Never...will not do business with any company that incorporates door-to-door soliciting into its sales scheme.

Just last week I had one of the driveway pavers show up. Same old “doing a job nearby and I’ve got X amount of asphalt left over.” My driveway is long as hell. If you incorrectly estimated another job so badly that you have enough to do mine also, you suck at your job.

I never buy from anyone who comes door to door. I find it quite irritating. The dog gets all spun up, which is sometimes kind of funny for some of the unwanted visitors who don't like dogs. She's loud and crazy but harmless. I don't mind kids making the rounds selling stuff for schools or asking to mow the lawn or that kind of thing, but adults selling unsolicited products or services aren't welcome, and I let them know before they can really get talking.

The ones I've seen lately just cruise the neighborhood in their car. When they see someone out in their yard or driveway, they pullup,jump out and start their sales pitch.
Too lazy to walk around and knock on doors.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
Nope. Just the neighbor's kid selling Girl Scout cookies.

This^^^^^

Boy Scouts, with their crappy popcorn, get a $20 spot donation all others are not spoken to kindly as they had to walk past the "No Solicitors" sign

Once an older hispanic fella selling tamales. I did not suffer any ill effects.

Seriously, no I run solicitors off now.

Hired a guy to drop a tree for me.

His 12 man crew, three trucks, and a huge chipper was next door dropping trees.

"Has anyone actually purchased from door solicitors"

I have never needed a door.

It's not a traditional sales method now in this day and age.
I don't fault anyone who is actively working, looking for business and is not afraid to ask for it.
Since the sales profession is largely lost now I imagine the younger crowd is less appreciative of good hard work and would not really understand.
On the other hand if you do not initiate the sales/buying effort then you are at a disadvantage.
Getting educated on a purchase ahead of time usually via the Internet makes for a better purchasing decision.
YMMV

No.

Remember years ago it was barn and barn roof painters. Cheap price to paint but no prep and the paint was watered down with kerosene.

My ex FIL tried his hand one summer at selling grave plots door to door. Wow, what a sucky way to try and make a living!

And the guys with meat for sale in a freezer on the back of a truck...
A big operation of mobil meat sellers in a neighboring town turned out to be a front to launder drug money.

Fortunately we don't get many now where we are.

Funny you should post this. Wife and I just moved into a new neighborhood last weekend. The first door-to-door solicitor showed up last evening selling alarm systems.

The same story as others - was installing one for a few neighbors and wanted to give others the opportunity to get in on the deal. No, he didn't have a card when asked for one. Hell, even Wynn Duffy had a business card!

Ordered my "No Soliciting" sign online soon after he left.

Once, recently. A kid knocked selling chocolate for his school. Said he was from a nearby big city, but the other kids had saturated his neighborhood. His aunt was coming down, so he asked to come. I thought it was very enterprising, whether true or not.

Nope.
If I did not call them for service or don't recognize them I don't even open the door.
I live in a gated community with a sign on the gate prohibiting door to door solicitation in our community.
After storms we get roofers all the time.
I once had a windshield company come to my door and opened it because I was waiting for someone"not the windshield company".
They were going house to house looking at cars and knocking on peoples doors.
He wanted to replace my windshield for free because of a chip. I said what chip and he showed me, I said it was not there earlier today and asked him if he did it to try to get me to replace my windshield.
He said no and started walking away fast.
Needless to say I had had the chip repaired several weeks earlier and did know about it, I just did not want to listen to his spiel.
It may have been mean however he was not suppose to be in our neighborhood. I told him this he said he had a permit I said it did not matter this was a private gated community with no solicitation signs posted.
Never saw him again.

Steaks. I only buy truck steaks. Well, sometimes a little seafood.

No Soliciting sign above the doorbell. Every so often we get an obviously illiterate person at our door. They get a quick refresher in reading plain English.

My doorbell is broken, I'll never fix it and I never open my door for unexpected visitors. HOWEVER....

I make a pretty good living having to knock on doors due to lead cards mailed to me where I can't read the handwriting, missing or wrong phone number, etc. I sell final expense insurance and only knock on doors from people who have sent in requests for information. Many times the lead cards were mailed by their friends or relatives, so the person on the card sometimes has no idea what I'm talking about if I reach them by phone or at their front door.

I make a good chunk of my income from knocking on these doors. I closed two today I knocked on yesterday, and they asked me to come back today. One lead card last week was from a homeless man using his sister's address. When I knocked on that door, she invited me in and I wrote her husband, who had never heard of any of this stuff. You would be amazed. Hell, I do it every day and I'm amazed.

Nope! I have a no soliciting sign up and I never open the door for someone I don’t know. Solicitors still knock on my door despite the sign, but I don’t answer.

The other day I decided to answer the door to chew out the solicitor for knocking on the door multiple times despite my sign, but it was no use as he was very pushy and ignored anything I said. I will just continue to not answer.

quote:

Originally posted by StorminNormin:

The other day I decided to answer the door to chew out the solicitor for knocking on the door multiple times despite my sign, but it was no use as he was very pushy and ignored anything I said.

"Hey, wanna see my new gun?"

NEVER. I usually purchase all needed items from street peddlers.
Not as many as there used to be when I was growing up. There was always a blind guy on the corner selling Chicklets or pencils.