I feel harassed by the Salvation Army.

[Scout1071]

I'm sorry folks, but I have to confess that I despise the bell ringers. I'm so irritated by their presence at every single grocery and retail store, incessantly ringing their damn bells. It does not put me in the giving mood.


Don't get me wrong, I enjoy giving when I'm able, but do the bell ringers have to be outside of every single store for almost 2 months straight? And why do they stand by the entrance rather than the exit? Wouldn't people have more change as they leave?

[Dangerously Amused]

1. They are usually at only one door. So enter and exit via the other one.

[Scout1071]

2. The sound of the bell doesn't care whether you use one door or

the other....

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

4. At one of the Wal-marts here in my city ,

they were at both entrance ways .

[Dangerously Amused]

7. Maybe a good reason to avoid Walmart? n/t

[NMMNG]

3. I don't mind the SA so much

They just stand there and ring their bell, without actually approaching people. What I hate are those organizations that approach you and ask you to buy something or donate. Then you either feel pressured into giving/buying or feel guilty saying no. I know I shouldn't feel guilty for saying no, but I still do sometimes.

[China_cat]

5. I don't know how it is other places

but the SA here puts ads in the papers for bell ringers...they HIRE these nuisances, not recruit them from their members. I might be more willing to tolerate them if they didn't.

[Left_Winger]

6. It kind of gives them a sense of phoniness that they are hired

and not genuine members of the SA.

[hfojvt]

9. even places where they do hire

most of the people doing it are volunteers. As soon as I got some free time, after I closed my business, I started volunteering to do it. I play my trumpet instead of ringing the bells. More Christmas music maybe, but at least a live performance. Unfortunately, it is about the only time all year that I play so I can only do about three 15 minutes sets in a four hour shift. But that is just as well too, since I do not have that many Christmas songs memorized. I tried to do something different, juggling sleigh bells, but they did not make enough noise and it was also distracting with all of the people and cars going by.

My two favorite stories are 1) when my brother was hung-over and working at Kmart, he paid the guy $5 to STOP ringing the bell for 15 minutes, and 2) I saw this guy I work with going into the store. I knew him as a rich guy, he owns a bunch of apartments. He marched right by, refusing to even look at me. It would just kill him to put even a quarter in that kettle, so much that he could not even look to recognize somebody he knew there.

[CatBoreal]

8. I thought they hired the homeless.

:shrug:

[China_cat]

11. Not unless the homeless have enough to get

a newspaper and to the center where they do the hiring.

[hfojvt]

10. scout, you are almost close enough

to have been harrassed by me. I was at Bonner Springs two years ago. See my other post.

[GirlinContempt]

12. Why does it bother you?

[cwydro]

13. well one thing is true

for me this year...I will not pass one of their pots without putting a buck in it. After Wilma down here this year and Georges some years ago, the SA were the first ones out in our neighborhood. And they also made a point of going into the poorest neighborhoods to give out food, etc. Yeah, those bells may be annoying, but think of them as jingle bells and please know that those affected by disaster this year are happy to hear those bells. And no one tried to "convert" me.