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Sep. 27th, 2004 07:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elizillaLast Thursday gets its own post since it was an interesting evening.
I went to the Ypsilanti Democratic Party office, and spent an hour on their phone bank.
My task was to call people and try to persuade them to come in to the office and volunteer. The guy in charge, Trey, said that the important thing was to be real and genuine. I didn't have to be an annoying automaton reading a script, and I didn't have to ask for money. I just had to ask these people if they would be willing to volunteer some of their time. Half the people were not home, but of the dozen or so I talked to, about half agreed to come in and volunteer. And even the ones who did not agree to do it, were mostly friendly. In fact most of the refusers seemed more concerned with making excuses, like they were afraid I would think they were lame for saying no.
I was pretty nervous about the idea since I loathe telemarketing strangers who call during dinner and ask you for money. Fortunately I didn't have to ask for money, and the people we called were well chosen. I'm not sure how they came up with the names on the list but I suspect they choose them carefully to avoid anyone who would react badly, whenever possible. I suspect the main goal of this exercise was to get people involved. If someone takes the time to come out and volunteer, even if only for an hour, they are more likely to go to the polls and vote, but if they have a bad experience making the calls it could turn them off. Convince all of us dilettantes to call each other, and both the callers and the callees will be more likely to vote, and who knows, maybe some will jump in for some more serious involvement.
After I finished my stint on the phones, I went over to my friend Pete's new cafe. He just opened two weeks ago and this was my first visit. The cafe is called Bombadill's. It is next door to the old library. He's been working on the place for a year now, completely gutting it and remodeling it inside. It's really nice! While I was there a number of people came in, and Pete was very charming to them. They all left with smiles on their faces. Pete says he hasn't done any advertising yet, that it's all been word of mouth. The cafe has the usual coffee things, and the fancy tortes and muffins and whatnot. I don't drink coffee, but I had some kind of Italian soda drink the Pete recommended and mixed for me, and a piece of seven layer white chocolate rasberry cake, and both were excellent. The prices were reasonable. Plus they have wireless internet and plenty of space. On the other hand, Main Street in Ypsi isn't much of a pedestrian destination. On the other other hand, he's right across from the EMU school of business, a lot of people live within easy walking distance of the cafe, and he's got no competitors down there. I hope he makes a go of it! If anyone can do it, Pete can.
I went to the Ypsilanti Democratic Party office, and spent an hour on their phone bank.
My task was to call people and try to persuade them to come in to the office and volunteer. The guy in charge, Trey, said that the important thing was to be real and genuine. I didn't have to be an annoying automaton reading a script, and I didn't have to ask for money. I just had to ask these people if they would be willing to volunteer some of their time. Half the people were not home, but of the dozen or so I talked to, about half agreed to come in and volunteer. And even the ones who did not agree to do it, were mostly friendly. In fact most of the refusers seemed more concerned with making excuses, like they were afraid I would think they were lame for saying no.
I was pretty nervous about the idea since I loathe telemarketing strangers who call during dinner and ask you for money. Fortunately I didn't have to ask for money, and the people we called were well chosen. I'm not sure how they came up with the names on the list but I suspect they choose them carefully to avoid anyone who would react badly, whenever possible. I suspect the main goal of this exercise was to get people involved. If someone takes the time to come out and volunteer, even if only for an hour, they are more likely to go to the polls and vote, but if they have a bad experience making the calls it could turn them off. Convince all of us dilettantes to call each other, and both the callers and the callees will be more likely to vote, and who knows, maybe some will jump in for some more serious involvement.
After I finished my stint on the phones, I went over to my friend Pete's new cafe. He just opened two weeks ago and this was my first visit. The cafe is called Bombadill's. It is next door to the old library. He's been working on the place for a year now, completely gutting it and remodeling it inside. It's really nice! While I was there a number of people came in, and Pete was very charming to them. They all left with smiles on their faces. Pete says he hasn't done any advertising yet, that it's all been word of mouth. The cafe has the usual coffee things, and the fancy tortes and muffins and whatnot. I don't drink coffee, but I had some kind of Italian soda drink the Pete recommended and mixed for me, and a piece of seven layer white chocolate rasberry cake, and both were excellent. The prices were reasonable. Plus they have wireless internet and plenty of space. On the other hand, Main Street in Ypsi isn't much of a pedestrian destination. On the other other hand, he's right across from the EMU school of business, a lot of people live within easy walking distance of the cafe, and he's got no competitors down there. I hope he makes a go of it! If anyone can do it, Pete can.
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Date: 2004-09-28 05:54 pm (UTC)Is it near the U in downtown Ypsi? I hope it becomes a much needed hang out and will mention it as a place to check out to my few EMU connections. Wish him luck!