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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2014 9:11:14 GMT
Since the other thread is nicely ticking away I thought I would start another.
One thing that pisses me off is Charities that try and make me feel guilty. They enclose a pen, or a set of coasters, or something else just a bit too good to throw away.
I support a couple of charities and indeed worked for one for many years on a voluntary basis. Standing for hours with a collecting tin in the winter is not to be recommended.
But when I get Help The Aged sending me stuff, other than at my age offering support, and then some obscure charity such as The Institute for Destitute Prostitutes appealing to me I start to get bloody irritated.
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Post by jimshoo on Apr 2, 2014 9:42:19 GMT
What did the prostitutes send you Jon?
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Post by scorp on Apr 2, 2014 9:53:36 GMT
They sent him climbing the curtains I think... those letters are particularly annoying when they arrive just after the dustmen have been - it means the junk will be around the place for a whole week....
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2014 10:03:34 GMT
What did the prostitutes send you Jon? Some little blue tablets. I have no idea what they were. The dog ate them and then spent all night howling at the back door.
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Prue
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Post by Prue on Apr 2, 2014 10:10:27 GMT
"Destitute Prostitutes" sounds like a good name for a band, JJ. I agree about charities. The only "Suck you in to make you feel guilty" one I've experienced is some mob who sent me a packet of Christmas cards out of the blue, and rather than going to the trouble of returning them I used them and made a donation to the mob. Good cause and all that, but I still felt it was a bit pushy, and when a new batch of cards arrived the following year I did return them. The ones that piss me off more are the aggressive ones who approach you in the street and start a "friendly", chatty spiel about a particular deserving cause and then, if you say "Sorry, don't have any money on me" (as I invariably do, because I'm mostly on the street having slipped out of the office for a quiet smoke, so all I have with me is a ciggy lighter) assure you that if you you just slip them your bank account details they'll make all the arrangements for a regular debit to your account... I did get sucked in by one of these a few years ago - trolled back upstairs and came down again with my credit (debit actually, but same diff) card, and suddenly there I was, signed up for a year's worth of monthly withdrawals in favour of the Lost Dogs' Home in North Melbourne. Good cause, of course, so I wasn't that bothered about $10.00 a month. Then a while later I read in the paper about a company who specialise in this. The charity employs them to sign up donors and make all the arrangements. The sting is that for the first year the charity itself only gets about 20% (I think - it was certainly a very small percentage) of the money - the company collars the rest. And then of course the charity sends an email explaining that if you continue with your donation for a second and subsequent years, they'll then receive a much larger percentage. Despite the pictures of sweet fluffy kittens and sad-eyed dawgs in the monthly newsletters I received, I terminated the arrangement as soon as the first year (to which I'd committed) was up. I regularly buy the Big Issue, but these days that's as far as my charity extends. Charity's become a big greedy hog of a business, just like all the other big greedy hoggy businesses.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2014 10:25:09 GMT
I know that reputable charities have a damned difficult task in collecting money. After a stint of 4 hours with a collecting tin (you are not allowed to rattle it) and a sum total of maybe £60:00 you start to wonder. And you get to think that if only half those people coming out of say a supermarket where you are encamped gave you just 20p then you would need a much bigger tin.
I think the term for the professionals signing you up is Chuggers but could be wrong. They are nothing to do with the charity, they are doing a job, just the same as the person knocking on your door and trying to sell you brushes.
There are highly paid professionals working in one charity I used to work for and without doubt for all the others. However that is different. If you have a guy earning perhaps 60K the chances are he would get a lot more in industry, and it is likely that his efforts will raise many times that in donations.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2014 14:19:29 GMT
And another thing.
Call centres. Particularly those manned by unintelligible people with foreign accents no knowledge and a satellite echo on the line.
They might be cost effective for the companies but boy do they piss me off. This afternoon I had the displeasure of being forced to ring one - a query on my mobile phone.
If you are this press 1, that press 2 and so on.
We are very busy at the moment, thank you for your patience. My patience evaporated about 15 minute ago thank you.
In the end I asked Big Steve who works for me. He sorted it in about 2 minutes.
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Post by ARENA on Apr 2, 2014 14:50:16 GMT
I had two phone lines. One for calls,one for computer. 'No need to pay for two lines nowadays' FT assured me, we can put it all through one cable. 'Great', I said triumphantly. 'So, we cancel line 1234567' 'Ah, no, I muttered, thats the phone number,which everyone knows. I'd like to put it all through that and cancel 1234568, the computer line. Gallic sharp intake of breath. 'That is a problem but we can change it. However, you'll be without a line for about 6/8 hours while we alter the outside box' 'OK', I cooed, understandingly.
The scene moves six weeks on.I am phoning the help (less)line, for the 48th. time. Today however I have an understanding guy on the other end of the phone. After much soothing chat, he assures me he'll get on to it tomorrow, 'as it's a public holiday today'.
As I have no phone, this conversation is taking place on my neighbour's house phone.
'I didn't realise it was a public holiday today, Fyjal (he's Algerian)' 'It isn't,he assured me...after a pause ,hang on, it IS,in Algeria!' So while I had phoned Perigueux, some 15 miles away, I was having daily conversations with chaps and chapesses in bloody Algeria. Not much wonder they didn't know the local terrain!
After almost two months, I was back in communication with the outside world............
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Post by Deleted on Apr 5, 2014 11:24:28 GMT
Since we've moved the phone hardly rings, we no longer get calls from PPI, energy suppliers, window manufacturers, kitchen fitters and uncle Tom Cobbley and all. Its bliss. I'm wondering if it's because we are not listed in the phone book but aren't x directory either. We also don't have BT ring-back facility anymore as someone is usually in. I wonder if that makes a difference too?
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Post by ARENA on Apr 5, 2014 11:41:01 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2014 11:10:33 GMT
Having had a few sleepless nights lately I have on occasion got up made tea or something stronger and switched on the box.
And what has pissed me off for a long time is the plethora of online gambling ads. If the ads did not work they would not place them, so it follows that zillions of people are all sitting at home clicking buttons in an effort to be rich. Wall to wall play bingo, poker or something else, all of which will make you poorer and the particular betfair or whatever richer.
I know we can't put the clock back but how I wish we could. I am all for freedom but this particular bit of deregulation is in my view not very clever.
I would love to have a disclaimer written accross every second and every one of these ads, PLAYING THIS GAME WILL MAKE YOU POOR.
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Post by goldelox on Apr 22, 2014 13:06:17 GMT
I know ,it's disgraceful but then I suppose they can only waste so much money. If it wasn't this it would be horses and dogs!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2014 13:24:22 GMT
It always was horses and dogs Glox. The point I was making is it is now so easy whereas before you had to make SOME effort. Most people in the past did not have a bookies account so they either went to the betting shop (and before that under the counter to the newsagent) and put a bet on or actually went to the races or dog track. And yes, they could bet on many other things while they were in the betting shop.
The difference is that you can get a scratch card almost anywhere, and I have no doubt that the ones advertising on TV will be only too pleased to give you instant credit, backed up of course by your credit card details!
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Post by ARENA on Apr 22, 2014 14:30:07 GMT
Nearly everyone on game shows nowadays wants to win,so they can go to Las Vegas.
Mrs A and I would rather lose than be sent there!
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Post by scorp on Apr 23, 2014 8:09:51 GMT
I have friends, and an ex-wife who live in Vegas... good luck to 'em - I wouldn't want to!
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