I would not consider this a rant as much as a public service announcement.

It goes in waves around where I live but we get the door to door sales people.
I tend to be old fashion, when some one knocks I answer it.

I usually tell them nicely I am not interested but they continue to close either a sale or an appointment with their sales staff.

Today it was Solar panels. Every time I gave him a reason I was not interested he came back with an answer why I should talk to a sales person. I am semi retired so I have time to talk. I hate to waist their time because I have done some sort of sales my entire life but as long as he was willing to keep trying I was willing to thank him and say I was still not interested.
Eventually he thanked me and left. He was a nice guy and I give him credit for trying, cold call sales is one of the hardest kind of sales.

Last week it was the bug people. The sales pitch was they would give me a 50% discount because they were trying to filling appointments in the area because the were going to be in the neighborhood taking care of other customers.
He was another nice guy, I told him no thankyou and he left.

Video doorbells are very helpful. Ring, Blink, et al.

I get an alert on my phone when someone comes on my porch, and when someone rings my doorbell.

This allows me to pull up the camera on my phone, and see if it's someone I want to engage with, without ever having to open the door, talk to them, or even get off the couch (or even be there at all).

I tell them no thank you once

A clear no soliciting sign is at the front entrance to our neighborhood

I'm in sales but only solicit during normal business hours and at their place of business. Yes I ignore no soliciting signs

quote:

Originally posted by BigSwede:

A clear no soliciting sign is at the front entrance to our neighborhood

I will be putting one in for our neighborhood shortly. Woe to the prick that ignores it and comes to my door.

We live in a gated community and there is a no solicitation sigh out front, however they wait till a resident opens the gate to enter then they follow them in.

I do have a door bell camera however 90% of the people knock on the door instead of activating the ring camera.
This guy did ring the bell but I am so used to my neighbors coming over asking for help with their car or things around the yard I answered it.

The guy today was nice enough and as long as I have the time to talk it's not a big deal.
My wife thinks I just like to mess around with them wasting their time but one again as long as they are not condescending and I have the time I don't mind as much.

One guy several months ago was being a jerk after several minutes of me saying no so I shut him down and closed the door, but I was still nice about it.

Yup, ever since I installed a Ring Doorbell.....I always check the feed to see if its worth getting up to answer the door.

 
Our front door is inside a fence. Also inside the fence are a GSD and an Irish Wolfhound. We never use the front door, anyway, except to access the front porch to sit and read. We come and go using the garage doors.

I just tell them I rent (homeowner) and I am being transferred at the end of the month. I also tell them that the owner lives in Michigan and I will give them the phone number ( my old one from 30 yrs ago) these guys are persistent.

I HATE unsolicited sales calls. I am not retired, and I don't have time for your crap. If I need your product, I'll call you. Your function as a salesman is then to be knowledgeable about your product and answer any questions I may have, then arrange to take my money and deliver the product. Mess with me when I didn't call you first and you can guarantee I'll be calling the competition the next time I need something. And woe unto the sales idiot who calls my phone on my day off and wakes me up from a nap!

American wit Dorothy Parker on hearing her doorbell:
"What fresh hell is this?"

I used to have "blank invoices" I printed out in a letter/keys hook on the wall by the front door.

Basically a "fee schedule for $10 per minute, to listen to them, minimum one minute if I had to tell them to leave twice.

It was actually more fun to look at their faces as most were puzzled for about a5 seconds, until it registered and about 90% walked away quickly.

I never collected a fee, but it made the it easy to convince others that I was not interested and they never pressed the issue, it just took a few seconds to get them past the confusion of the "invoice".

It was a night and day difference between opening the door with nothing but a "did you ignore the sign?" and having to protest and shut the door in people's faces, to the look of confusion and "Well, bye!" with the paper.

Except the Girl Scouts and them cookies.

I ain't cheap, and I ain't easy, but I can be had...

Peek through the window; if it's someone you don't recognize, strip down and answer the door naked. I'll bet they're less chatty.

I did that to a Jehovah's witness when I first moved to this house and I haven't had anyone else from that organization come knocking

Yeah, but that's how ya get Cougars...

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
I used to have "blank invoices" I printed out in a letter/keys hook on the wall by the front door.

I may have to post something like this by my front door:

As soon as they start into their sales pitch, I say that I have lived here for over 45 years and I have never yet bought anything from anyone who came to my door and bothered me, and that I am not going to start today. While they are contemplating that, I shut the door and walk away.
Rod

Fucking solar salespeople…I want to use a flamethrower on them.
If by some weird quirk I actually answer my door, I tell them I *don’t* want solar because I don’t want anyone screwing around with my roof - then I remind them that my house runs North/South not East/West so there isn’t a place to put enough panels to make it worth it - if the asshole doesn’t grasp the concept I tell them to go bother someone else or tell them to get off my property NOW.

quote:

Originally posted by ShouldBFishin:...

I may have to post something like this by my front door:

...

LOL

Mine was simpler, but that'll do.

I'll answer the door if I see it's a kid. I've bought cookies, candy bars, popcorn, stuff I rarely eat.
But I bought it because the kid knocked on my door. I grew tired of coworkers expecting you to buy their
kids stuff. I'll bet most of them never knock on a single door. My stepdaughter had 8 boxes of candy bars
in the trunk of her car for a year! Guess who paid for them.

I just point to the “NO SOLICITING” sign on my door and ask

“Are you able to read English?”

To which most respond “yes.”

I reply

“Then you are a fucking retard who can’t understand the meaning of the sign? Get off my property, now!”

I will usually answer the door if it's some neighborhood kid selling something . Adult is hit or miss . If I do , and I'm not interested in whatever their selling they get one polite " No thanks " and then I shut the door . No need for fake invoices or any of that other nonsense . Just close the door .