On becoming a political telemarketer

[thatcrazycajun]

I just spent a couple of hours this evening working the phones for MoveOn.org's Atlanta call center, based in a local church basement and run by out-of-town organizers. They talked me into it last week when one of the organizers called me to ask if I would come in and help out. My job was, after about an hour's worth of orientation including round-robin introductions ("What's your name and what makes you angriest about the Bush/GOP regime?") and instructions, to call every number on a three-page list (about 45 numbers in all) and ask people to call likely Democratic voters in key Congressional districts for an hour each week up to the election, four hours over the last four days prior and two more hours on Election Day itself. MoveOn supplies the web interface, the phone numbers and 30-minute training sessions over the phone, plus a toll-free help line.

I had a great deal of trepidation about this. I still do. For one thing, I have a deep, abiding hatred of telemarketers, be they commercial ones or political/fundraising ones. I consider them intrusive, annoying and violative of privacy, and I hang up on them invariably. (Computer-dialed, prerecorded TM calls get an especially quick and hard slam-down of the receiver.) And I know many other people feel the same way. Thus, I have a serious philosophical objection to being part of a phone tree, even though I know this is a key tool the right has used for years to out-organize and out-mobilize our side in elections and we need to combat it. In addition, I am incredibly phobic about picking up the phone even to call family members or longtime friends except in direst emergency, so you can imagine the size of the butterflies in my gut at the prospect of being asked to spend two hours calling strangers. I do NOT like being yelled at.

My beloved Songbird argues that the other means of voter mobilization I vastly prefer—flyers and posters, print mailings (junk mail, yes, I know, but at least it doesn't interrupt your dinner), public events, letters to politicians and publications, e-mail and web-based efforts, and TV and radio time when money can be found for it—may not be as effective as good old-fashioned cold-calling. And it has become very damned important to me to not see the Democrats (again) blow their current golden opportunity to catch the Repulsive-cans with their polls down. And I knew that if Election Day came and the Dems failed to win back at least the House, I would feel like two tons of recycled shit if I hadn't done everything I possibly could to prevent it.

So, feeling I ought to at least go and see if I could do the bloody thing (or at a minimum, inquire if I could help in some other way), I screwed my courage to the ol' sticking place and drove down. After requesting a quiet room for my bum ears to catch the sound reliably, and then cadging a cell phone from an organizer after I discovered I'd forgotten mine at work, I gritted my teeth and set to.

The organizers said the average committed respondent to no-answer/wrong-number/disconnected/go-away respondents was about one "yes" per sheet of 15 numbers. This ratio proved to be about right and then some; lots of numbers simply had no answer at all or a voicemail message (the latter we were instructed to treat as "no answer" and not leave messages). I found I couldn't maintain a smile while talking, as they always tell you makes you sound better; I guess I was still feeling too scared and awkward. In the end, however, I got four people to commit to at least one hour of calls this week, and three of them to do it every week until Election Day.

When asked when I could come back, I told them same time next week. I am now debating whether to do it again or call them back and say I just can't do this again. What do y'all think? Am I wrong to object to bugging people in their home and fear that it may actually turn them off the group? Or is this just my own abject terror of that moment someone actually picks up and says, "Hello"?

Comments

[kitanzi.livejournal.com]

I don't know whether the calling is more helpful or counterproductive, but I do know that I am struck by the fact that you're doing something that actively scares you in order to put your money where your mouth is and try. Personally, I think that's impressive. (This may also explain why we've been getting a lot of hangup calls lately with no one speaking. We screen our calls and it goes to voicemail at least until we recognize the caller's voice if we don't recognize the number.)

[msminlr.livejournal.com]

I agree with kitanzi about the desensitization-therapy aspect of this project for you. For that alone I think you should do a couple more sessions of this. Would you be any more comfortable knocking on doors or buttonholing folks at the Farmers' Market to recruit campaign workers?

And, remember the Instant Attitudes shirt motto:
"Do not annoy filkers, for they are not at all subtle and people remember funny songs."
Maybe you can come up with a killer-ap campaign song.

[thatcrazycajun.livejournal.com]

I am even less comfortable with the notion of giving people a chance to yell in my face in person (as opposed to only in my ear from a distance). But I recognize that stepping outside one's personal comfort zone is sometimes a necessity and can even be good for you.

[thatcrazycajun.livejournal.com]

Thank you. As terrified as I am of cold calls to anyone, much less strangers, I am far more terrified of living under the kind of police-state, imperial-Presidency, gutted-Constitution America that Junior is busily setting up.

[osewalrus.livejournal.com]

I think it is a noble cause if you can psyche yourself up to do it.

[singing-phoenix.livejournal.com]

I am so proud of you! *Hug* I know how hard it is to step outside of your comfort zone, and I'm impressed by your willingness to do this despite your fears. Good for you!

I absolutely encourage you to have another go at it. I agree that you'll probably find the desensitization aspect personally helpful.

Better yet, when the elections are over, you can know that you took some personal action (beyond casting your own vote) to influence the outcome. I think many people feel frustrated by our political system and have lost a sense of ownership. Doing things like this is one way to try to reclaim the process.

And, as you correctly point out, the Right has been actively and effectively using telephone trees to get out the vote for years. It's time to put the shoe on the other foot.

Good luck!

BTW, my absentee ballot just arrived - hurray! - I plan to get it in the mail today, so it will get back in time.

*Hug*