On Sunday, July 26, OFA did both a canvass and a phone bank for the President's three health care reform principles in West Chester, PA.
The turnout, though small, was better than what we had expected based on sign-ups on the website. Three people stayed in the office to phone bank and two went out for the canvass. Both had their challenges.
The phone bankers, even before starting, noticed that there were no phone numbers on some of their printout pages. That makes phone banking difficult.
More on Phone Banking and Canvassing
Fortunately, there were enough complete pages to keep everyone working the whole time. The phone bankers, upon calling, found numerous out of date phone numbers and the to-be-expected no answers. (Even those two outcomes provide us with useful information: we can update our list and find better times to call.) Nonetheless, by the time the shift ended, they had made the calls, gotten the declarations, and even recruited some new volunteers. The number of hostile “No’s” was in single digits.
The canvassers had their own burdens.
The walk list sent them along a busy retail street with apartments above the businesses. That part of West Chester is undergoing lots of renovations. Very often, the apartments--and indeed entire buildings--were vacant. The names on the doorbells or mailboxes seldom matched those on the walk list. So the number of successful contacts was small. But those who did sign the declaration did so enthusiastically. One man, in a voice exactly like Louis Armstrong, said, “I’ll sign,” as soon as he heard that the effort was for the President’s health care reform principles. And another volunteer stepped forward.
So what did we learn about keeping spirits up even when the results are disappointing?
* Despite what we’ve been told, not everyone has a cell phone.
* A neighborhood under a mass rebuilding effort may not be the best place to start a canvass.
* Keep in mind the big picture. Sunday was slack, but we have had other days that were too busy to keep up with. And we will again.
What has been your experience with slack days on the phone bank or canvass? Please leave a comment.
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