Should I do this? door to door soliciation issue

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

A Kirby sales "team" in the San Diego area went back to an elderly lady, robbed her, stoled her car, beat her, tied her up and put her in the back of the car with a shovel. The only reason she is alive today is that the driver committed a traffic offense and was pulled over by the police.

we generally do not answer the door, and have a simple "no door to door" solicitation sign up. if I do answer, my first question is "Did I call you?" if they answer no (which is ALWAYS the case) then I tell them no appointments are currently available.

(also the grumpy pups really like to bark, and I ask the questions with the door cracked and my foot on the back of the door so they cannot get out!)

 

[Feralpeg]

Putting up the sign is not a good idea if you have a dog. I used to have two large dogs. People kept opening the gate to my backyard and letting them out. I thought about putting up a beware of dogs sign. A neighbor, who was an insurance agent, told me it was not a good idea. If ever, heaven forbid, one of my dogs should nip someone, I could be sued because I had admitted to having aggressive animals. My dogs were not in the least aggressive, but that didn't matter.

 

[koima]

I worked for them VERY briefly in college, and you're right, employees are taught to not take no for an answer. It's very aggressive, downright rude, and we were told to ignore "no soliciting" signs. We had to call into the main office during the demo and they would make sexual comments while I was trying to check in. Awful. We were lied to about the pay scale and hours.

A group of us were driven about an hour away in a big van and left all day (11 hours, in the days pre-cell phone, with no water, no lunch, no idea of when they were going to return) to solicit the neighborhood. I made one appointment, did the demo, and they wouldn't come pick me up because I hadn't made the sale. I was a 19 year old girl alone in a stranger's house in a city I didn't know and when they FINALLY came to get me, several hours later, the homeowners were pissed and my manager said something to the effect of, "yeah, I wouldn't buy anything from her, either," and made some sexually derogatory remarks about me.

On the way home, the van broke down and he left us on the side of the freeway on the edge of the fast lane. I called my dad to come get me and quit the next morning.

Wow, I'm still angry about this, 15 years later! Since then, I don't answer the door for anyone I don't know.

 

[luvmy3]

A Kirby sales "team" in the San Diego area went back to an elderly lady, robbed her, stoled her car, beat her, tied her up and put her in the back of the car with a shovel. The only reason she is alive today is that the driver committed a traffic offense and was pulled over by the police.

OMG, thank goodness she was found and they were caught.

Putting up the sign is not a good idea if you have a dog. I used to have two large dogs. People kept opening the gate to my backyard and letting them out. I thought about putting up a beware of dogs sign. A neighbor, who was an insurance agent, told me it was not a good idea. If ever, heaven forbid, one of my dogs should nip someone, I could be sued because I had admitted to having aggressive animals. My dogs were not in the least aggressive, but that didn't matter.

I don't really have a dog, I just figured saying that would give them a very big message that I didn't want them to even ring my doorbell. Somehow I feel that a sign that says no solicitors won't stop them.

 

[61292cna]

My brother has a sign that says:

This home protected by Smith & Wesson 4 days a week & by Remington the other 3, choose your form of lead poisioning.

He is pretty radical & most likely really would shoot towards them.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

We put up a "No Soliciters" sign in TX because it was sooooo bad. Of course that didn't work all the time. They would say, oh I am not soliticing.

So we resorted to putting our dog on leashes. That was soooo funny. My older dd opened the door and the soliciter was greeted with a big dog barking who is very protective. (he was leashed correctly)

I have never seen someone jump off of our porch so fast.

Then we try and talk to them....that is even better.They want to leave.

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

OMG, thank goodness she was found and they were caught.




I don't really have a dog, I just figured saying that would give them a very big message that I didn't want them to even ring my doorbell. Somehow I feel that a sign that says no solicitors won't stop them.

The news showed the pictures of the 80 something lady with her face bruised where she was beaten.

I was not kind to door to door salespeople BEFORE the incident, now I am pretty direct.

 

[FarAway<3]

Some carpet cleaning person once opened my front door and basically invited herself in. She said she was ringing the doorbell (which didn't work), and she noticed that the door was open a crack (it hadn't closed completely behind us when we'd walked inside). I was so mad and told her to get out. She still tried to sell the service to me.
Sometimes they ambush me right as I'm getting out of my car. I try to run away, but those guys are speedy.

 

[tonilea]

I would tell them to leave immediately and further attempts of contact by their company would be considered trespassing and harassment and I would call the police.

 

[golfgal]

Putting up the sign is not a good idea if you have a dog. I used to have two large dogs. People kept opening the gate to my backyard and letting them out. I thought about putting up a beware of dogs sign. A neighbor, who was an insurance agent, told me it was not a good idea. If ever, heaven forbid, one of my dogs should nip someone, I could be sued because I had admitted to having aggressive animals. My dogs were not in the least aggressive, but that didn't matter.

I was going to say the exact same thing. I would call the police vs putting up signs.