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stonewallsyd t1_izebst1 wrote

Reply to comment by ImaginaryRoads in Fyi, WHYY is out there canvassing. by WI_LFRED

Having worked for call centers before, I can guarantee you that person was sticking to the script. As much as it sucks and feels greedy and impersonal, that person was trying to preserve their own job there. I ended up quitting a call center job during the pandemic because our script had us asking for $2,000 right off the bat. Those jobs are horrendous and soul sucking.

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justanawkwardguy t1_izekmm1 wrote

I got written up when I worked for a call center because they had different asks for different groups, but I found that going with the lower ones across the board netted more donations.

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AhabMustDie t1_izg7qi6 wrote

That's exactly right — when I did canvassing, they drilled it into our heads that we were to STICK TO THE SCRIPT NO MATTER WHAT.

I cringed when someone agreed to give, and then I was supposed to say, "That's great — but we're asking people to give as generously as they can. Could you do [double that]?"

Having interacted with canvassers on the street since then, I think that approach is really misguided. I used to stop for them and be like, "Hey, I know how hard your job is! You're doing a great job!" But most of the time, they just keep barreling ahead, without seeming to notice what I just said. So yeah, I don't stop anymore.

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AlVic40117560_ t1_izg8dcb wrote

Well that sounds dramatic. I did a very similar call center job in college. The job definitely sucked, but I wouldn’t quite call it horrendous and soul sucking haha. I think you may have been taking a minimum wage job a little too seriously.

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stonewallsyd t1_izggs5o wrote

There’s lots of different call center jobs, I’ve worked at a few that sucked and a few that were fine.

Maybe it’s dramatic but I couldn’t bring myself to call people and ask them for thousands of dollars during a pandemic after hearing them tell me about their parents, husbands, and children dying from covid. The job wasn’t serious, the world was.

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