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Street Canvassers

What do you do?

Stop and hear out their spiel. We all deserve an audience. They're looking to do good.	0 votes
Hear them out, but only the adorable spunky one with the nice teeth.	0 votes
Respond to the "Do have a moment to...?" with a hurried, "I'm sorry, no."	10 votes
Avoid eye-contact. Pretend you neither see nor hear them, even if they block the sidewalk in front of you.	8 votes
Cross the sidewalk to avoid them entirely. If they are on both sides, go around the block if necessary.	1 votes

Edgy DC Nov 29 2007 10:05 AM

Minding your own business, taking a mid-day walk to pick up some lunch, then you spot a small pack of young adults with matching windbreakers and armed with clipboards approaching other noontime pedestrians.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Nov 29 2007 10:22 AM

I chose option 4 -- avoid eye contact, keep walking. And I'll add, put your hands in your pockets, grab a cell phone or your walkman or your newspaper, something that will occupy your hands so they can;t handbill you as you plow by.

soupcan Nov 29 2007 10:34 AM

Usually I'm option #3, but if the cute, perky one gets me I'm a sucker.

Nymr83 Nov 29 2007 10:37 AM

i picked avoid eye contact, but you left out my usual choice- tell them to fuck off.

Benjamin Grimm Nov 29 2007 10:45 AM

soupcan wrote: Usually I'm option #3, but if the cute, perky one gets me I'm a sucker. Yeah, me too. One time I actually had a beautiful woman massage my scalp at the mall while my bemused young son watched. ="Nymr83"]i picked avoid eye contact, but you left out my usual choice- tell them to fuck off. Now, that's not at all nice.

Nymr83 Nov 29 2007 10:54 AM

what i'd really like to do is lower my shoulder and walk through them when they step infront of me, that'll teach them to get out of the way.

soupcan Nov 29 2007 11:01 AM

Namor's a tough guy.

Valadius Nov 29 2007 11:02 AM

I have to deal with them all the time, as they're always standing outside the Metro station by GW Hospital that I have to walk by to get from my apartment to campus. I usually avoid eye contact, unless it's the crazy LaRouche-ites, in which case I yell "Cult!" as I pass them.

Edgy DC Nov 29 2007 11:12 AM

I've moved from "Indulge the Cutey Pie" to "Circle the Block" over the last year. Cutey Pie is going to drag you straight to hell and make you thank her for the trip.

Rockin' Doc Nov 29 2007 11:29 AM

Seldom a problem for those of us living in smaller cities. When I do run into panhandlers, survey seekers, and the like, I generally tell them "No thank you" as I keep walking.

soupcan Nov 29 2007 12:33 PM

Edgy DC wrote: I've moved from "Indulge the Cutey Pie" to "Circle the Block" over the last year. Cutey Pie is going to drag you straight to hell and make you thank her for the trip. You know you have issues, right?

seawolf17 Nov 29 2007 12:33 PM

I find a swift kick to the gonads does wonders for these folks.

Edgy DC Nov 29 2007 12:42 PM

Soup owns to number two, but number two remains unchecked.

soupcan Nov 29 2007 12:50 PM

No, I clicked 3 with a proviso - which upon further reflection would be #2. Sorry.

Nymr83 Nov 29 2007 12:57 PM

seawolf17 wrote: I find a swift kick to the gonads does wonders for these folks. now we're talking.

cooby Nov 29 2007 06:34 PM

Pop Warner cheerleaders, Pomba Momba twirlette teams, Twinkle-Toes-Wannabe Dancers, etc etc, make me gag. I blow 'em off. Sometimes obviously. Last year, coming out of Kmart, there were a couple of cold teenage kids with homemade cups standing there collecting. They never said a word, but were silently making their pleas. I got the whole way out to the car and turned around and walked back to see what their cups said and they were collecting for a young boy that had been burned badly while saving a little neighbor kid from running into a backyard fire. I gave them $20. If you're talking about survey seekers I guess I'm lucky enough to live somewhere where they don't care about our opinions.

Kid Carsey Nov 29 2007 06:50 PM

I took avoid eye contact, ignore ignore ignore. If we do door to door salespeople next, I have an amusing story of me and a girl selling magazine subscriptions back when I was nuhnuhnuhnineteen.

themetfairy Nov 29 2007 07:45 PM

Kid Carsey wrote: If we do door to door salespeople next, I have an amusing story of me and a girl selling magazine subscriptions back when I was nuhnuhnuhnineteen. It sounds like the setup for a risque tale. As for the question at hand, I find that saying "No, thank you" without breaking stride works well.

Edgy DC Nov 29 2007 09:10 PM

cooby wrote: If you're talking about survey seekers I guess I'm lucky enough to live somewhere where they don't care about our opinions. The national pollsters love Pennsylvania during presidential time.

Gwreck Nov 29 2007 10:00 PM

I really try to do #4 but it didn't work most recently -- in DC of all places -- because I was stuck waiting for a friend outside the arena and couldn't go elsewhere. I forget what worthy cause the guy was there for but it was clear he was trying to take advantage of the fact that there were a few hundred people waiting around in line for the show. When absolutely stuck, I usually resort to asking for some literature or a website address where I can get more info and donate. Will absolutely never give money if approached on the street. Tried it with this guy and he got *really* pissed. I guess he thought I was questioning his veracity, he starts trying to tell me that he's legit, here's his ID, etc. Almost funny, in a pathetic sort of way. Just terribly awkward, I sort of turned away but didn't have anywhere to go, he didn't know what to do and walked away to the next unsuspecting person in line. Surveys, on the other hand? Always. Especially the telephone ones. Love 'em.