  Diehard Member Username: Diehard Post Number: 331 Registered: 03-2005 |
I was just walking down Lafayette when a guy approached me, said he was an intern at 89X flashed what looked like it could have been an 89X laminate. He said they were joining with the Detroit Science Center to raise money for the Children's Burn Center, and gave me some flyers from the Science Center, implying they were passes to IMAX movies (they weren't, just flyers). So I asked him what it's like interning in radio, and he actually talked a good game, saying he's getting his master's at Specs Howard and it's a cutthroat business, etc., like he really did work in radio or at least knew the biz. Anyway, all this time I'm waiting for the "gimme money" spiel, and of course he said "a penny, a nickel, a dime, anything helps, we're almost to our goal of $1,500." I said I don't carry cash on me, and I wouldn't give money out on the street anyway, and he said, "yeah, a lot of people are like that." So I asked, what's the website so I can make a credit card donation? That's when he started walking away and said "probably the burn center has one." I yelled at him, "dude, you gotta do better than that" as he was tapping on the window of a driver stopped at the light. Obviously a scammer, but the guy was a pretty good talker. Just wondering if anyone else saw him? | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 5312 Registered: 10-2003 |
quote: You cannot get a master's at Specs Howard. | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 1940 Registered: 07-2004 |
He's usually at the corner of Park and Elizabeth. Yeah, he's a scammer, but pretty friendly and harmless. | ||
Diehard Member Username: Diehard Post Number: 332 Registered: 03-2005 |
Johnlodge - That didn't even occur to me, but add that to the list of red flags. | ||
Rax Member Username: Rax Post Number: 142 Registered: 11-2007 |
He's just one of the many interesting street people you meet in a dense, urban environment. | ||
Diehard Member Username: Diehard Post Number: 333 Registered: 03-2005 |
Harmless? I had to wonder how much he collects from more trusting people who honestly think they're helping fund a children's burn center. I don't know if he spends the cash on rent or booze, but I wouldn't say that's entirely harmless. | ||
Lilpup Member Username: Lilpup Post Number: 3584 Registered: 06-2004 |
If you stop and think about the stories some street solicitors come up with the creativity is fairly impressive. | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 1941 Registered: 07-2004 |
I dunno, he's not THAT smooth. I didn't give him anything. He picks up fliers for local events and hands them out to people implying that these events somehow aid the "Burn Center." Then he puts the bite on you, ever so delicately. It took me all of two seconds to figure out he was just hustlin'. But, if you really object to it, kick his ass. He's kind of a big feller, though.  | ||
Rb336 Member Username: Rb336 Post Number: 5247 Registered: 02-2007 |
favorite line from a street person: Bet you a dollar I can tell you where you got your shoes! Answer: you got 'em on your feet! | ||
Rax Member Username: Rax Post Number: 143 Registered: 11-2007 |
Whoa. Now that's a sure fire way to get grifted. You know how to recognize if someone is a scammer? They stop to talk to you. | ||
Peter Member Username: Peter Post Number: 131 Registered: 02-2007 |
Rax- Downtown Detroit is an urban environment, but it's certainly not dense. | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 1943 Registered: 07-2004 |
Only the people are dense. | ||
Diehard Member Username: Diehard Post Number: 334 Registered: 03-2005 |
Yeah, I know by now that anyone who says "Scuse me miss" from 20 feet away is about to ask me for cash. Still bugs me when they try to act like it's for some children's charity, though. That's low. | ||
Bigjeff Member Username: Bigjeff Post Number: 155 Registered: 08-2006 |
The best line I ever heard from a street person, was while walking to a Tiger's game: "What's the greatest nation in the world?" "DONATION." Still gives me a chuckle every time I think of that! | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 5313 Registered: 10-2003 |
My friends and I were asked that one time. My goofy friend responded "Urination?" | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 1944 Registered: 07-2004 |
What's the best city in the world? Genero-CITY! | ||
Rax Member Username: Rax Post Number: 144 Registered: 11-2007 |
Is that near Akron? | ||
Deteamster Member Username: Deteamster Post Number: 86 Registered: 07-2007 |
Know what would be really novel, clever, and innovative? Getting a job and not cussing me out when I politely decline to give you what little hard-earned money I have. Sure they're part of living in the city...doesn't mean I have to like 'em, though! | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 1946 Registered: 07-2004 |
Well, if you feel that way about it, set them on fire or something. ;) | ||
Detroitstar Member Username: Detroitstar Post Number: 977 Registered: 01-2006 |
There was a guy on Jefferson a few weeks back near Chene who approached me and said "sir, you look like a good guy. I'm not gonna lie, I am looking for some booze money." Well, since I was headed in to grab some for myself I picked him up a 24ozer. At least th guy was honest, which gets farther with me than the scam guys. | ||
Oldredfordette Member Username: Oldredfordette Post Number: 3984 Registered: 02-2004 |
Passing by a Famous Ray's in NYC one time, a guy asked us for money for the United Negro Pizza Fund. | ||
Downriviera Member Username: Downriviera Post Number: 39 Registered: 02-2008 |
I gave to the United Negro Pizza Fund....because the mind is a terrible thing, and must be stopped in our iifetime. | ||
Mrsjdaniels Member Username: Mrsjdaniels Post Number: 451 Registered: 08-2005 |
pizza fund,... i love it! but that was the first thing i thought too - Masters? I didn't even think you could get an Associates...its a trade school that has a program from what I thought | ||
Thnk2mch Member Username: Thnk2mch Post Number: 1096 Registered: 02-2006 |
There is not a "degree" from Specs. You receive a certificate, and "x" amount of credits can be applied to a degree at a number of community colleges. | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 1947 Registered: 07-2004 |
I had one guy tell me he was in the army. I asked him which branch. He told me "Air Force Airborne." | ||
Amgasper01 Member Username: Amgasper01 Post Number: 2 Registered: 02-2008 |
Has anyone ever ran into the lady that carries a clipboard and says she's collecting money for a new women's shelter? This lady doesn't even try to look professional. I usually see her around Campus Martius. | ||
Sandyrabbit Member Username: Sandyrabbit Post Number: 2 Registered: 02-2008 |
this one guy in a wheelchair, said. hey, gimmie a cigarette, i ain't got no feet. and ya know..he didn't. my friend gave him the rest of his pack. usually with me, if their honest i help, but to tell ya truth as soon as someone starts walking up on me i hold my hand up and say stay right where you are. you do not know me, therefore you do not talk to me in the street. i used to give and give. and then i realized one day in my mid 20's if i keep giving and giving, what am i going to eat? selfish? no clue...work really hard for my money though, always have, and probably always will have to. now don't get me wrong i wouldn't trade places with them for a moment. we all have our woes. i suppose in many cases, options are limited. but i know of at least 6 soup in kitchens in the area. i used to give my time to one. so i wouldnt feel so bad using their services when i was myself was going through a hard time. and thats what we have to remember, none of us know when the world will drop from beneath our feet. constant contradictions eh? can't help it. thats kinda what life is. | ||
Diehard Member Username: Diehard Post Number: 337 Registered: 03-2005 |
I agree that some people have it bad and need help. And yeah, they can be amusing with their approaches. What I have a real problem with is people "taking donations" for what they present as a legitimate charity, like the Children's Burn Center or a women's shelter. And of course, the ONLY way you can "donate" is by handing that person cash, right then and there. No business card, no website, no literature - just some tacky homemade laminate thing hanging around their neck, and the ludicrous idea that your cold hard cash given on the street to a stranger will indeed go to that charity. The same goes for the church members with plastic pails hitting up drivers at stoplights, the guy selling M&Ms at the offramp for "the kids' basketball team," etc. I know, maybe I'm getting too worked up over this supposedly harmless guy, and of course I would never fall for it. I'm kind of glad I wasted so much of his time. But I've seen children who've been badly burned, and the idea that these scumbags would exploit their very real need for medical care - yes, it angers me. | ||
Deteamster Member Username: Deteamster Post Number: 88 Registered: 07-2007 |
"Has anyone ever ran into the lady that carries a clipboard and says she's collecting money for a new women's shelter? This lady doesn't even try to look professional. I usually see her around Campus Martius." I hate that bitch. She's been walking around the Corridor for years. Saw her smoking crack one time, no joke. Since she's a crackhead and all she doesn't seem to remember me, but she used to give me the same shpiel all the time. I'd ask for a website, an address, a business card, anything...because I write checks so I can deduct it from my taxes...oh they're still working on that. Exploiting the idea of battered women so you can smoke crack? There are few lengths that bums won't go to. | ||
Flyingj Member Username: Flyingj Post Number: 94 Registered: 08-2006 |
All these people do s make you cynical. There was a thread here about out-of-shape purported fighting men & woman who need gas money "or they'll be AWOL". We had a woman standing in the rainy gas station in Vallejo this morning waving a creditcard at customers saying we just need to give our gasmoney to her so she can get a motel room. All the way down to L.A. my brother was trying to figure "How is that supposed to work-couldn't she just use the credit card at the motel?" He would always buy a .99 burger for bums with "HUNGRY NEED $ FOR FOOD" until he got one too many flinging Jumbo Jacks at his head while cursing him out. I'd razzed a friend who gave $6 to a down-on-his-luck "Canadian tourist"(jerking a thumb over his shoulder while talking a million miles a minute how "My family's stuck @ the Best Western where my car is broken down & nobody's friendly here!") in Old Town San Diego. I marched her over to the Best Western after dinner to where the desk clerk rolled his eyes and goes "that guy or his car has never been here, and I've never seen his family!" I guess a down-and-out Canadian would be a novelty so close to Mexico. I always get the older fat ladies outside of the supermarket who always want "peanut butter for my keeds". There was a guy in downtown Frisco this weekend with the "United Negro Pizza Fund" sign, on Sunday he switched to "WIFE KIDNAPPED BY SPACE ALIENS NEED $1.00 FOR RANSOM". | ||
Upinthewoods Member Username: Upinthewoods Post Number: 24 Registered: 12-2007 |
There used to be a guy at 8/I-75 that had a it's cold/hot I need a beer! I made his day once by giving him a cold 6 out of trunk, 5 cigs, and I emptied all the "bugs" out of my ashtray and gave those also. The reason? at least he was honest. On top of that I have also been hot and wanted a beer. 1st rule of sales- it helps if your client/mark can identify with/relate to you. | ||
Rjk Member Username: Rjk Post Number: 1058 Registered: 11-2003 |
This past summer a guy pulled the same scam on me at a Mc D's on Gratiot. He said that he was somehow connected to Drew and Mike (WRIF) and was raising money for some charity. I do remember getting an IMAX flier among the crap that he gave me. | ||
Gertrude Member Username: Gertrude Post Number: 34 Registered: 05-2005 |
The lady with the clipboard? The one time I decided to eat at the Wayne Student Center, she hit me up. As of November, they were still working on that website. | ||
Philm Member Username: Philm Post Number: 45 Registered: 03-2005 |
true story: headed to a pub in Santa Monica called the Kings Head, one of our party asked a passing wino if he knew where it was. His reply: "On his shoulders, I presume" | ||
Diehard Member Username: Diehard Post Number: 345 Registered: 03-2005 |
Rjk, that's gotta be the same guy. Yesterday's scammer gave me IMAX flyers and some hip-hop event postcard and said they were fund-raisers for the "Children's Burn Center." Only he worked for 89x and WJLB. I'm not going to be not quite so polite next time I see him. I got hit up this morning at the Burger King drive-thru. The dude was lurking there ready to pounce, and interrupted me when I was ordering, and it just pissed me off to no end, since the Salvation Army is less than a block away (and the Happy Party Store is even closer! What a coincidence!) I told the worker at the window that they should do something about that panhandler bugging people by the menu. I hope they did. | ||
Otter Member Username: Otter Post Number: 23 Registered: 12-2007 |
I met the clipboard lady at Eastern Market once this past summer. I've heard the same stories in the last couple of years in Detroit (usually the ones involving coming down here for a conference and needing bus fare to get back home) that I heard 10-15 years ago in college in Atlanta. Come on guys, make up some new BS! | ||
Terryh Member Username: Terryh Post Number: 701 Registered: 11-2006 |
Back in 98 I was downtown when I ran into a guy I knew from the SOS homeless shelter-different church every week etc. program: it was late at night by the FOX, I took the bus down and was walking around when off in the distance I noticed him and his partner walking toward me with my old aquaintance getting ready to hustle me when out of the blue he remembered me and treated me to some food at Lafayette coney Island from a $20 bill he had recieved earlier in the night. | ||
Downriviera Member Username: Downriviera Post Number: 48 Registered: 02-2008 |
Whenever my friends and I are approached, we start arguing loudly amongst ourselves, they always walk away. | ||
Lefty2 Member Username: Lefty2 Post Number: 1266 Registered: 07-2007 |
Philm - I miss that place, use to frequent it often when I lived in SM. Game of darts then Fish n chips and a pint of Boddington's and good chatter. If you are homeless, you can't beat a place like SM to reside, eh. | ||
Sludgedaddy Member Username: Sludgedaddy Post Number: 9 Registered: 01-2008 |
I was approached once by one of those panhandlers with those little American flags on toothpicks that hand you a card that reads "I am a deaf mute, give what you can". I purchased the flag for a buck and kept the deaf mute card. I still have the card in my wallet and when approached by a panhandler, I take it out, show it to him or her, smile and then stick out my hand. Quite the investment. Another method that works when running the gauntlet of bums in Greektown: point at the sky and say in a very loud voice "It's a madhouse...a f...cking madhouse" or "Look she's not wearing panties". Works like parting the Red Sea. Another way to deal with unwanted solicitations is to carry packets of those ten for a dollar vegetable seeds from the dollar store. Hand some to the bum and say "Get to work, time's a wastin'". ...now if someone is collecting for a home for syphilitic nuns or Icelandic lepers, I might be more charitable. | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 6361 Registered: 08-2004 |
I find that starting to talk loudly in German and flailing my arms about usually does the trick... Recently I was at a BP gas station on Ford Rd./Wyoming in Dearborn. As I got out of my car a fellow was calling at me from his car window. I thought to myself "here we go again...", so I ignored him. Then when I got to the gas station door, I found it was locked. The other guy in the car was merely trying to warn me of that fact. So the next nearest station was about a block away, and I saw that guy pulling in there as well. I got out of my car and went over to him to apologize that I thought he was trying to panhandle me. He laughed, and said that he thought I might have been hard of hearing, and complained about being panhandled often himself, and he fully understood my ignoring him. | ||
Otter Member Username: Otter Post Number: 24 Registered: 12-2007 |
Lefty2 and/or Philm, Would you be so kind as to email me? I have a few questions for y'all about SM. barutakid@yahoo.com | ||
Rhymeswithrawk Member Username: Rhymeswithrawk Post Number: 1146 Registered: 11-2005 |
I choose not to hand out money, but I'm polite about it. Some of these comments are rather mean-spirited. Yes, panhandlers can be annoying, but just remember that as our economy continues to shed jobs left and right, not everyone who seeks a handout is a drug addict looking to score a fix or booze. | ||
Yeti Member Username: Yeti Post Number: 47 Registered: 09-2007 |
The Eat 'Em Up tigers guy is the Real Scammer. He's really a White Sox Fan. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =fv6MkdCMDn4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =xByjnGLkI5A&feature=related | ||
Livernoisyard Member Username: Livernoisyard Post Number: 5424 Registered: 10-2004 |
quote:How soon was it that the door was locked? Perhaps, the operators there mistook you for a panhandler... | ||
Mrsjdaniels Member Username: Mrsjdaniels Post Number: 478 Registered: 08-2005 |
eat em up tigers guy exposed! | ||
Oilcan_harry Member Username: Oilcan_harry Post Number: 22 Registered: 08-2006 |
A guy in a shopping center parking lot approached me saying he needed money to take a bus to Louisville for his mother's surgery. I politely declined. 6 years later, the SAME guy approached me in the SAME parking lot, with the exact SAME story. I replied that he had asked me before and in the 6 years since he could have walked to Louisville about 80 times by now, and how stunned I was they would delay that surgery so long waiting on him. As he walked off grumbling I advised he'd do well to come up with a new story or maybe a series of stories to select from at random. I even offered to make up some for him. He wasn't interested. |
