My dear friends, I don’t know how to present this except as an embarrassment perpetrated by wherever you happen to be paying at any given time for any given product.
You get ready to settle up and all of a sudden you get asked if you would like to donate a dollar (it is a stated amount!) to some charity or another, and all of a sudden your whole transaction is brought to a sudden stop while you think about how much cash you have on hand, and where in the hell did this question come from?
For me, it has happened at a theatre (with my SO at my side) and at the drugstore (with no one except the person behind me waiting to hear my answer).
At work, we have colleagues who get into tough times, and I never, ever mind putting ol’ Abe into that manila envelope for them. We also have a general fund for hospice or scholarships, and I always allot a certain amount of money for these. Hell, I even have a slush fund in case it’s needed, and of course my family here is very important to me as well.
But I mean, damn! When did this asking for a dollar start? We’re not even rounding up anymore! It’s a set amount!
Anecdote Alert: Fund Raiser approaches your ol’ Uncle Quas’ to purchase a box of donuts for 2.50.
Quasi: Honey, I’m on a diet, but here’s a dollar, okay? Don’t need the donuts. Sell them to someone else…
We went to see a friend perform at a bar on Satruday. A guy came up to us, selling Jello shooters for $2 to raise money for a baseball team. Neither Sniffs_Markers nor I wanted a Jello shooter, but we gave the guy two bits each for the baseball team.
Guy: “Well, take the shooters.”
Us: “Don’t want 'em.”
Guy: “Take 'em. You have to.”
Us: “Nah. Don’t like 'em.”
Guy: “Take them. You have to take them. Here!”
Guy took two Jello shooters off his tray and left them on the bar. We passed them along to two a rowdy pair who were kinda hitting on us, then we told them to go away.
Note to straight guys: going to a lesbian bar to hit on a girl who is sitting with her girlfriend and has a “wedding band” on her finger will likely yield poor results.
I was at CVS Pharmacy the other day and was guilted into giving $1 for Lou Gehrig’s disease… I feel bad - I did it so the cashier wouldn’t think I was heartless… However, they did give me a heart to write my name on and post on the wall :rolleyes:
I’ve had this experience too. Once a little girl was selling gummy bears in ‘decorative tins’ outside a show for $5 and I really didn’t want either gummy bears or a decorative tin at the time, but she was fairly charming and whatever her cause was must have seemed just so I asked if I could just give her $5 and not take the tin. She said no. In a moment of genius I sneakily asked if I could buy the thing, give her the money, and then give her back the item she had just sold me. She said no. So I said screw it.
I say, “Thanks. I make large charitable donations regularly. If you’d provide me with written material on your charity, I’d be glad to consider donating.” It make cashiers roll their eyes, but hell, I don’t want them thinking I’m a tight-fisted deadbeat.
or you can do what they guy in front of me once did…
The cashier asked him if he wanted to donate $1.00 for some charity.
He was told that he would get a shamrock or something to put his name on and it owuld be hung for all to see.
Okay-deep breath-the thing is, when I was working at Kmart, I was threatened with being written up for insubordination, because I REFUSED to ask people if they wanted to donate to the March of Dimes, Give Kids the World, Greedy Guys on Dope etc charities.
I HATED, absolutely HATED putting people on the spot. It made me extremely uncomfortable. But if my manager was around, I had to do it.
So just say no thanks. Please, don’t get mad at the cashier.
I second that, I’ve been in those horrendous retail positions before. I never feel angry with the cashier, nor do I feel guilted. I mean, sure I’m polite, but I really don’t give a flying hoot what the cashier’s opinion of me might be, eh? I just say no thanks and go about my merry way.
Thanks, ** Guin **. I was dropping in to post pretty much the same thing.
I work at a store where there is ALWAYS some kind of money raising thing going on. I hate it. It’s everything from the March of Dimes to the Special Olympics, Children’s Miracle Network, etc. etc. We get put under a lot of pressure to sell these things. Every 5 minutes it’s “So, how many have you sold?” or, “Are we asking everyone if they want to donate?” blah dee blah.
It’s come to the point where we’re hitting people up for donations every time they walk in the damn door. Our store even has contests- the top three selling cashiers get assorted prizes(decent ones, too- tickets to Busch Gardens, $100 mall certificates, stuff like that).
So the whole point is, I know it’s a pain in the ass, but please don’t get angry or be snarky with the cashier- they’re just doing as they’re told. Just say “No thanks”. Most of us don’t think you’re cheap. Trust me.
