You know those people that stand in front of stores, and as you leave or enter ask "do you have a moment for [insert cau

[OWC Jamie]

I can look them straight in the eye with absolutely no response, as if they are Martians speaking a non-earthly language..

[cbelt3]

Stay disengaged.
Don't make eye contact.
Eat soap before going out of the door. Foam at the mouth.
Feign mental illness, or allow your true mental illness out to play for a while.
Counter with extensive nosy personal questions.
Stop and tell a long story about the problems you've had with your prostate / menopause.
Speak a made-up foreign language (bonus points if you use the one invented by Andy Kaufman in "Taxi".)
Shrug and point to your ears as if deaf. (Warning- many people can use ASL, especially the young liberal arts students most likely doing this kind of work.)
Calmly say "no" and walk away.
Lean FAR into their 'personal space' and say "What's in it for me ?"
Sneak out the back door of the shop to avoid them.
Scream "Don't tase me Bro !" and run away from them flailing your arms.

[3d]

No need to be a jerk about it with a "creative" answer. A simple, no thanks, is all that is needed. They do this all day long. They don't take it personally.

[AlphaDog]

I'm with BernDog. Since the odds favor them not being what they're claiming to be, I figure they started the "jerk" stuff before I came along. I absolutely do not have time to stand around talking to jerks on any subject, at any time, or in any place. If I want to talk to a jerk, I know where I can go to do it while sitting down indoors.

[Yoyodyne ArtWorks]

Personally I WANT to discourage people from engaging in this line of work. It's intrusive, unwelcome and as Mavic points out, often fundamentally deceptive as to the financial goals it hopes to achieve.

[Michael]

"No thanks" and keep walking. Same thing I do when I get a phone call for a survey or some such thing.

[M A V I C]

3d wrote:
No need to be a jerk about it with a "creative" answer. A simple, no thanks, is all that is needed. They do this all day long. They don't take it personally.

So my issue with just saying "no" is that I just said "no" to the question of "do you have a minute for the environment?" The answer is actually yes, but that doesn't mean I want to talk to them about it.

I want to say "Yes, but that doesn't somehow mean I want to talk to you. You've already shown disrespect by asking a loaded question."

And when they come door knocking, I ask if they're getting paid. They say no, then I ask something like "so how does it feel to be giving your time for free to a company that's making a profit off of your beliefs and your time? Do you feel good about walking around trying to get people to give money to a for-profit company by telling them it's a non-profit? Have you ever wondered why donations this so-called 'non-profit' are not tax deductible?"

[BernDog]

AlphaDog wrote:
I'm with BernDog. Since the odds favor them not being what they're claiming to be, I figure they started the "jerk" stuff before I came along. I absolutely do not have time to stand around talking to jerks on any subject, at any time, or in any place. If I want to talk to a jerk, I know where I can go to do it while sitting down indoors.

So, you talk to yourself a lot, do you? :ohsnap:

[mattkime]

This how we deal with it in new york.

GGD wrote:
Don't make eye contact, say nothing, keep walking.

[N-OS X-tasy!]

Michael wrote:
"No thanks" and keep walking. Same thing I do when I get a phone call for a survey or some such thing.

That's what I do when they ask for my receipt after I've made a purchase at Fry's.