Field Service Spies

by cameo-d 16 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  cameo-d

  Please excuse my ignorance. Enquiring minds just want to know.

  When you visit someone in field service do you give a report with information about that person or household?

  Is there a pattern of requirements that you must fill out, like number in household, spoke to male or female, something about their attitude?

  Do you turn in notes like "has their own religion" "unfavorable attitude" "householder was drunk" "kids were dirty and unruly" "not JW material" "house was a mess"...etc.?

  Are you required to give some format of a census or personal observations on your visitations?

  Just wondering. Thanks.
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  WTWizard

  When I was in field circus, I would write those things down. However, it never got past my call book, and I never turned in anything of the sort to the congregation.

  Of course, that may have changed. They might now be requesting said information for congregation files. Or, they might be doing that on a local or regional basis, not around here. Either way, of what business is it to the witlesses if a householder was drunk? Or took something or had a particular discussion? That is between that householder and the one that initiated that call (or assumes it, should the one initiating it give it away).
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  cognizant dissident

  Well, I was in not that long ago, so I know you do not have to give formal reports to the congregation at all. They do have little householder record slips that they use to record information about you to help them on their return visit. If people are not home they write their number on the slip so someone can call again. There's a little space to write "left tract or magazine, etc" or if the homeowner was home but too busy to talk and said come back later or they are a night worker and don't call during day. Practical stuff like that.

  Publishers also have their little field service books where they write down the names of those they talked to or placed literature with whom they plan to call back on. They might write what was discussed, points of interest to you, whether you have kids, work etc. They do not turn this information in to the congregation or share it with others unless they are taking someone with them on return visit and then they may fill them in on the general gist of the previous call. It is just to help their memory and to help them figure out what to say to interest you further on their next visit.

  I have never seen them write down negative stuff about people they called on and share it with others. Usually if call is negative they do not call back so have no need to write anything down about it.

  Cog
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  passwordprotected

  Congregations used to keep supplies of a form numbered S-8. On this form a 'publisher' (not a Christian) would keep track of the people they spoke to in the 'ministry'. Information would include gender, age, publications placed, scriptures shared etc.
  
  However, these forms were abandoned, in the UK at least, due to the Data Protection act. 'Publishers' still keep track of such info, but no longer on any official Society paperwork.
  
  It should be pointed out that the S-8 wasn't usually handed over to the congregation, but was for the 'publishers' own use.
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  JW Walking Away

  I've only been out a year so I doubt a whole lot has changed. We never turned in information like that to the congregation although I would keep records of such in my personal return visit book. I think the one thing that people are not aware of is that if they agree to a "bible" study with a JW, their name and address is sent to Brooklyn. I never could figure out why the society needed that information.
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  Amha·’aret

  Ditto what Passwordprotected said. They had to get rid of those forms in Ireland also. For legal reasons - data protection act.

  Since that time, info on interested parties was written on normal note paper or whatever the publisher had to hand. If you, as a jw, are going to pass those forms onto anyone else (say you think a different publisher would be better suited or lives nearer to the intereted person) there are 3 things that you can't write on it. As far as I remember they were the person's gender, ethnicity and religion. Passing on those pieces of paper to anyone is called "processing data" and those details cannot be passed on without the person's consent.

  Of course very few non-jws know about this and would probably not like it much to know that potenitally anything they say or anything the jw observes can be written down and kept or passed on.
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  hillbilly

  we never wrote stuff like that down...after all the angels are following us around noting who is JW material or a drunk...

  To bad the took the S-8 form away. I used mine to note where all the old cars were hiding in sheds, horses to buy, hay storage, hunting spots...well you get the idea.

  Jeff
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  aniron

  However, these forms were abandoned, in the UK at least, due to the Data Protection act. 'Publishers' still keep track of such info, but no longer on any official Society paperwork.

  As "passwordprotected" said here in UK we used to use the S8 "House to House Record" slip. We would write down "not-at-homes" on it.

  Also details of anyone who actually bothered to talk to us. Usually gender, subject talked about, any publications placed etc. Any other info that may prove useful when making a "return visit".

  Then as said the "Data Protection Act" came into force and the WT scrapped the S8 form. We were told we had touse our own notebooks to keep records of calls etc.

  But if you had a list of "not at homes" you couldn't give another JW the page they were written on from your notebook. You had to verbally tell them and they would write them down in their notebook. As giving them the page from your notebook was deemed to be breaking the "Data Protection Act."
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  cameo-d

  Thanks for all the information.

  I think the one thing that people are not aware of is that if they agree to a "bible" study with a JW, their name and address is sent to Brooklyn. I never could figure out why the society needed that information.

  This is curious. Did you have to turn in "progress reports" of your studies? Questions they had or challenges? Did you have to make a final report to turn in as explanation to why a person might have discontinued the studies?
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  no more kool aid

  We would try to observe things about the householder so that we could use that information to lure them in. This real cute little old lady grandma type pioneer at out hall used to keep meticulous notes on her calls. One day she asked me to go with her on a call to encourage a householder that was not feeling well. I inquired as to the nature of his illness and she said "well, he is impotent". Now that's good note taking. Always wondered just how she obtained that information. She did have a lot of RV's. I still didn't know what words of encouragement I could possibly offer.