easy to say "I'm not interested" or "No thank you." HOWEVER, when you've had the same phone number for 15 years (like my parents) you start getting these calls 10 times a day! And most of them come during dinner.

Add to that the huge increase in phishing/fraud/identity theft, and you should understand pretty quickly why people aren't about to donate money over the phone.

The charity you work for needs to come up with new, creative, face-to-face fundraising ideas if it wants to survive. Cold-calling doesn't cut it anymore.

Answer 7

I will tell you my problem. First of all, I am on the "Do Not Call" list, but for some reason, charities are not required to follow that list. So, here I am, getting a call I don't want. Then, after telling someone I am not interested, they won't shut up! So many times, telemarketers will insist that I listen to them, even after being told no. They are wasting their own time by continuing on. I no longer even listen to the spiel. As soon as someone tells me they want my money, I say thanks and hang up. Why waste my time and theirs?

So, the reason people are rude is because they have gotten fed up with the rude telemarketers calling them, and have given up trying to be nice in the first place.

I was once in a really mean mood, so after telling a guy no, he insisted on trying to talk me into buying his crap. I let the guy go through his script, led him on for about ten minutes, then told him no again and hung up. If he'd accepted my first no, he wouldn't have wasted ten minutes.

Answer 8

People do not like to be disturbed from what they are focusing on, children, cooking, pets, laundry, parents, etc. They may have had a busy day at work. They may have errands to run.

Also, there are many, many, solicitors calling for various charities. Some people don't want to have to continuously pick up their telephone for another telephone solicitor.

If someone is in the middle of cooking, baking, cleaning etc. they must drop what they are doing to answer the telephone.

Answer 9

As much as I understand your point of view, but say, you receive more than 10 telemarketers (or whatever you call them) randomly call you with no invitation, you probably get pretty pissed off too.

People really don't think about why you are calling, all they feel is that they have never given out their home phone to you, but you go ahead and make that phone call anyway, expecting them to donate some money. That's just not happening.

I personally believe my home number is a confidential and only those I give out number to are invited to call me. Sorry, I'm just trying to be honest here.

Answer 10

First and foremost, you are invading people in their home. They feel as though they are being manipulated from the get-go and are bound to be on the defensive. That said, I understand your frusteration-I too, have worked with the public-as a bartender and as a waitress, so I understand how upset you get that you are being attacked. You are working with the public, however, who are free to unleash their wrath upon you. Some people simply do this just because they can. Others, because it gives them a sense of power. Whatever their reason, as long as you continue to work with the public, the abuse will ensue. I suggest finding another job/career. I quit, as I couldn't handle it anymore; coming home every night angry wasn't worth it.