gee, I always thought “trespassing” was spelled with two double-S’s but it just looks silly, now that I’ve posted …
:smack:
Put up a sign that says -
Workers have recently grown spines and will actually verbally and/or physically abuse you if you ignore the no solicitors sign
Really? In Canada businesses can tell callers to add them to their “do not call” list and they must do so. Effective for three years. (Regulations are on the CRTC website.) That must suck if you’re forced to accept B2B telemarketing crap.
The other way that we’ve enforced is to be ruthless – we tell them that we do not do business with anyone who interrupts our workflow with an unsolicited sales call. We exaggerate it a little by saying: “We terminate all business dealing with companies that call us.” Occasionally, we follow-up on that.
The receptionist at our former office was nasty (in a good way). We had huge “No Soliciting” signs on the door and the company owner HATED solicitors. So our receptionist did the following:
Dingbat Solicitor: “Hi, I’d like to talk to someone about our great underwater coffee dispenser. FIlls your mug super-quick when you’re sitting at the bottom of a pool!”
Receptionist: “Do you have a business card?”
Dingbat: “Why sure!” hands it to her
Receptionist: “One moment, please…” *picks up her handset, starts dialing"
Now, at this point, the poor schmoe thinks she’s calling up to the appropriate superviser. Until…
Receptionist: “Good afternoon, is this Underwater Coffee Is Us?.. Do you have an employee by the name of Dingbat?.. I’d like to speak to his supervisor, please.”
Then Dingbat would get in doo-doo for ignoring the “No Solicitor” sign.
I was at a staff meeting on how to put on a pathogen suit and this solicitor came in with bright shiney eyes seeing that there were about 20 people in one room, surely thinking that a sale was gonna result, until I rattled off…
“Oh, My God!!! Joe you were supposed to lock the door! Go do it now! Linda, call the Centers for Disease Control and tell them we got another one here!”
Not one word was said afterwards as everyone shifted around and saw this guy go from sunbeat red to pale white in 6 seconds…
Riotous laughing ensued…and a lesson was learned by a some young schmuck that “No Solicitors Allowed” should be taken at face value…
I think this is the problem.
Unless you start telling people that you are, in no uncertain terms, NOT INTERESTED and to GET OUT, no sign in the world is going to help you out.
If your solicitors were like the ones that used to come to my place of business, they aren’t pretty bright to begin with but they sure are tenacious. That they could read the sign would have been impressive.
I’ve known many salesmen who find the “No Soliciting” signs to be an invitation. To them, the signs mean one of two things:
[ul]
[li] You’re an easy mark that will buy anything and you put the sign up to save money. So if they come in, you’ll buy whatever it is they’re selling.[/li][li] Other solicitors have obeyed the sign, so no one has come in and you’re an untapped market.[/li][/ul]
In fact, on another board, a young man was just starting a sales job and wanted to know how he could do well, since it seemed every door had a “no soliciting” sign on it. The response was generally “Boy, you’ll never make it in the business if you start reading the signs on the doors!”
In defense of all sales professionals-not the tin men, but the true professionals, I must stand in their honor.
Everybody sells
I don’t give a tinkers dam what you claim to do, in some way, shape, or form, you’re selling.
When you explain to Mom or Dad that a new bike for Christmas will assist with the paper route, you’re selling.
The conference that also coincided with an overnight date was selling.
Each and every job interview you’ve had was selling, and if you didn’t realize it, you wasted the time of two people.
A first date, subsequent dates, a marriage proposal, and interaction thereafter is still selling.
When I ‘cold call’, my introduction is to ask for a contact name and a phone number, along with the best time to call. If that person is available and willing to see me, it’s a gift from above. Otherwise, I make some phone calls, and proceed in a courteous manner.
I have a thought. Would you like to buy in to it?
If you disagree, bring out the feathers, and heat the tar.
Just remember-you bought the tar kettle and chickens from someone, didn’t you?
Are you a government employee? It’s illegal to solicit in governemnt offices.
Otherwise, try soliciting them instead. The minute they start in on “Have I got a deal for you” or whatever, see if they’re interested in buying some Amway stuff.
My absolute favourite was the young woman bearing clipboard who rang my doorbell to ask if my no soliciting sign meant she shouldn’t ring my doorbell.
She didn’t try to sell me anything, just thanked me, apologised and left when I explained that soliciting is not just the arena of lawyers or prostitutes. Our education system needs a retool.
Forget the signs and learn to say, “NO THANK YOU” firmly. Either that, or have a system where you have your co-worker call you. Tell the solicitor, “Excuse me” and talk to your co-worker about everything under the sun until the solicitor leaves.
Good idea. I sell vitamins…maybe I can interest them in a two month supply.
And no, we’re not government employees, unfortunately.
Bad News Baboon, we fully admit we’re chicken shit. We both kind of look at each other when they come in, but neither of us will speak up. Luckily, I’m on there for three more weeks until I move to Ohio, so it’ll be her problem later.
Pundit Lisa, I like that idea except both of our desks are in the front reception area. I’ll suggest it to the new office manager, though - her desk is in the back. She can call my co-worker and whoever the person is who’s taking my place back to her office.
Ava
It’s a pity you couldn’t have quarantined him for a couple of weeks. THAT would learn him but good!
Before my husband got his gun cabinets, I took to answering the door with a rifle in one hand. I always checked through the peephole first, to make sure there wasn’t a cop outside. But you’d be AMAZED at how many salespeople are willing to take “no” for an answer, when it’s delivered in a snarly voice and accompanied by firearm waving. All firearms were kept unloaded, but THEY didn’t know that. Of course, my reputation in the neighborhood deteriorated from “crazy” to “DANGEROUSLY crazy”, but I saw this as a GOOD thing, as it meant that fewer people were likely to ring my doorbell and disturb my beauty rest. And believe me, I need all the beauty rest I can get.
I do not advocate waving firearms around, I’m just saying that if you DO such a thing, it will affect how people view you.
Ya know, if it weren’t for the fact that we have an office full of State Police officers upstairs, I’d so be taking you up on this suggestion.
Ava
Lynn just reminded me of a Bloom County strip!
eh, I know how it goes. I used to not say stuff either. However, one day I was so sick of it (no, for God’s sakes, I don’t want to buy perfume nor do I want to buy a bean bag!) I finally said something.
Usually I find it best if you say something at the onset:
“I’m sorry, but we’re not interested. You’ll have to leave now. Thanks!”
(if you want to be polite).
You’ll find that after doing this once, it becomes very easy… nay, you might actually look forward to being the ‘grinch’!
Because I can assure you, even Ohio has sham sales people, too.
danceswithcats,
I understand that true sales people are just doing their job. Sometimes, they even have offers that actually work for me and my business. They also tend to be professional and take no for an answer.
The people I think the OP is referring to (or at least the ones I am referring to) are the ones that sell useless crap out of the back of some van.
I know they have sham sales people, but I’m really hoping not to be in another receptionist position:). I’m heading back to school to become a teacher, so I’ll be working part-time, and I will NOT be in an office. And as a teacher, I shouldn’t have to deal with solicitors:).
However, I’ve gotten better with telemarketers. I usually just say “No, thank you.” and hang up without letting them argue. Today, we got one of those Xerox scams, the guy said “I need to check the number on your copier”, and I replied with “No, you don’t!” and hung up - I was incredibly proud of myself!:D. And the bastard called right BACK! This time, my co-worker picked up the phone and as soon as she asked where he was calling from, he hung up. Our favorite game in the office lately is fucking with telemarketer’s heads. Perhaps we should try it on door-to-door solicitors now.
What’s worse is that the front of the BUILDING even says “No Soliciting”, and so does our door. So they’re ignoring TWO signs.
Ava
My first job was in the programming department of Combined Insurance, W. Clement Stone’s company. They sold small insurance policies door-to-door. Their sales manual had a phrase something like " ‘No Soliciting’ signs mean ‘Combined representatives welcome’." The only sign salesmen had to respect was “Government Employees Only”.
We haven’t had a chance to have a No Soliciting sign made and put up here at our new house but I have found it very effective to duck into the kitchen and grab a knife out of the drawer and answer the doorbell with a pretend pant and immediately coo “Oh, I’m sorry, I was just chopping… something.” while holding up a nice, bright and shiny and very sharp Henckel for the botherer to see.
No one stays too long on my doorstep.
Funny you should say that.
Just today I went down to the deli in our building to get a soda, and I happened to see a guy walking in from a van that had just parked outside. He asked me if I was interested in buying any of the art they were unloading outside. I pointed to the No Soliciting sign on the front door.
He snarled at me and said, “Don’t tell me how to do my business, son!”
I said, fine. I won’t tell you how it’s illegal to try and solicit on government property (I actually work for a contractor, but he didn’t need to know that).
He turned around, walked back to the van, packed up, and went on to the next building.
Aaaaaah! You’ll just be creating them, via school fund raisers, instead! You’ll become…one of them!
