To refuse to say how much I donated?

I don’t understand the problem. I swear some people on here are difficult for the sake of it.

It was inappropriate imo.
She should have a trustworthy member of staff to count the cash later.
Next time, don't donate.

I also imagine a fair few people are deeply offended that they ask and refuse to say. Some would also leave very negative online reviews for the place because of this practice and tell their friends not to go.

They maybe think it would be vulgar to just have their assistant hold out their hand for money on the door and then count each donation immediately - but that's effectively what they're doing anyway. In fact, what they're doing is even more vulgar, as with a box, they give the illusion of anonymity and then make it clear that they're trying to catch you out.

As PP said, if they want to make sure they get a certain amount from each visitor, they need to charge a set entrance fee.

I presume the obsession with 'donations' rather than charging set entrance fees is so that they can pursue people for Gift Aid that way - but then they're also taking the risk of people giving less than they wanted.

A bit like with tipping in restaurants - where they expect a certain amount extra from you, but for some reason don't care to actually tell you upfront what the cost is, and prefer you to have to guess.

Yeah, that was my point!

Whether it was 2 pence or £200 you gave, I think it's incredibly rude to ask when it's voluntary. Maybe they should ask for donations on the way out instead.

Similar to the perspex donation boxes in museums/cathedrals, volunteers and visitors can see how much people are putting in.

I think I'd feel a bit weird about it as well tbh. Just pay an entrance fee, then everyone knows where they stand.

People will lie anyway so what's the point?

I imagine a fair number of people lie about it so it doesn't help anyone.

It's a weird thing for them to ask! The OP is not being unreasonable.

But then they'd have to video record all the answers

I don't see the point of that at all They can add the total at the end and keep a tally of how many people came through if they wanted to work out the average of what people give or just set a fixed amount. People could clearly lie as well and say they've given more than they did in which case the figures aren't going to add up at the end anyway .

Popped a quid in the box, bye.

Don’t think it’s a big deal at all.

If it was that rubbish you only spent 2 minutes there, I'm not sure why you gave any donation!

Was the box locked so that maybe they only tally it up weekly or monthly and want a rough daily figure? Or there are different volunteer curators and they compete to see who gets the most donations? You're entitled to keep your donation secret I guess but not sure it would have bothered me.

Most museums run as charities; unfortunately, volunteers pinching funds from charities is not unheard of, so keeping a record of what should be in the box is not a bad idea.
Also, from the perspective of the people running the charity, an idea of how much is collected per visitor is a useful starting point for fundraising and then tracking whether different initiatives are increasing how much they raise.

I've been to several tiny museums abroad where I've only spent a few minutes, often free or a few euros. A couple that were mostly just black and white photos and writing with a few artefacts. Not sure why people are calling the OP a liar!

Yep!

Nearer 2p than £20 then...

Purse*

Did you chuck the change from your person i.e.coppers?

If they want to know exactly how much each individual puts in then why not just charge everyone the same! What a load of nonsense OP.

I have to agree...2 mins? Come on.

I was with you, (as I don't think they should be asking if it's a voluntary amount,) until you said this. ^ You were there for 2 minutes? I can't imagine any visitor attraction being so 'tiny' that you'd see it all in 2 minutes.

And I think you didn't want to admit what you'd given as you know it was a stingy amount.

We have a very popular children’s museum near us that it’s technically ‘free’ but omg the pressure and lengths they go to extracting ‘voluntary contributions’ is deplorable. They should charge an entry fee if they are this set on it. You’re asked about 5 times for a voluntary contribution before you even get in and there’s big ‘suggested amounts’ signs everywhere along with transparent donation boxes so they can literally watch what you put in.

Now we can afford it and are happy to do it BUT I think it’s completely disgusting behaviour because so many struggling families will be researching free activities and places to go with their kids and this place looks totally free online, then they’ll rock up and get shamed, hounded and put in a generally really awkward position being asked for money they might not physically have.

At least charging an entry fee means people can chose whether they can afford to go or not.