Birmingham to ban chuggers completely

Birmingham is planning a by-law to ban chuggers according to this article. It's the beginning of the end for this discredited fundraising technique!

Friends of the Earth flout the rules

What is it about environmental charities? Just over a week ago, I reported misbehaviour by Greenpeace and today Friends of the Earth were committing an almost identical offence around 15:26 (which was when I reported them to the Council) This time, the chugger was about 10m further out of the chugger zone than the Greenpeace one and I got much better pictures of him at work. To be fair, the two girls seem to be enjoying his sales patter. As the Council promised they'd act immediately, I hung around to watch the action. It wasn't quite what I expected. At 15:39 two fairly cool, confident twenty-something guys joined the girls and the chugger and cheerful conversation continued for about a minute before the chugger suddenly left in the direction of the official chugging zone. I'm not sure if the two other guys were just friends of the girls or if they were plain clothes reps from FoE smoothly extracting the erring chugger from the situation. Or maybe two guys "rescuing" the "damsels in distress" and trying to chat them up?

Greenpeace misbehave!

There is now a Site Management Agreement in place in Cheltenham that (amongst other things) restricts chugging to the High Street between Pitville Street and Winchcombe Street. At 11:44 today, I found a Greenpeace chugger in the section of the High St between Winchcombe Street and Rodney Road.

So,  I snapped him with the camera on my phone. In this picture, the chugger is the guy with the dark green top wearing a rucksack underneath the "C" in "Cheltenham & Gloucester". At the time I checked that the top had a "Greenpeace" label and there were similar tops being worn by 3 other chuggers. He was actually  "working", IE, I saw him approaching members of the public. The street in the foreground is the High St and towards the left, you can see into Winchcombe St. On the extreme left you can see the temporary fencing for the building works at the Regent Arcade. Perhaps the consequent narrowing of the foot way attracted him?

Next, I rang the Council and told them what was going on. I was told that the Council themselves don't regulate chuggers but they'd pass it on to the PFRA "hot line" who would get in touch with Greenpeace.

It will be interesting to see if any action follows!

Anyone can say "No" to a chugger?

Saw a chugger with a "captive" victim today. A young man in his twenties was standing "listening" to a chugger. I didn't have my camera with me so I'll  describe how the victim looked:

• Bored and fed up
• Arms across the body
• Feet pointed away from the chugger

The chugger meanwhile was getting more and more "enthusiastic". Perhaps he sensed he wasn't getting through? I was clear to me that the chuggee was a lost cause. So why did he stand there and take it? Well, a lot of people are brought up to be "polite" and it would have been "rude" to interrupt the chugger or  just walk away. The chuggee had stopped for the chugger but had no "polite" exit tactic. The chugger was either staggeringly unaware, or, more likely, just didn't care. Maybe the chuggee signed up to bring the experience to a "polite" end - I didn't stay to watch.

Some would have no sympathy for the chuggee - I've even seen it suggested that if you're not able to say "No" to a chugger, you shouldn't be allowed out on your own! However, there are thousands of people who while not having any recognised mental disability cannot deal with these situations effectively. Some chuggers have the sensitivity and decency to recognise the signs and release their victims early. Had-nosed chuggers don't care and having captured a victim will relentlessly pursue a "sale".

If, like me, you are quite capable of being rude to strangers accosting you in the street, you may not understand any of the above!

Guardian to discontinue use of the "chugger" word?

The Guardian did a new article on the new PFRA rules today which doesn't use the "chugger" word at all. The reason why is to be found in the "Comments" section. LisaHopkins objected to the use of the 'c' word in the original and Guardian caved in and changed it to "Charity Fundraiser".

It remains to be seen if this self-censorship will continue.

Chugging Discussion Group

I've started a discussion group related to Chugging. The group welcomes posts from those who are in favour of this practice as well as those against or unsure. Robust discussion is permitted but be aware that this group is public and abusive behaviour will NOT help your cause – quite the reverse. I reserve the right to ban/remove posts from abusive members but I’m going to try not to. Posts and subsequent discussions must not include: - Adverts (short adverts in your signature are OK) - Stuff unrelated to chugging

Browse/Join here For those who don't have/want a Google account, this group can also be operated by email. Send a blank mail to chugginguk+subscribe@
googlegroups.com to get started

An out-of-the-ordinary chugger



15:07

When I found the “Save The Children” chuggers at work, a tiny female chugger had already got herself a victim so I watched. After the chuggee departed (smiling!) the chugger played with her PDA a bit and then went back to chugging. Nothing over the top but within a couple of minutes she’s pulled in another victim! In less than 15 minutes, saw her get 4 hits!

I was so intrigued, I wandered in her direction nervously hoping to be on the receiving end of the patter. Too late, she drew in chuggee #5! As I passed, I caught a few words, nothing extraordinary, just asking him if he liked the town. She got him in just a minute, see below

15:17

15;18



The average chugger makes around 180 approaches before making a “sale”, this lady was hitting round 1 in 10. Perhaps that’s why she sports a “Team Leader” badge?

Another member of the team deploys the big smile and outstretched arms gambit to no avail.

Chuggers contribute 0.2%

Chugging apologists often draw attention to how much money chugging brings in for  good works.    I was curious to understand how charities managed to survive before chugging was invented around 20 years ago? The answer is that even now, chugging is not a huge source of funds!! Let’s dig into the detail a little...

According to the PFRA, £130 million is raised for charities every year by face to face fundraising. So that sounds like a lot of money? However, the Charity Commission tells us that in 2011, the total income for all England and Wales charities is £55.87 billion. So chugging brings in around 0.2%! Are the reputation risks worth it?

Now, some charities will point out that they are much more dependent on chugging than that. Couple of points on that:

·        How did those charities survive before chugging?

·        Why are those charities so dependent on chugging? Have they actually tried less unpleasant business methods?

More alert readers will point out that these figures ignores chugger costs and that doorstep chugging is included too. That just reduces the 0.2% figure

Four Million Annoyances

The PFRA report recruitment of 238273 donors in 2011/12. We know that each donor recruited entails around 180 chugs so that's nearly 40 million chugs in all. Lord Hodgson's report says that 6% of people actually like being chugged.

This 6% figure may be a lttle high since it probably relies on stopping people in the street and asking them but lets run with it. So 94% don't prefer the chugging approach and lets say that just 10% of those really hate it.

So there are around 4 million unpleasant experiences for the public at the hands of chuggers. That may be why chuggers are hated.

Greenpeace again

Counted 6 Greenpeace chugger in Cheltenham today. Under the terms of the SMA they will only be allowed 4 but the SMA isn't in force yet :( I wonder if there will be redundancies? Or will they move some chuggers out to unregulated  locations?

Avoiding Chugging Charities

If you wish to boycott charities using, chuggers, the PFRA Member List will be useful. For those in the Irish Republic, here's the members of the Irish Fundraising Forum for Direct Recruitment

The IFFDR seems to use the term "Direct Recruitment" for chuging.

Canal Chuggers

Chuggers have taken to the waterways to ply their trade! The Canal & River Trust (formerly British Waterways) has sent chuggers after boaters who already pay thousands to moor their boats. Complaints on the Trust's Facebook page have been censored.

Full story

Some great jounalism on chugging

Very well written piece from the US
You might need a sick bag for the final page where a chugger doesn't give up despite the chuggee being $200,000 in debt!

Future of Chugging

Chugging is essentially a sales technique and although it may seem fairly new, similar things have happened in other industries such as financial services, double glazing, home energy, timeshare etc. Abusive practices are identified, “self-regulated” and often become the subject of direct or indirect legislation. Also, the public becomes accustomed to dealing with it. So the “market” becomes much tougher even if player numbers stay static.

 I expect chugging income is now at around about its peak and will start to decline. However, expect to see chugging in more diverse places. The Site Management Agreements between the PFRA and Local Authorities will restrict chugger numbers in many cities. As a result, chuggers may move out to smaller communities. I don’t expect to see chugging outside the “Bull” in Ambridge (BBC Radio 4 soap, “The Archers”) but smaller towns and large villages will be tried. A challenge in these places for chuggers is that the demographics are different. Fewer young people and more young marrieds for whom charity definitely does begin at home.

Another possible development is that charities will stop joining the PFRA to escape the restrictions members have to work under. If that happens, expect a LOT of heat as PFRA-free charities flood sites with their chuggers regardless of any cosy PFRA-Council agreements.

Ultimately, chugging will fade - and some comedian will launch a "Save The Chugger" campaign.

Curious Chugger Behavior

I had to pass through a chugging zone 4 times over a period of a few hours today. Each time, I saw the aggressive Greenpeace chugger. Except he wasn't in uniform or chugging. He was standing around doing an occasional little "chugger dance" but not seeking to engage with anyone. He looked quite depressed.

I didn't see any other chuggers for sure. There was a man with a rolled stripey umbrella who looked like he could have been a chugger striding away from the zone at around 1.05pm. So it's possible they were only doing a half-day but my friend just couldn't give up the street?

A Chugger who loves his job

OK, this is from the US but still relevant. This chugger may inspire some readers. He makes me cringe. Should we try to understand his point of view? Maybe. Should he understand that what he does causes a lot of normal people pain? Yes!

Should 'chuggers' be more tightly regulated?

Guardian poll - currently stands at 93% say "Yes"

Lord Hodgson's Report

This has been extensively leaked but here is the official copy of the entire report

Dealing with persistent chuggers

Most chuggees will know the problem - you give the chugger a clear "No" but it doesn't stop them. That is against the "PFRA Rule Book (Street F2F)" which says in part:


PFRA-INTERPRETED RULE P5.3.1a: Immediate Termination

If a person clearly and obviously indicates by words or gestures that they do not wish to be engaged by a fundraiser either at the initial approach or during a conversation/engagement the fundraiser OUGHT to desist from the engagement and make no further attempt to engage that person.

Sanction

The penalty imposed for breach of this rule is 50 points.

Since this rule is often broken, how about we all help the PFRA out by catching errant chuggers? Here's how:

1. Set your mobile phone to record and pop it in a pocket
2. Go to the chugging area of your town
3. Get chugged
4. Say "No thank you!" loudly and clearly
5. The chugger doesn't give up
6. Pull your phone out and photograph the chugger
7. (Optional) Tell the chugger "You're nicked"
8. Send the recording and photo to the charity concerned, the PFRA and blog it somewhere
9. Note: I think it's quite likely that the chugger and his team leader will not meekly accept the situation! The might apologise and promise not to do it again, or they might get aggressive and claim you are breaking the law

AS explained elsewhere the PFRA sanctions system is pretty toothless so make sure you don't rely on them.

Related links

Greenpeace chuggers don't like photography
Tips for chugger monitoring
How the chugger "points" system works

Report tells charities to crack down on plague of chuggers

That's the Sunday Telegraph headline today.

The publication of the document, which includes 113 recommendations for change, adds to growing pressure on charities following a Sunday Telegraph investigation into street fundraisers, known as 'chuggers’, which showed how the public was lied to, and how rules - and even the law - were broken.

Lord Hodgson, the Tory peer who has compiled the 159-page report, told The Sunday telegraph that some high streets were “becoming suffocated with chuggers” and that face-to-face fundraising needed to be conducted in an “orderly and appropriate way”.

Full story

Spoof chugger training

PFRA not invited to Institute summit on future of face-to-face

This is interesting. The PFRA is the chuggers trade association but they are being left out in the cold as the Institute of Fundraising plans to hold a fundraising directors-only meeting about the current state of face-to-face fundraising.

"The IoF yesterday announced that in light of media exposure of face-to-face fundraisers failing to meet standards it will hold a summit on the issue on 23 July. The Public Fundraising Regulatory Association, set up to regulate and enforce standards in face-to-face fundraising, has thus far not been invited to attend and was not involved in the summit’s planning"

Full story

Greenpeace Chuggers

Interesting encounter with Greenpeace chuggers recently. I'd taken a few pictures and wandered off and one of them decided to follow me!

Chugger: Excuse me
CM: (turns round to see a Greenpeace Chugger) Oh! No thanks!
Chugger: Can I have a word with you?
CM: No Thanks! (Carries on walking)
Chugger: (mumbles – didn't catch it)
CM: No Thanks!
Chugger: We’re just going to call the Police now
CM: Really!!! (Continues walking away – chugger gives up)

So, a somewhat persistent and aggressive tactic? I don't think so. He was well out of the main chugging zone so I suspect he wanted to object to my photography. I know that a few other anti-chuggers have had similar problems - although not necessarily with Greenpeace.

Was I breaking a law? Probably not.

(As part of Greenpeace is not a charity, you can be picky and say they can't be Chuggers)

Cartoon in Private Eye

Too many chuggers?

I was out earlier monitoring the chuggers. They seemed quite well behaved. As I watched, they were almost religiously keeping to the "3 steps rule" that is designed to prevent them chasing you down the street. Then I realised there were 5 chuggers. What's so magic about 5? Well, there is a "Site Management Agreement" for 3 chuggers plus one team leader so I decided to try and capture some evidence!

Initial attemps with a still camera didn't go well. The street was very busy and it would be difficult to prove that all 5 were active at one time. So I switched to video mode. This was much better. In under two minutes, I'd caught them all! Another advantage of using video like this is that done right  no one can be sure your filming them. They just think it's a guy with an ordinary camera waving it around. Also, for a chugger-counting task, you don't need well composed pictures. Even a rear view of a chugger will do.

Slightly less good news when I checked the SMA at home. Although signed, it doesn't come into force for about 6 weeks.

Still, a useful practice run

Too late for this victim - digit extraction already commenced!

The woman with the red top mid-centre is the chugger. Look carefully for the faded "Shelter" on her back

Some tips for chugger monitoring

1. Check if the place you're monitoring has a "Site Management Agreement" with the PFRA. You could try asking the PFRA but they might not tell you so asking your local council is the way forward. Probably not the "County" council or the "Parish" council but the one in between. May be called a "Borough" or "District" Council. Another route is to check press reports.
2. The SMA may also give you the exact chugger locations and their time of operation.
3. Stroll through the chugging zone and see if you can spot any chuggers. Sometimes you won't see any. Sometimes they break for lunch. Even if they are permitted to chug until (say) 1800 they may leave at 1700.
4. Don't try to record/film/test the chuggers straight away. Instead just watch. Ideally, you'll do this from somewhere they can't see you. Some cafes have upstairs areas, grab a coffee and a window seat. Or stand just outside the chugging zone like you are waiting for someone.
5. What you'll likely notice is that some of the chuggers are behaving themselves perfectly. They don't pursue people and take "No" for an answer.
6. Then you'll spot him (or her)! The one who is just to enthusiastic, desperate and in people's faces. This is the one to focus on

OK, you have your target, so what's next? Ideally you want to capture evidence of bad behaviour. Here's a few ideas but do tailor your method!

Photographs

• Still photographs are probably best just for illustration. You are unlikely to get convincing evidence although operating a camera in "burst mode" may work.
• Video is likely to collect evidence better
• Unless you have a concealed camera, chuggers will notice you. Quite quickly in my experience. A few people have had altercations with chuggers over this. I had one try to follow me so I just dodged him until he must have realised how bad he looked chasing me!
• A protected location such as an overlooking cafe window is ideal.

Sound Recording

A modern sound recorder in your pocket is not only invisible to the chuggers, it doesn't need any attention from you. It's ideal if you plan to get into conversation with chuggers - not something you'd normally do - but there's lots of scope for catching them telling you lies as well.

Hope this helps!

Perhaps the best funny video on chugger persistence

Another non-chugger

Here's a street evangelist. Notice the absence of a tabard, T-shirt or clipboard but his nearby sign makes his mission clear.

It may look like he's accosted the man with the "Iceland" bag but if I'd got my camera out earlier I could have posted a nice video of Mr Iceland approaching the preacher and asking for directions - which were freely given before handing him a leaflet as an afterthought.

Gives me an idea for dealing with real chuggers. If surprised by one, how about this gambit:

Chugger: Can you spare a minute.....
You: Can you direct me to the Town Hall? I'm very late for a meeting!

Charity apologieses as ‘chuggers’ target bus passengers

Just when you thought you could avoid chuggers by crossing the street and running like hell...

Article from 'The Scotsman'

From across the pond

They have chuggers in Canada too. This extract from Rebecca Coleman's blog shows how what chuggers do really is harassment:

``And the first 48 times I was approached by one of these (generally good looking and pleasant) young people, I politely said “no thanks” and kept moving.' '

Charity begins at home?

A close relative of the chuggers has started turning up on residential doorsteps. Some have suggested "churglars" as a name. You can understand it - the same tabards, T-shirts, guilt-trips and a quest for your bank account details. They are undeterred by my "No Cold Calling" signs and some find them even more objectionable than street-walking chuggers

Here's an idea: Why not leverage the Mailing Preference Service? They keep a database of people who don't want junk mail. Why not extend it to covering people who don't want doorstep hassle?

What’s so wrong with chugging?

"I am a fundraiser in my day job; I have been working for UK charities for over 10 years..." Quite a thoughtful piece, read on

Another one

She talks about chugging in Scotland

A Chugger who loves his job?

This guy is gutted that he lost his chugging job!

Charities ditch street 'chuggers' after Sunday Telegraph investigation

The Sunday Telegraph has written a story here. My cynical nature makes me wonder if they'd have wrriten "Charities sign up more street 'chuggers' after Sunday Telegraph investigation" if it was the case?

New hotline to monitor Gloucester 'chuggers'

"CHARITY workers who harass shoppers in Gloucester are going to be tackled by a new complaints hotline. Council chiefs are setting up a direct line so people passing through the city can call if they feel threatened...."

Full article from The Citizen

Is Chugging Legal?

Since chuggers ask for direct debit sign-up rather than actual cash, they escape a lot of legal issues. Some local authorities have got themselves local bylaws saying that no person in the street or a public place should solicit custom for a service or seek to gather information in such a manner as to cause an obstruction or to give reason for annoyance with a fine of £500. No one has been prosecuted yet – possibly because cases may be hard to prove.


It’s my belief that neither the councils or the industry want a case to go to trial. If the chuggers were to win, it would be open season on the High Street. If they lost it would be a terrible blow to the industry. Although both sides would like to win such a case, they probably fear losing it even more.


So, the chugger’s trade club, the PFRA have been seeking to head off the possibility by negotiating “Site Management Agreements” with the councils to limit the location, days and number of chuggers. The attraction for Councils is that they don’t have to negotiate with individual charities. For the PFRA, it means that charities almost have to join up if they want to use chuggers.

A few documents on Site Management Agreements:

• Text of an agreement in Lancaster
•  Council approves scheme to regulate 'chuggers' in Cheltenham
• Wolverhampton limits days street fundraisers can operate
• Islington Council seeks ban on street fundraising

Save the Dinosaur

This video by one of the chugger agencies shows how chuggers are trained to be passionate about any cause. If only chuggers had been around 65 million years ago, the dinosaurs wouldn't have gone extinct. Watch it, it's fun!

Donor drop-out rate increases

"Nearly a third people who sign up to street fundraisers – the much-maligned chuggers – never go on to make the first payment, according to the latest figures which expose a rise in drop-outs.
 According to the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association’s annual Donor Acquisition & Retention Survey, ‘no shows’ jumped from 21% in 2010 to 30% in the 2011 calendar year – with poor quality staff being blamed. "

Full article by DecisionMarketing

Regulation?

The chuggers trade organisation calls itself the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association and says it's very strict about good behaviour. I downloaded a copy of the "PFRA Rule Book (Street F2F)" to see just how tough they are. Here's how the penalty system works:

• "Providers" (IE chugger agencies) accrue points for various offences
• These range from 20-100 points
• Every third offence counts double.
• Typical offence: Ignoring a victim's clear indication that they don't want to engage with the chugger scores 50 points
• Points are valued at £1
• BUT, no money is actually paid unless the total gets to £1000
• Points over a year old are forgotten.

So, for an agency to get fined £1000, they have to have their chuggers caught and reported misbehaving at the 50 point level 8 times in a year (remember, every 3rd offence counts double)

How many people hassled by a chugger jump through all the hoops to get a "fine" of £50 imposed? My guess is "not many". And even if chuggers were spot fined the £50 there and then, they (and the agency) can pay it out of their earnings in less than a day.

It's hardly draconian.

'Chugger' secrets exposed by undercover investigation

Undercover video from the Telegraph shows chuggers being encouraged to break the rules by their managers/team leaders


Original article

Not a chugger

They say that if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it is a duck. Identifying chuggers isn't quite that easy. There are people of similar appearance and tactics on our High Streets who have nothing to do with a charity - they are purely commercial. Here's a guy (blue top) I spotted touting handbag catalogues. Notice the casual dress, a fair amount of hand movement but also a couple of punters actually seem interested in his brochure!

Next, one of his colleagues, complete with hand gestures who was offering the same brochure.

So how do you tell the difference between a chugger and an ordinary tout?

• A real chugger might not have a drinks bottle although their rule book only bans drinking alcohol "in branded clothing"
• Real chuggers must display branding - unlike these guys

What is less obvious is the response of the public. These guys succeeded in getting the interest of around 1 in 4 people they approached. Now compare this with chugging - according to an article in Third Sector chuggers approach around 180 people per sign-up. Of course, these figures are not directly comparable - and my "1 in 4" was a just a quick observation.

However, it suggests to me that public are quite good at spotting chuggers - and they don't like them.

Chuggers are becoming harder to spot

This picture shows what I mean. The chugger (on the right of the picture) has handed the victim a PDA rather than a form on a clipboard. This is doubtless more efficient than using dead trees. Damn! I used to rely on the tell-tale clipboard to easily distinguish between chuggers and ordinary people. The other thing you'll notice about the chugger is overal dull clothing. Yes, there is a large "Greenpeace" on the sleeve but the chest logo is quite small.

The Chugger Club "The Public Fundraising Regulatory Association" has a rule book which states:

An ordinary member of the public should be able to clearly identify a person as a fundraiser working on behalf of a charity from a distance of 5 metres

If you look at this guy sideways, I think he's OK on that. From the front? Actually, he is wearing a bright T-shirt under his coat, and let's be fair, it wasn't the warmest of days.

My second picture shows the team breaking up for the day and another chugger's branded T-shirt is clearly visible.

You may also notice a green umbrella (bottom left). I didn't see it deployed but it wasn't raining.