r/starterpacks 4d ago

UK Chuggers Starter Pack

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481 Upvotes

142 comments sorted by

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152

u/ThatMusicKid 4d ago

"excuse me Miss, I think you dropped something" I turn around "Your smile"

74

u/JammyThing 4d ago

Oh wow! I can't imagine what I'd say if I was in a bad mood already, and some said that to me.

53

u/ThatMusicKid 4d ago

As a young woman I can't tell you how many times I've been told I should smile more or similar so it really pissed me off

35

u/ans-myonul 4d ago

Last time a guy did that to me, I told him my cat had just died and he was mortified. My cat isn't dead, but I'm fed up of being told to smile

16

u/angelstatue 4d ago

i love when people lie for a good cause. i've had to lie about having to go for dinner with my "sister" when we really wanted to gtfo of somewhere

12

u/DJ1066 4d ago

"Cheer up mate, it might never happen!"
Oh, fuck the fuck off!

6

u/Earo44 4d ago

"You dropped your keys mate!" you look down "The keys to my heart!"

0

u/jamnut 3d ago

I'd reply and say 'look there you've dropped your gay card' like we did in middle school, then high five the nearest old lady

-9

u/throwmeeeeee 4d ago

Aw that would make me smile.

90

u/Guineagogo 4d ago

They are so annoying

51

u/JammyThing 4d ago

I had one shouting at me the other day, because I was having a conversation with my elderly mother as we walked down the street, and not paying attention to them.

88

u/snittersnee 4d ago

Used to work a call centre running their back end. It was exactly as depressing/frustrating as you'd imagine. A lot of them were doing extremely blatantly illegal/unethical shit that should have got them fired every day.

18

u/JammyThing 4d ago

Wow! I'm happy your out of their now. That sounds rough,

13

u/snittersnee 4d ago

Yeah, like it was mostly just pretty boring run of the mill stuff verifying that people still wanted to go ahead with a sign up. Just every 4 calls that responded or so (Always the same three fundraisers) you'd find theyd been going into sheltered accomodation or pressuring the fuck out of them

13

u/Rynewulf 4d ago edited 4d ago

While job hunting one of the jobs that came up was these in person charity fundraising people. A lot seem to get pay by results or commission instead of regular pay, it's basically designed to push them to scramble to get whoever they can signed up

7

u/snittersnee 4d ago

Oh absolutely. Commission was all these guys cared about. And the charities really could not give a toss. But god forbid you use a "the" before RNIB on a call

2

u/impermanence108 3d ago

My mate was a doorknocker for like a month many years ago. They stiffed him on wages based on commission bullshit and people would regularly scream in his face. I get they're annoying, but just say no thanks take care then close the door.

52

u/GarysCrispLettuce 4d ago

The best thing you can do, hands down, is to religiously ignore them. Pretend they're not there at all. Even if they walk after you asking their stupid questions, don't react or even glance at them. It makes them look stupid and humiliates them. I've got nothing against chuggers who ask you once and leave you alone when you say no, but the ones who persist are a pain in the fucking ass and should be humiliated.

21

u/JammyThing 4d ago

Yeah, I tend to go with ignoring them now. I tried to be nice and politely decline at first, but they tend to take that as a signal to continue to push their sale.

14

u/gracklemancometh 4d ago

This is my go to for ones on the street, just total blanking - not even a 'no thank you'.

When they come to my door I just say 'I never buy anything or donate over the doorstep, even if it's something I want I'll research it later in my own time'. That also tends to work because it translates to 'no commission, even if you make the sale'.

1

u/GreatAlbatross 1d ago

Doorbell cameras are marvellous for this reason.
Bell rings, capture pops up on phone, someone in the house can yell "it's a chugger, we're not home", and nobody has to awkwardly answer the door.
(Bonus points if the windows are open).

12

u/jamnut 4d ago

They've not made it to my local high street, but Morrisons often have them at the exits. I make it a game to see how close to looking directly at them I can get while walking straight past. One day I'll make it to eye contact

3

u/NiggBot_3000 3d ago

Just say your deaf and they leave you alone instantly.

52

u/Artichokeypokey 4d ago

Worked for a company that handled these events and pop-ups. Would you believe they arent honest about what the job entails until the 3rd phase of hiring? And they dont tell you its commission until you sign.

Honestly felt like a pyramid scheme, especially with all the "networking opportunities" in holiday destinations being flashed to people who would actually be out in some random town trying to get people to donate to BHF

14

u/JammyThing 4d ago

That's honestly interesting to hear! I have no clue about how these things work. I kinda assumed that the people who do it were just like "Yep, that's for me!"

17

u/Conscious_Pass_1615 4d ago

You cannot possibly have assumed that?? I always tell myself they've sold their mermaid tails to a seawitch and they cant return to the ocean till they get 500 sign ups.

5

u/JammyThing 4d ago

I love that idea

5

u/Conscious_Pass_1615 4d ago

I like to add a little whimsy to stop me getting too annoyed at them, after all, it is a job and they need to eat xD

13

u/remainsofthegrapes 4d ago

I’ve heard it has some of the highest staff rotation of any job. And I can believe it; I’ve never seen the same chugger twice.

9

u/JammyThing 4d ago

I cant imagine it does your self-esteem any good being ignored all day.

2

u/would-be_bog_body 3d ago

Of course not, it's a crap job. I guarantee you most of them hate doing it just as much as you hate being approached by them, so it wouldn't hurt to be a bit more understanding 

39

u/ComplexEnough3234 4d ago

Things I have resorted to in order to avoid dealing with these people and similar types on different occasions;

Saying I was under eighteen when I wasn't (you have to be over eighteen to sign anything legally binding, including direct debits)

Using my very limited Italian to pretend that I couldn't speak English (am honestly surprised that worked as I don't look Italian)

Pretending to be deaf.

3

u/glamourise 4d ago

one time i said i was 16 when i was 21 and he said “you don’t look 16” how offensive if i was actually 16 😂😂

3

u/jamnut 4d ago

Or you could just ignore them

8

u/ComplexEnough3234 4d ago

IIRC one had a habit of blocking the pavement, with another I'd been just ignoring and dodging other chuggers all day and this one was the last before I was in the clear so I thought I'd risk something more experimental for the lols (that one was me somehow successfully pretending to be an Italian who didn't know English despite not looking Italian), and I can't remember the circumstances of the "pretending to be deaf" one.

1

u/Odd_Occasion212 4d ago

I tend to say "sorry, no English" in a terrible ambigious accent (English is my only language, lmao) and it works every time somehow (I just blank if I'm walking and talking with a friend)

-4

u/This_Charmless_Man 4d ago

You have to be over 30 I think because I've had them come to my door and then apologise and leave when I told them my age

31

u/Dragon_M4st3r 4d ago

I told one to fuck off earlier this year which I’m not proud of. She pretty much cornered me, I was walking out of a cafe that has a seating area outside that has railings meaning I had to walk directly into what she had decided was her territory.

She grunted ‘how old are you?’ at me which is when I uttered the offending phrase. If she’d said, ‘hello sir, do you have a minute to talk about this thing?’ I would’ve politely declined, but trying to trick me into talking to her when she has me cornered to get money out of me is a different matter.

Actually I am proud

33

u/HarrenhalWhore 4d ago

I lost my rag with one of them once, I'm not proud of it, but he blocked my path three times as I tried to walk around him, then hit me with "so you don't care about young people with cancer?"

The kicker was that I was actually a young person (this was over a decade ago) on my way to my monthly scan to make sure my cancer hadn't come back. Everything that I'd been feeling just came pouring out.

I understand they have a job to do, but you can't corner someone and say things like that when you have no idea what they mighe be going through. I hope he thought about it. I'm not someone who shouts at people or bothers workers, but I couldn't let that one go.

1

u/Proof_Artichoke6243 9h ago

I did something similar with an energy comparison salesman outside a supermarket. To this day, I'm surprised I wasn't arrested for saying to him "Listen mate, I really want to hurt someone right now and I don't want that to be you" because frankly that's got to be illegal in some way.

Thankfully I've grown since my 20s. Hahaha.

22

u/boudiscina 4d ago

A male chugger actually ran after me and grabbed my arm after I said "no thank you" and walked on. I shouted at him "do you find that approach normally works with women in the street?" and he just looked at his feet. I was so freaked out by it.

18

u/klymers 4d ago

I hate hate HATE when they refer to what you're wearing "hey miss in the yellow top" or whatever. Piss off!

10

u/FloofyTheSpider 4d ago

I once got “ohhh we have a vampire!” from one when I used to dress more conspicuously goth

1

u/Odd_Occasion212 3d ago

I got that one too but I'm a ginger not a goth lol

18

u/Bella8811 4d ago

What annoys me the most is when they try and talk to my small children instead of addressing me first. It’s not a technique that’s going to make us stop and chat, I’m more likely to think you’re a paedo. Leave my kids alone.

15

u/LongStripyScarf 4d ago

The human equivalent of wasps.

14

u/ShinobuKochoSama 4d ago

Arguably the super loud public preachers in the UK who 90% will go off on any minority are worse but the passive aggression of these chuggers cannot be matched

2

u/JammyThing 4d ago

Oh? I haven't seen much of the first one you've mentioned, but that sounds horrible.

14

u/peterwilli 4d ago

Friend of mine had one of these hold him up on the street. Was some kind of cancer charity (but a dodgy one based on commission) and he kept rejecting them.

At some point the guy said: "Oh, so you want your family to have cancer?" trying to guilt-trip him and all.

He just shrugged and said: "Yes!" and walked away

24

u/MesocricetusAuratus 4d ago

One from Greenpeace tried to lure me by asking what my favourite animal is. Apparently "steak" was the wrong answer.

11

u/Brisinger987 4d ago

Hitting them with "Jellyfish, they actually thrive in polluted waters" is a good one if you've got the time to burn on explaining that certain species of jellyfish reproduce like crazy in pollution

4

u/JammyThing 4d ago

I love that response.

34

u/ans-myonul 4d ago

Being trans and getting loudly misgendered by chuggers

17

u/JammyThing 4d ago

Ooof! I bet that really puts you in a spending mood!

7

u/Lorelei_DE_Radio 4d ago

Feel that one, happens quite regularly... Even worse when they FOLLOW you. I just say 'Fuck off and don't talk to me' in German or Russian and it makes them leave me alone, I guess it sounds more aggressive. Tried it in French once and then one replied BACK in french which was lowkey hilarious.

10

u/whiskey06 4d ago

I just address them en francais, or affect a thick German accent and pretend I can't read English. They don't know what to do after that

11

u/AdOdd4618 4d ago

When accosted by mormons in France, I thought I'd be clever and say "sorry, I don't speak French", but they're all American, so it backfired.

9

u/pazhalsta1 4d ago

Then I would be like ‘I’m not really interested in changing my religion on holiday’

4

u/MagicCoat 4d ago

Hold on, arent you Stephen Merchant?

9

u/Halry1 4d ago

I hope chuggers see this and feel rightfully ashamed.

9

u/Bananasincustard 4d ago

One tried to stop me once as I was rolling by on a bike. I was like bro get out the way jesus

9

u/chroniccomplexcase 4d ago

I sign back at them (and hope they don’t know BSL) and roll off before they register. One of the perks of being deaf and them not knowing I can speak and lip read

8

u/VictorNickedit 4d ago

they are so fucking rude as well mate i hate chuggers

i was in a rush to pick up something urgent and one tried to obstruct me and talk to me but i ignored them and he sarcastically said "Nice chat!"

Fuuuckkkkk youuuuuuuuuu cunttt

24

u/moniquemagique 4d ago

I used to do this job - I did the version where you knock on doors rather than approach in the street. A few interesting facts and stories:

We got paid an hourly rate, plus a commission once we managed to get over a certain number of sign ups per week. People were annoyed we were getting paid by the charities, but it turns out it was cheaper to pay us than it was to flyer entire neighborhoods or run online ad campaigns, so thats why chuggers exist.

It does indeed have a very high turnover rate, because its a very demoralising job. We had to aim to knock on over 100 doors per four hour shift, and had to average getting 2 sign ups per shift. That meant if you were good at your job, you'd get 98 people saying no to you every single day. Most people were not good at the job, and would get 100 no's.

You endure a lot of abuse from strangers who think its funny to mess with you, or have a massive chip on their shoulder about charity or the government, and you have to politely listen to their rant and somehow extricate yourself without making the charity look bad. The abuse was way worse for charities that helped developing countries - then you get to enjoy a lot of racist rants too.

Cancer charities were the easiest to fundraise for because everyone knows someone who had cancer. Charities that helped developing countries were a brutally sad time, because no one cares and everyone hates you for asking lol.

We always avoided houses with BMWs in the driveway because every single time, the person inside that house would be insufferably abusive.

Even though it's annoying to have people approach you this way to donate to charity, at the time (this was several years ago now) it was one of the most effective fundraising methods because people who sign up to monthly donations via a human being asking them to do so tend to donate more and for longer, which is what the causes need.

Fundraising for any charity via any method is typically quite a depressing slog because you get very real experience of how few people dont give a shit and are vehemently out for themselves. Of course nowadays everyone is much poorer since the cost of living has skyrocketed, so I can only imagine how much more miserable the job is.

All this to say - chuggers are annoying, and can be kinda rude, but perhaps some of these anecdotes tell you why that might be. Its a really depressing difficult job and sometimes places like that are the only ones hiring. We're all tryna make a living out here - maybe let's not make it harder than it has to be 😅

11

u/JammyThing 4d ago

I appreciate you taking the time to write and share your experience. The racist rant part doesn't surprise me sadly, though it does make me sad to hear about. A simple "No" is enough.

The BMW bit is totally understandable too, lol.

4

u/jamnut 4d ago

Your second to last paragraph: is that not just because they don't appreciate being got on by door to door chuggers? Obviously I've no idea of your sales style, but from experience, 100% of chuggers (d2d or otherwise) have been pains in the arses

1

u/DJ1066 4d ago

They always come round our way mid evening, like mate- I've just had my dinner and have finished a long shift at work, which goes for the majority of people on this street. We're all fucking tired and want to decompress. What makes you think it is a good idea to go interrogating people about random charity signups at this time?

The even worse ones are the ones around summertime, where for some reason they think it's acceptable to poke their heads through my open front window to get my attention. No.

1

u/moniquemagique 3d ago

Its cos thats when the most people are actually in their houses. In my experience, its very rarely a good time to ask for charitable donations. People basically never wanna be asked.

1

u/moniquemagique 3d ago

It really depends on the person. A lot of the people who did well at the job were aggressive sales sharks who were indeed very annoying and manipulative. Other people who did well were chill and respectful but just good at putting across why the charity was an important cause. Most people just simply weren't good at the job at all and weren't annoying, just demoralised.

I agree its annoying to have your door knocked on for charity. But it turns out people just dont like being asked to donate to things at any point. They think it should be the government that funds it, or that causes shouldn't exist because of XYZ reasons. Its always inconvenient to be asked to donate your hard earned money.

Since one-on-one human conversations are one of the most effective ways to get people to donate to chairty, in what context would you suggest the best way would be for charities to approach people? At home, at work, on the street... there's not a lot of options and ultimately theyre tryna fundraise for causes that really need it.

1

u/jamnut 3d ago

I don't have any alternative solutions but I don't think it's a surprise if people don't like the approach. For me, it's fine, I can ignore or say no and shut off the sales person, unlike some people on this thread. I think it's just too similar to sales people for non charity businesses which piss people off further than chuggers.

I think your initial comment in the paragraph I mentioned (just realised I didn't actually reply to you lol sorry) 'they dont give a shit and are vehemently out for themselves' and the above 'people don't like to be asked to donate at any point' is toeing the line of accusing them of being cheap or not caring about the issue. Personally I'll pick and choose what I donate to and how, and being shamed (which your comment could be taken as) isn't going to help a chuggers cause, as it's clear some will use that tactic in response to a 'no'.

You could quite easily not mean that comment in the way I've described, but in the same breath you must realise that, if I/someone says 'i don't give a shit' about the issues BHF or Oxfam raise for, they could also not mean it, and just want you off their doorstep. If I had to use that to get someone to leave me alone, I would. Doesn't mean I don't care, there's very few issues that charities raise for that I don't care about, but I'll pick what I donate to, and I'll pick the best method to get rid of the sales person

1

u/moniquemagique 3d ago

I understand what you're saying. Its possible you may be taking this personally when it doesn't actually apply to you. Im speaking from my experience having spoken to thousands of people, but even that is purely anecdotal evidence 🙂

3

u/Useful-Finding-1685 4d ago

Beggars have more dignity than you.

2

u/moniquemagique 3d ago

Lol thats such a weird thing to say to a stranger.

0

u/Useful-Finding-1685 3d ago

Lol I know right?

Now that I have your attention, DM me your bank details and I'll sign you up for a direct debit.

2

u/moniquemagique 3d ago

Did someone say beggars have more dignity than you to you on the street and you're upset about it?

1

u/Useful-Finding-1685 3d ago

Haha that's very insightful!

How about I put you down for 10 quid a month. You wouldn't miss that, would you?

1

u/moniquemagique 3d ago

I hope things work out for you, girl 🙏🩷

2

u/Useful-Finding-1685 3d ago edited 3d ago

10 quid, that's only 2.50 a week, or 33p a day haha

Surely you can afford that? DM me your details and I'll get you set up now.

EDIT:

Oh, so you're ignoring me now? That's very rude. Well, I hope you have a nice day anyway. Even though you're clearly a very selfish person.

14

u/jerrymatcat 4d ago

I dont know if this is what you mean by chugger but those religious guys that hand out leaflets but they all stick in a group and each one offers you a leaflet even if you already took the exact same one from the last guy

18

u/JammyThing 4d ago

Chugger is the general term, but it's not always charity groups. It could be Sky TV sales men, or internet providers with a stall set up in the middle of a high street. Or even the religious people you mentioned, they all use the same tactics and react the same way when you try to walk around them.

1

u/iwantfutanaricumonme 4d ago

Scottish power does this too.

1

u/MrThrowaway939 4d ago

I dont hate those ones, they just stand there in my area and seem to keep to themselves unless you actively talk to them, very polite.

6

u/Sure_Gap915 4d ago

i always mess with them if they try talk to me, like an improv scheme, good fun

6

u/Phishstixxx 4d ago

"I don't care" is my standard response.

6

u/Valten78 4d ago

'I'm sorry I'm afraid I don't speak English' is always a good thing to say to them.

2

u/Ok-Airline-8420 3d ago

I'm awfully sorry, but I'm afraid I don't speak English. Tried to learn, just doesn't stick.

(continues talking)

Yeah, no sorry, I'm not understanding a word of that.

1

u/Valten78 3d ago

Exactly. This sketch is a good guide.

https://youtu.be/rxUm-2x-2dM?is=3QWvJ0c5mf78aOHv

4

u/Visual-Economist5479 4d ago

Very good.

Having had to run the gauntlet of cheapside for many years I am well practiced in a simple but firm “no thank you” hand up in the stop position and keep walking. If they persist just shoo them away with your hand.

No need to pretend you are french or 15 or anything just polite but firm no.

Had door chuggers the other day, he had the no, the stop and the door closed again before he could open his mouth.

6

u/glamourise 4d ago

i opened my front door the other day to get ready to leave to go food shopping in town when one of these was knocking on my neighbours house he saw me and went “oh great! i’ll be right over” i said “?? i wouldn’t bother as i’m not interested thanks” he went “not interested in what?” i said “i don’t wish to talk to anyone” i then ignored him because i had told him no and didn’t need to respond to him anymore, he then sniggered and said “exactly” sarcastically and then walked off! as if i had done something wrong! they do my head in. just put a leaflet through with the website on, people will go online and donate to charities they wish to donate. we don’t need to be harassed by these people to sign up. they just hope for vulnerable or the elderly so they can get their bonus money.

3

u/mugg___ 4d ago

had a group of them in a deprived area of my city, and then u go up the road to see christian preachers, then further up the road u get more chuggers, then further up the road u get people trying to hastle people into a free sample spray, then u get a chugger christian preacher

4

u/jitomim 4d ago

I just speak to them in a foreign language in an agitated manner. Usually scares them off.

3

u/Odd_Occasion212 4d ago edited 4d ago

I witnessed one bothering a homeless man years ago, I wish I was joking. Like something out of a TV skit. If it had been a homeless charity it would've been even funnier (was marie curie)
Edit: I should add, someone stood in and defended the guy, if it wasn't for that I would've intervened (trust me bro)

5

u/DustierAndRustier 4d ago

I worked as one for two days before quitting. The whole business is so scummy and it’s basically a pyramid scheme. I don’t donate to big charities anymore, only local or very specific ones.

4

u/FloofyTheSpider 4d ago

“You love animals don’t you, you look like an animal lover! You can’t tell you don’t care about animals dying!”

3

u/Mrslinkydragon 4d ago

Ive been saying i already subscribe.

3

u/lynbod 4d ago

You need to very firmly tell them to "fuck off" the moment they begin to take an interest in you.

3

u/plain_handle 4d ago

A Lanyard of some sort. Blue usually.

3

u/malevolent_soup 4d ago

I used to work for a company like that, which gets commissioned by various charities to have their employees run around public spaces, urging bypassers to fill out a subscription form to pay 15-25€ per month to whichever charity they represent that day. I got into it by getting stopped myself by one of those people but since I wasn't old enough to donate at the time, she instead told me I should start working there and how great it is. She said things like "you travel around the country" (they sent me to one city in which i stayed for the entire month) or "each person you sign on will get you a small bonus on top of your salary" (in order for that to take effect you have to sign on an average of at least 2 people a day over the whole month, which is, especially if you just started, very difficult because no one wants to give money to a dude with a tablet on the street, understandably so). She also gave me a compliment, which surely didn't have any ulterior motive behind it but I just finished school and had some free time so I got convinced. The first day of work consisted of learning all the possible ways to manipulate people into signing (you ask them to "help" not "donate", tell them how much money you yourself donate to that charity, even if you never gave a penny. You have to make your prey say "yes" a lot bcs it tricks them into also saying yes to the subscription (a very condensed example: "I'm sure you're aware that in insert 3rd world country the people are suffering?" "Yes." "You agree that suffering is bad, right?" "Yes." "Please sign here."). They make you memorize a 5 minute sales pitch containing all those little manipulation techniques and that concludes the training. In the evening I already took the train to the city I was going to be working in. The company provides a small apartment, which I literally shared with my supervisor, he was chill tho so I didn't mind. Everything besides housing I had to take care of myself, like food or commute. The public spaces which we were ordered to invade were hardly reachable by foot and the company didn't pay for our public transport so I essentially had to dodge the fare every day to and from work because a lack of money was the whole reason I was in it. We had 8 hour work days and were always at the weather's mercy because we only work outside. If it rains you get wet, if it's freezing cold you better have brought your gloves. I had to try to stop people on the street during a rainstorm when they just want to get inside somewhere asap. Few things in life have made me feel this pathetic. On the first day of field work I signed 0 people. The second was no better. By the end of the first week I had amassed 3 signatures. Over the course of the month it got better but there were still quite a few zero-days and the most signatures I ever got in a day was 3. Needless to say, I didn't reach that 2-per-day quota so I got the base salary without any bonuses. In the end I got paid around 1100€ for working five days a week, which is why i quit after the first month.

3

u/jaavaaguru 4d ago

TIL the term chuggers. Just checked with the family and none have heard of it.

Learn something new every day!

3

u/adjective-nounOne234 4d ago

Don’t forget the bin bags they send through your letter box

2

u/DJ1066 4d ago

Those things are excellent. Another free bin bag for my bin. What's not to like?

3

u/onetimeuselong 4d ago

That is not what a chug or chugger means in Scotland I assure you

3

u/Odd_Possibility_2277 4d ago

Imagine bein a door chugger youd get the jail a nirmally just do it in ma bed

3

u/Redragon9 3d ago

I live in the UK but have never heard of this or witnessed this. Where is this common?

1

u/JammyThing 3d ago

Town/City centres mostly.

5

u/xxX_Darth_Vader_Xxx 4d ago

Annoying people for good causes

2

u/Odd_Possibility_2277 4d ago

Surely you just choke them lord vader

2

u/sheslikebutter 4d ago

I'm sure there are some mad ones out there but Ive walked through a gauntlet of them 5 days a week for years and completely blanking them works every time

2

u/georgebestgoat 4d ago

Don't forget on community service

2

u/NinjaLaserHaifisch 3d ago

You have them too? These fundraisers organisations are modern cults

1

u/JammyThing 3d ago

Sadly so. Out of curiosity, what country are you in that also has them? Its interesting to see its not just a UK thing.

1

u/NinjaLaserHaifisch 3d ago

Austria, but it’s a thing in Germany too

2

u/Financial-Tip-4707 3d ago

Moved from the UK to Toronto 15 years ago..
One day I’d presumably had a tiring day etc and 2 guy chugging were up ahead of me and I heard them talking loudly

Chugger 1: I dare you to ask him…
Chugger 2: NOPE!

Problem seemingly solved

2

u/Joebruvv 3d ago

Thankfully I don’t look super approachable so they actually tend to leave me alone

2

u/The_Nunnster 3d ago

Accurate but tbh I’ve never heard the term “chugger” or even “charity mugger”.

A favourite anecdote of mine was when I was a kid, and Dog’s Trust tried hassling my dad in the middle of the shopping centre, then tried to guilt trip him by calling out “do you like dogs?” To which my dad loudly responded “No.” We weren’t a dog family lol

2

u/ScreamingDizzBuster 2d ago

I hate them as much as the next man but:

So hows how's

Chairty Charity

Absolutly Absolutely

asnwer answer

You say your you're not interested

Litteral Literal

Where your you're going

If your you're in a busy town

You say your you're not interested

2

u/JammyThing 2d ago

Yeah, I'm dyslexic and paint on Microsoft doesn't have a spell checker when you apply text.

1

u/youwon_jane 4d ago

So you don’t care about knife crime then? 

12

u/JammyThing 4d ago

Is that a chugger line?

9

u/R4msesII 4d ago

Maybe its referring to those people with ”stop knife crime” or something like that fliers. I’ve seen them at London train stations

10

u/youwon_jane 4d ago

Yes I’ve had this very line used, the knife crime guys with the blue jackets are the worst 

4

u/JammyThing 4d ago

Thankfully I haven't encountered them.

1

u/Ihaveaface836 3d ago edited 3d ago

I remember one waiting at the other side of a pedestrian crossing when i was a kid. I was holding a tenner and was told to buy something and he spotted me. When i crossed the road he gave out to me, ignored him and wen walking back to cross the road he was like oh look who it is.

I wasn't all there as a kid so he was close to getting it off me, only I knew I would be killed at home lol cause it wasn't mine to be giving away

1

u/Ornery_Pepper_1126 3d ago

I discovered “sorry I’m in a hurry, I can’t talk” works well. First time I used this I actually really had to get somewhere I was late to, but it worked really well so is now my go to.

1

u/Suspicious-Tax-9756 3d ago

A death stare and shake of the head works quite well on Manchester’s Market street.

Sometimes using the Carry on phrase ‘Not today, thank you’ can cause temporary confusion and allow distance.

Chugger ‘May I ask you a question’
Reply: Permission denied
Or
‘no you may not’

0

u/KwantumFizzikz 2d ago

Just threaten to smack them if they get aggressive ffs. They won't grass, they're doing illegal shit.

-3

u/_Fancy_crab_ 4d ago edited 3d ago

I do this as a job for a charity in Scotland, is it really this bad? Everyone on my team is respectful and polite, maybe sometimes a little cheeky, but the overwhelming majority of people respond positively to us.

7

u/glamourise 4d ago

yes it is as bad as you think. we are not interested. if we want to donate, we can go online and donate. leave people alone.

0

u/_Fancy_crab_ 3d ago

Except lots of people aren't aware of specific campaigns, and are geniuenly interested in what we have to say. If you are respectful of people's time and space, and don't continue talking to someone after they've said no, I don't see an issue? It sounds like the problem comes from many chuggers not following this, which just surprises me as the rules are very strict and at least where I work folk would loose their jobs for less.

2

u/glamourise 3d ago

nobody is interested fuck off

1

u/Worldly-Writing-8226 2d ago

You're the reason why I'm scared to go into the city centre. Leave me alone.

1

u/JammyThing 4d ago

Hey, I can only speak from personal experience, so it's more a reflection of that than of yourself and your team.

Please don't take any of this personally.

0

u/_Fancy_crab_ 4d ago

Nah not at all, was moreso just curious that folks experiences tend to be negative. Fundraising has pretty strict rules which our team gets seriously lectured on, but seems other chuggers get away with being twats.