Was Your Field Service Report Accurate?

by minimus 33 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Gordy

  Only in my early days as a JW.

  Then I learned that most did not put accurate reports in.

  The number of times I have heard an Elder say to someone, usually an elderly sister who had forgotten to put in a report "Just put a couple of hours down.".

  Times I have emptied the report slip box for the Service Overseer and seen what some brothers and sisters reported. I've thought "Theres no way you did that many hours." Or the brother who puts down he placed 20 magazines, when I know he only picks up 4 from the magazine room. Or the brother who turns up for field service and goes after about 20 mins "to make calls" but reports that he did 15-20 hours. The brother who when leaving to go on service calls on a house near his home. Then drives 15 mins to the territory his group is meeting at, does about 20 -30 mins leaves, calls on another house near his home. Then claims he did an hour field service.

  Then there was the brother who was consistently placing 80-100 magazines a month. Held up to be a wonderful example. Then it was discovered that all he was doing was posting the magazines through peoples doors. He never spoke to a single person.

  I have been told how pioneers even made false reports. The pioneer brother who would go off on service for 3 days a week. But was discovered to have been going to a job he had.

  There have been so many ways that ex-JW's have told me how they got round reporting service.

  It makes you wonder just how accurate are the published reports.
• 

  oompa

  Im pretty sloppy and kind od ADD so I just gave it my best guess each month,......didnt try hard to get it right....oompa
• 

  skeeter1

  I was so bad, that I put in the time it took me to get to the field service meeting as part of my hours in service......after all, I was mentally preparing.
• 

  NewYork44M

  The field service report is a form of coercive control that elders have over the r&f. It has nothing to do with productivity in the field service.

  A natural reaction is to mitigate the coercive lock the elders have. The easiest way to do this is to add a few hours. Everyone wins.
• 

  mkr32208

  I lied whenever I felt like it. Never bothered me I always figured the big J had more to worry about than what I put on a piece of paper I mean he KNEW how many hours I had so what did he care.

  Interestingly I found out that for almost two YEARS after I faded they were putting me down for 10 hours a month.

  When G was a pioneer she used to stress so badly about getting her hours that she would get sick... Not me, I would have simply lied about it... Who are they and what truth do they deserve? Is it even really LYING to tell them whatever you feel like?
• 

  John Doe

  Is it even really LYING to tell them whatever you feel like?

  Yes, saying something as true that you know to be untrue is lying. Otherwise, how would you define it? I don't have much respect for liars.
• 

  outofthebox

  God is timeless, right? Why do he needs us to count hours?

  Aaaanyway, yes I am a fudger, and the elders love me and praise me for the good numbers in my card. How abou that!!? lol
• 

  John Doe

  God is timeless, right? Why do he needs us to count hours?

  You're not reporting to god--you're reporting to the elders, and you're still being dishonest and a liar by your own admission. Grow a backbone people! This passive aggressive dishonest crap drives me nuts.
• 

  BabaYaga

  For years I did not turn IN a report, even when I always had time to report. I witnessed to friends at school, and even had real field service time to turn in, but I didn't. Placements, sometimes even bible studies! I resented having to put numbers into boxes... it put a bad taste on what I thought to be the TRUTH... a bad taint on what was supposed to be a Spiritual Good.
  
  They actually held me back from getting baptized for that. I told them that I always had time and just did not turn in a report. Of course you can see their faces and hear them now... ohhhhhhhhh but that was so important to show how Jehovah's organization was doing! I thought, well, Jehovah already knows what his organization is doing, and he knows what I am doing too, but... uhm... okay whatever.
  
  Unfortunately... I started turning them in, playing by their rules, and got baptized after all.
  
  Love to all,
  Baba.
• 

  Gozz

  As a greenhorn, used to count time differently: I'd count only actual time spent talking to people, which meant lower numbers than everyone I went out with. Until the month I aux-ed with a pioneer brother who was generous with all the tricks. I'll start out with a tract to someone close to home; whatever happened between there and the meeting point didn't matter much, he said - though, truth be said, I kept it active: talked to people on the way - and same thing back on the way home. The hours climbed. Then I started to count time spent discussing (arguing) with people on the internet... Some months when I reported 25-3/4 hours (for 25 hours 45 mins), I'd be 'advised' to approximate it to 26; hmnn, that didn't sound very right. It was clear the numbers weren't meant to be accurate; and that did more than a bit to erode confidence in the system.

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