by Clinton 31 Replies latest jw experiences
Field service reports. One of the most annoying things they could be doing. First century christians didn't do that, and isn't it letting your right hand know what your left hand is doing, or something? Isn't it like, pagan or something? I'm sure if we looked hard enough we could find something pagan about it that their precious consciences could be bothered by.
I liked to bring the averages down a notch, so I stopped caring what got put on the report.
As a former secretary, I'd say many of the hours are fabrications. I agree that some dubbies wouldn't fudge, but that only applies to people with real hours. Those with very low hours often "ballpark" it, either unilaterally or with some urging from their secretary or book study overseer ("You must have SOME time to report!").... Some pioneers also fudge, and I suspect many elders do, too. It's all that pressure to perform. Once a pioneer, for example, gets the "pioneer pace" down, it's not much of a leap to collate the hours in the most favorable way. I'm not talking about rounding 79+ hours up to 80; I'm talking about rounding up daily to achieve a net gain of 15 hours a month.
I worked with a lot of pioneers who were behind on their time as the end of the month neared and they had to "get in a long day" in order to make their goal. The long day consisted of gathering up friends in a car at 7 in the morning, hitting a few laundromats, then driving 60 miles or so the the far reaches of our rural territory, working a few houses, taking a break, driving around looking for someone's alleged return visit, taking another break, and so on. They'd stagger home at 7:30 that night and after collecting all the candy and food wrappers off the floor of the car, proclaim that they'd made their time. "We had a 12-hour day; boy, am I pooped."
As for elders, you can look at the cards going back for years, and it's uncanny how many of them have 9 to 13 hours a month, every month, through sickness, vacation, quick builds, whatever. They keep a running total of their average and make sure it exceeds the congregation's. They don't dare fall below that level or the CO will be all over them.
In addition, all but the most conscientious publisher goes with the herd. I can't tell you how many Saturday mornings I spent bullshooting in the parking lot, riding around, driving from one far away RV to another, taking long coffee breaks, racing back to the hall at 11:45 to drop off a publisher who had "to be somewhere at noon," and calling it 3 hours. I did that because everyone else did, too. "Well," someone would say in the KH parking lot, looking at his or her watch,"we got 3 hours in. That's great." And the rest made a mental note to record 3 hours. Except for that one sister, who suffered in silence and then went home and subtracted all the breaks and the driving time and came up with one hour. Even SHE was off by 40 mintues.
But, hey, that's my experience.
I liked to bring the averages down a notch,
At first I was feeling guilty for not wanting to go door to door, not having the courage to share the "good news", but then I found it kinda fun bringing the average down a bit. "Our congregation average is a little low...." I'd then pat myself on the back for my 1 hour a month.
As for elders, you can look at the cards going back for years, and it's uncanny how many of them have 9 to 13 hours a month, every month, through sickness, vacation, quick builds, whatever. They keep a running total of their average and make sure it exceeds the congregation's. They don't dare fall below that level or the CO will be all over them.
This is absolutley true - I used to fake my hours when I was an elder and I know the service overseer always gets above 15 hours - no matter if he has been on vacation or worked extra time at work
I never actually lied about the number of hours I put in, but I was extremely creative in how I counted them! This, of course, was born of an intense hatred and loathing for the "work", coupled with the realisation that if my average did not hit double figures, I might be taken to task over it! Don't get me wrong, I wasn't scared of knocking on peoples doors and being told to regularly to "f*ck off"- I just could see no sense in it. I considered it to be humiliating, degrading and utterly futile!
One of my favourite ploys was to work alone as often as possible. Then I'd begin by knocking at a door where all the indications were that nobody lived there. I'd stay on the doorstep long enough for the others to wander ahead of me, then I would go to visit a dear, lonely old man, who lived alone in a quaint old cottage.
He had no interest whatsoever in Jehovahs Witnesses, but he made a lovely cup of tea! This was, I think, a perfect mutually advantageous arrangement. He would get at least one regular visitor 2 or 3 times a week, and I had somewhere to go other than "on the doors". He took the mags and books regularly, and I was even able to off-load tons of back-issues, thus further enhancing my otherwise meagre report!
I remember one afternoon, I made the terrible mistake of taking the CO with me to see this elderly chap. Wise cracking and funny from the"platform", this particular CO was so bloody rude and obnoxious to this dear, sweet old man, that it's a wonder he ever allowed me to visit him again! But he did, and sanity and good manners prevailed once more.
Towards the end of my glorious career as a loving and wise overseer (ho hum), I didn't even bother talking about the "truth" (which by then, I had begun to realise in my heart that it wasn't). Instead, I would listen to this old man talk about his life - his childhood memories - his war experiences and so on. The old man is dead now, bless him.
The ironic thing is that, with hindsight, I can see that these "beefed up hours" were of greater value in terms in terms of kindness and respect, than all the sodding hours I ever notched up on someone's doorstep!
Jonty
Towards the end i would go door to door and not put a report in. If i was going to go out i was doing it for God. Not to keep anyone happy that i was still a regular publisher.
Beaker
I never lied on my report... I don't know why it didn't hit me to do that. I was so irregular the last year in the org that the elders were harping on me constantly. I even lost my precious WT reading privilege!
For me, its always 9 hours, 2 magazines, and 1 return visit.
I always rounded up. 1 hr 35 mins was usually counted as 2 hours. When i started to fade I quit FS altogether. I still counted 4 hours per month, my WTS sanctioned hour of weekly Bible study plus the BS. It didn't take long before I stopped reading the book of Bible Stories and didn't bother with a FS report. The PO talked to me about my lack of hours but I never said how I really felt... which was, FS in my locality is a joke, it's riding around in car or van calling on at best 10 homes in 2 hours. Secondly, I couldn't and wouldn't defend the WTS blood and end time doctrines.
3rd
New here, but saw this topic and had to join. My latest ploy is to count time spent talking with fellow JWs. I have about 3 hours discussing sterilization vs contraceptives!! I figure they need a witness too.
