It used to take Republican pollster Frank Luntz three phone calls, on average, to reach a respondent. Now it takes six. But there have been attitudinal changes as well. At the same time that they are tying up their phone lines with new equipment, Americans are showing growing impatience with intrusive telemarketers who want to sell them on long distance service, a hot stock, or a local charity. A call from a polling organization is not much more welcome.
Polls are no longer a novelty.
People who might once have been flattered to be interviewed by a big news organization now see it as an imposition, especially at the end of a long, busy workday. Regional differences further complicate the problem. Texas is more difficult, notorious for its huge number of telephone answering machines. And New York is a nightmare. Known for being blunt if not downright surly, many New Yorkers work past dark, have a long commute, and arrive home later each night, giving pollsters a narrow window to catch them before bedtime.