Just got contacted by phone by Americans for Prosperity caller,,,,,

[DavidL]

19. We disagree, but I have been there!

in 1990, I worked for one of the first "push polling" places in Southern California, FOR FIVE DAYS!

We were taught a script, we could vary it here and there, but we had to complete each call in 9 minutes.

We could be nice and friendly to people who pledged $20 or more, we had to hang up when the person that we had called showed any signs of aggression, hostility, disrespect, or indicated in ANY way that continuing the call would be a waste of time. I hung up several calls within the first minute, and went on to the next sucker, asking them 8-10 questions and then asking them for $20. A couple of times in that week, I got $50 from the person I called. Never got $100. We called to make you feel like we wanted to know your opinion, and then put our hands on your wallet, nothing more, nothing less. We didn't care what you thought, we wanted to know if you'd give us money.

We got $6.something an hour, and bonuses for over $200 a day in contributions to our candidate. We worked a split shift, 9AM to 1 PM, 4PM to 9PM, yes 9 hours a day. Weekends were different but I quit on Friday.

Over 100 calls each day were a waste of time, both for me and the person I called. (I apologize now for waking people up from naps, or home sick from work.) I think I made quota one day, after about 120 calls that day, in nine hours. Lunch and dinner could only be eaten in break rooms, no food or drink on the "call floor" where we were 5-8 feet away from the next call guy/gal, and were being watched and random call monitored every minute.

Don't waste these poor folks' time. I was poor, had no job, no income, a $500 rent, and a car to get to and from work and gas was $1 a gallon, even then in S. Cal. I think I took home a total of $218 for all those 4.5 days of work before I just quit, had enough of being yelled at.

I got a job the next week waiting tables at a breakfast place, $3 an hour plus tips, made $440 the first week.