Wednesday, July 2, 2008

#26: Door to Door Solicitors

Let's face it. At first it was cute. A little kid shows up at my door, trying to raise money for a class trip...and all I have to do is buy a couple of candy bars at a ridiculously over-inflated price. No problem. I love kids. I love chocolate. Everybody wins, right?

Wrong! Because now, it's just gotten out of hand. Almost every evening now, there's someone at my door, trying to sell me something. College students selling magazine subscriptions. Yard service crews asking if I want my lawn aerated. Neighborhood kids asking if I want them to mow my lawn. Students selling coupon books. Someone wanting to tell me about their religion.

Enough already! I'm about to put a "No Solicitors" sign on my door like my neighbor, Art. At first, I thought he was being a bit like an old curmudgeon, but now I'm starting to understand!

It seems like I just can't enjoy a nice evening at home, vegging in front of the television, or whatever without hearing the doorbell. I'll look through the peephole (which I bought from a door-to-door peephole salesman) and there she is, some college student with a hard luck story and something to sell.

And I wonder how many of these things are really scams. Are these students really trying to raise money for a mission trip to Mexico? Or are they just hoping to get my credit card information?

Let's be honest: Door to door sales can't be easy. You never know what's going to be on the other side of that door. Some people are rude. Others are just plain creepy. So why put yourself in that position? And how about you give us a break, so we can enjoy a quiet evening at home?

Door to Door Solicitors: You Suck.

5 comments:

Super Rockstar Momma said...

Phone solicitors, door to door sales and, my biggest pet peeve, the solicitors outside grocery stores--they all suck. At least with the phone and grocery store ones I can hang up on them or dodge them, but with door to door ones, it always makes me a little nervous to be rude. They know where I live and I'm worried about safety.

Anonymous said...

Have you noticed more of these this Summer? It's kind of weird,in the last month I've had 4 people knock ((though it sounds like you are averaging more)).

Here is a new one though.

I opened the door to 5 young girls, pre-teens probably, holding a large coffee can. They were collecting money to help pay for an elderly neighbor's electric bill. I didn't recognize the name as being anyone on my street, but who could turn down that kind of karma? That sucked.

Hoover Maneuver said...

ha!

Yeah, I think that's why I hate door to door solicitors most...because I'm such a sucker for the kids.

Solicitors know what they're doing when they send those sweet little faces over, with their puppy dog eyes. Ugh!!!

Unknown said...

I just recently made a webpage to help everyone who has been hunting for a good no soliciting sign for their home. please visit http://www.stopmysolicitors.com to get one. They seem to be very effective so far.

matthew said...

I'm a door to door salesmen and in todays economy it's hard to get a good job! I understand where everyone is comming from trust me, but the fact of the matter is I'm a newly wed with a baby on the way in 4 months and soliciting pays really well. If I could find a job to replace that kind of income I would take it! It's not something I like to do but it pays the bills! Hundreds of thousands of people use door to door to support themselves or there family! Now when someone knocks on my door I understand how hard there job is. Face it todays economy isn't the gratest but purely commision based jobs are always hireing.