Whatever you think of them, chuggers are part of the urban landscape and presumably, face to face street fundraising works to some extent, given the ubiquity of the colourful branded bib and the overenthusiastic holler that tries to stop you in your tracks when you really want to buy a sandwich. But now, charity watchdog Intelligent Giving is calling for the public to formally boycott chuggers, firstly because it's an inefficient way to give to good causes but also because their undercover research has found pretty unprofessional practices at work.
Avoiding chuggers on the streets is an underrated artform. Are you one of those who smile brightly but apologetically, claiming a mythical meeting that you're late for? Or do you drop a firm and grim faced 'no thanks, sorry'? Perhaps you're one of those hardline, head down, ignore, ignore, walk on by-ers or are you a someone who's honed their skills on hopeful Jehovah's Witnesses, engaging the cheery blighters in convoluted conversation only to disappoint at the last moment and saunter off? We need to know your tactics. Please share your stories.
Image courtesy of theginganinja1979's Flickrstream under a Creative Commons Attribution licence.
