Door to door season started?

[TW]Sponge · 15 Mar 2012 at 00:24

I have a window directly above my front door. I always look out of it before answering.

Efour · 15 Mar 2012 at 00:39

answering machine for the phone calls

Eyes though window for the door.

5punk3monk3y · 15 Mar 2012 at 00:43

LoveFilm doorstep caller so far due too netflix coming to the uk the guy wouldn't leave! Really suprised due to the shoddy BB around here yet he still claimed "seamless instant HD streaming"

Pawnless Endgame · 15 Mar 2012 at 01:43

I like posts 5 and 6

Almost as effective, I have a "beware of the dog" sign near my door. Only had 1 cold caller and the TV licensing guy once in 6 years.

Bennie-Mac · 15 Mar 2012 at 02:07

I spy on people through the peephole in the door, if they aren't a friend or neighbour I just stare at them whispering "go away" until they leave.

DcD · 15 Mar 2012 at 02:15

I didn't realise there was a "season"...?

BunnyKillBot · 15 Mar 2012 at 02:52

Monserrat said:
and the TV licensing guy

This one is my favourite. My given response is 'Sorry, i have a policy not to deal with door to door sales people', which usually gives the response 'I am not a door to door sales person', to which i enquire which legally authoritative force they represent then. Oh its great fun, reducing some trumped up ex-security guard to the realisation his entire job is no better than an old turnip with a suitcase full of Avon cosmetics.

Needs a warrant to come in, needs evidence to get a warrant, needs to come in to get a evidence. Goodbye you crazy loon

Magic_x_uk · 15 Mar 2012 at 07:25

^^^^^
Or they look through your window and see a TV and freeview box for example ?

bledd · 15 Mar 2012 at 07:49

[TW]Sponge;21475518 said:
I have a window directly above my front door. I always look out of it before answering.

MikeHunt79 · 15 Mar 2012 at 07:56

shephga said:
When sales people ask if you're the house owner jut reply, no it's rented even if you are the house owner, they do an instant 360 and scuttle away.

If they turned 360 degrees then they'd have to moonwalk away

MissileMoose · 15 Mar 2012 at 07:59

LOL! ^

StonedPenguin · 15 Mar 2012 at 08:01

gregster said:
Cold callers will be treated coldly.

Oh yes

Linkex · 15 Mar 2012 at 08:22

Door to door people get no sympathy from me - you interupt whatever I'm doing and make me trundle to the door, for a conversation that only benefits them.

As a general rule, they get told no and the door shut, but if I'm having a ****** day, I will happily take it out on them to make myself feel better. Turn about's fair play and all that.

hopeful_builder · 15 Mar 2012 at 16:26

the whole door to door thing ****s me right off! the west part of our town which I reside in is classed as a "No cold calling" area. This was due to the number of distraction burglaries taken place on local elderly folks.

If anyone knocks on my door trying to sell something I tell them why they should leave the area politely ONCE !

DiCe! · 15 Mar 2012 at 16:30

I hate door to door beggers with clipboards. Thats what they are.

Luke · 15 Mar 2012 at 16:31

Can't see why it's so hard to politely tell them you're not interested, close the door and then get on with your life without the rage some people seem to develop.

Linkex · 15 Mar 2012 at 17:05

Luke said:
Can't see why it's so hard to politely tell them you're not interested, close the door and then get on with your life without the rage some people seem to develop.

I'm not sure what the point of this post is? Are you bragging that this **** dosen't annoy you? Are you genuinley confused as to why this annoys people? Are you saying that you think that people find it "hard" to be polite and close the door? I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you are serious in your question.

I'll attempt to explain it in laymans terms. I am capable of locating and purchasing everything I need. I already give a significant chunk of my salary to charity. I do not wish to assist with anyones consumer survey (I don't care how "useful" it is). Therefore, you are starting from the position that you cannot possibly be about to improve my life in any way, the BEST outcome I can see from you knocking on my door is that you don't somehow detract from my life (Like annoying or boring me).

Couple with this that I spend very little of my time sat staring at the wall. When you knocked, I was doing something, and you have interupted it. At the very least, you have interupted the flow of whatever housework I was doing. Maybe flow is not important to you when you are doing the housework, but for me, its very annoying. More importantly, I spend a small ratio of my time doing housework, so more likley, you have interupted the game I was playing, the movie I was watching or the food I was eating. Ask my missus, this is not a sensible thing for even someone I care about to do - Mr Door to door is now playing with fire.

So lets quickly recap. You have interupted me, probably in such as way as I will be irritated about it, and for a reason that can only benefit you, not me. At this stage, I have opened the door and realised what you are. I am not happy, and this is your fault. Now, I am perfectly capable of politley saying no and shutting the door, in much the same way that I am perfectly capable of cleaning dog crap off my shoe by licking it, but this is not going to really improve the situation you have placed me in, so why should I?

Now, you may not be aware, but when a person is angry, you can aleviate those feelings of anger by expressing them at the person that has caused them. This can take many forms, from telling them that you are angry, to kicking them in the face. Obviously there is an appropriate level to choose, and a man who unwisley knocked on my door to sell me sky tv dosen't deserve a pickaxe up the nose (probably), as he is not there for the specific purpose of annoying me. However, he has obviously accepted this as a side effect of his primary purpose, and as such, appropriate response range from the afforementioned 'No thank you' *Shut door* through to having obsenitys shouted at him until he leaves. I prefer to choose a middle ground.

Hopefully this clears it up for you, but if you are still confused as to whether it is a compulsion (Instead of a choise) to be unpleasant to door to door guys, or do not understand the basic human emotional responses that cause it, please feel free to ask follow up questions.

Luke · 15 Mar 2012 at 17:12

It was a genuine comment.
I don't like being brought to the door for a waste of time but it takes more effort to be sarcastic/angry/indignant than to just say you're not interested and close the door. In fact doing this eliminates the chance that the caller will just send co-workers to you out of spite, so it is potentially less effort.

I also buy what I want and not from the door but the fact remains that if nobody bought at the doorstep these people wouldn't exist. Therefore their techniques work and they will continue to go door to door.

If you're still confused as to whether or not it is futile to be rude to them, then feel free to keep it to yourself as your patronising isn't required.

Cosimo · 15 Mar 2012 at 17:13

The only thing that is only the increase here is the number of junk leaflets being posted through the door.

Pawnless Endgame · 15 Mar 2012 at 17:29

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Jehovah's Witnesses yet. Are there any still knocking about or was it a 1990s thing? Had several attempting doorstep conversion in the mid 90s. None after the Millennium and owned a house for just short of 6 years now.

As for TV licensing, sure, they can look through my windows. Given that they try all of the viewing angles, they'll see a small black Shuttle PC through the kitchen window and the back of a Dell monitor if they look through the lounge window. If they look carefully enough, they might see the thing in my sig too