Charity worker told my mother to "get f*****"...

[csdrone]

I ignore the yelling and DH has a really cold stare he uses if he is present. Works quite nicely.

[Banrion]

I refuse to make eye contact or acknowledge strangers on the street. Around here there is a very fine line between a panhandler and the charity workers. I do not give money to random strangers on the street for any reason. Maybe it's rude, but where I come from you are taught not to talk to strangers, and it's a policy that has worked for me so far.

[Imogene]

Now I feel bad. Every time I go to the mall and someone with a clipboard comes up to me and asks for a moment of my time, I either bark at them or tell them to "get bent". Maybe I need an attitude adjustment.

Look at them really cheerfully, and as soon as they start spieling, "Moment's up..." and move on.

New attitude for blas!

[dizzy_starshine]

Just recently I had the most amazing amount of fun with street charity sellers. I purchased a pull along suitcase in the sales and as I don't have a car I put all my other shopping inside it and pulled it to the bus stop, like I was going to the airport.
I saw the worker heading for me but he stopped and said

oh sorry, you're on holiday here

Well I heard a fanfare and spent a fun filled half an hour baiting them close enough before whipping the case round in front of me and grinning while chattering away in Japanese \(^_^)/. I could have spent all day seeing them totally baffled lol.

My mum has the prize for best street seller though. A man for a gas company approached her in the supermarket

MAN: Ma'am how do you pay your gas bill?
MUM: I don't

ROFL she means I don't my husband does but his face was a total winner.

[Mighty Girl]

Oh man- do I feel your pain!!!

One of the malls near me is like that. Except this one time- this guy actually approached me as I was getting out of my car which completely freaked me out. I was getting ready to mace his ass, I didn't know if he was taking a survey or trying to carjack me with my daughter in the car.

There is this one old guy who stands around outside Macy's- and he has to be told "NO" every stinkin time I pass him. Very annoying. You would think that he would understand that if I'm pushing a stroller there's no way I'm going to stop and talk to him for an eternity, but noooooooo, he tries the first time, then when I'm exiting the store he tries again but with a surly look on his face like he's getting ready to whack me with his clipboard. Totally uncalled for.

[Mighty Girl]

I ignore the yelling and DH has a really cold stare he uses if he is present. Works quite nicely.

No one ever approaches me if I'm with DH. He looks mean without even trying and he's a big guy.

[Dreamstalker]

I refuse to make eye contact or acknowledge strangers on the street. Around here there is a very fine line between a panhandler and the charity workers. I do not give money to random strangers on the street for any reason.

Ditto. I have too little money to be giving it away at random. Go target the people who look like they have huge amounts of disposable income, kthx

In my city, there are some panhandlers who will have clipboards with fake pledge sheets (someone pounding the pavement for the AIDS Ride in the middle of November is a bit of a giveaway)...poor photocopies of real pledge sheets and all the "signatures" are in the same writing.

My mom says that making eye contact is a way to avoid them, but from my experience if they even think you're looking at them, they'll race over and start their spiel.

Although last year when I was on my way back from a LARP session in full Ghostbusters gear (proton pack with full LED wiring), I never got bothered once

[Banrion]

In my city, there are some panhandlers who will have clipboards with fake pledge sheets (someone pounding the pavement for the AIDS Ride in the middle of November is a bit of a giveaway)...poor photocopies of real pledge sheets and all the "signatures" are in the same writing.

We are talking about the same city! LOL good ol' Boston. My b/f and I had someone try the AIDS ride thing on us, the problem is we participate in the real one ourselves, and told them so, they still didn't back off!

[Dreamstalker]

They seem to congregate in little packs at the bus stops on Mass Ave. or so I've noticed.

I was within a millisecond of calling the cops on one guy who was accosting people outside the Harvard Square 7-11 for awhile...he vanished, I thought he had been arrested, then he relocated to Newbury Street right outside the T station so there was no avoiding him. He wasn't around there for very long though, I think because cops showed up during the tearing-up of the street.

I don't think I could carry my proton pack replica on the subway anymore....knowing my luck I'd get arrested when some yahoo thinks it's a bomb

[Banrion]

I encounter them most frequently at Downtown Crossing. OxFam has been there for 2 weeks straight recently. I once had one chase me on foot from North Station all the way to South Station. I give him credit for the effort, but seriously!

[RecoveringKinkoid]

A friend of mine got chased from the Pantry behind the Kinko's to the back door of the store by either a really unmotivated mugger or a really persistant panhandler. To this day we are not sure which. As my friend was loping along, he called back over his shoulder, "Dude? You suck as a predator."

Priceless.

[Banrion]

I was actively avoiding this guy, he was alot bigger than me and scary. Total distance from North to South stations 1.48 miles according to mapquest. Probably slightly shorter on foot. He didn't stop following me until I actually walked to the security desk in the building I work in.

[Dreamstalker]

The guy didn't turn away until he saw the security guard?

I've never actually been followed, but the aforementioned creepazoid in Harvard Square did prevent me from crossing (actually forced me to walk into the street to avoid him) and tried to grab my shoulder--that was when I yelled and he backed off upon seeing he was drawing attention.

[Luna]

Whoa. People ask for your debit card for donations? ARRRGGGGHHHHHH!

*That sound was my brain imploding in my skull.*

There is NO farking way I'd ever give my debit card to anyone claiming to come from a charity. I don't care if they gave me their driver's ID, social security card, vehicle registration and home phone number - I still wouldn't do it.

Is that just something common overseas? I've never heard of such a thing anywhere.

[Dreamstalker]

I've noticed around here it's usually Oxfam and MASSPIRG that do the credit-card request (those are the only two I've noticed, anyway).

Hell no. If I want to make any donation anywhere via credit card, I will call the organization directly and do so. I get the oddest looks when I say I refuse to give out my credit card number...and usually they get pushier. I'm unemployed right now and don't particularly have the money to give away randomly, kthxbye.

The numbers are written right next to your name on a pledge sheet with about 10 areas to a page. Anyone could see that number, and after collecting numbers all day a dishonest person could do whatever they pleased.