Is there a way to post your land/residence so that any uninvited guests are automatically guilty of criminal trespass? As I understand it, the police normally have to issue a warning before it becomes a criminal matter.
You have to tell them. Most non-Jews wouldn’t know what a mezuzza was if they saw one.
Does that get them to go away? I refuse to get involved in any kind of debate with them, because I’m afraid it might just encourage them. I’d be shocked if those weren’t things they hear all the time, and have a planned response to.
Maybe for you, but not for everybody. Not everybody finds it easy to say no to a salesperson or throw someone out of their house.
Besides, many evangelists seem to think they get bonus points for converting a Jew to Christianity.
I always feel sorry for the real small businessperson trying to let people know he is in business. He’s small and cannot afford commercials and the like.
If he does flyers he gets yelled at for littering. D2D is obnoxious. He doesn’t believe for an instance that when you need his services that you will go to him because you don’t know about him…
It has to be tough.
You point out one pretty obvious truth: whatever restrictions are placed on the general populace hurts small business more than big business. Mostly because big business has the resources to find loopholes I think.
-Eben
I find it hard to not purchase chocolate chip cookies in the store when I see them, but I don’t want a law passed to prevent them from being displayed.
There are laws in place to make sure a D2D salesperson never makes it inside your house, and ones to make them leave if you want them to go.
Posting “No Solicitations” sometimes works, sometimes doesn’t. That’s a pain, I agree. The last place I worked had a sign out front and it was regularly ignored. When the receptionist wasn’t there I would respond to them (my office was near the door). I used to go outside, look at the sign, and then say “Oh, I just assumed our ‘No Solicitation’ sign must have fallen off. I can’t imagine how you missed that.” And then I’d just stare at them until they left. I’d be pissed if I got woken up from a nap, but I’m not sure I have a solution to that problem. Outlawing D2D seems like an extreme overreaction however.
That used to be the case, perhaps, but not anymore. If the business caters to the general public, all he needs to do is sign up for the yellow pages online, open a website, and he can be found by everyone who needs his services. And if he caters to other businesses, he should just contact them directly with tailored business proposals. Then, at least the ones answering his calls will be paid to do so.
I really think DtD solicitors should pay more attention to opt-out signs, and that is where any rules or regulations should aim for. Day time sleepers deserve not having to shut off their door bell.
My solution? Invite **Master Wang Ka ** over for an all night board game.
Talking with solicitors in a nice calm voice and using facts is the best way I know of getting rid of them. You cannot argue with facts:
Me: So your church discriminates against women.
LDS: Oh, no. We don’t believe in discrimination against anyone.
Me: So you treat the women just like the men.
LDS: Of course!
Me: So a woman could head your church.
LDS: Well, no. (Long Pause). But that’s not discrimination.
Me: Look, it is discrimination. You are discriminating against women. You can say you agree with it, but call it what it is.
Me: So you are anti-abortion.
Anti-Abortionists: I’m pro-life
Me: So you are anti-abortion.
AA: Well, I’m pro-life.
Me: So can you tell me you are anti-abortion.
AA: I believe in the sanctity of life.
Me: Which makes you anti-abortion.
AA (reluctantly): Wellllll, if you want to say that.
Me: So you agree that gay adoption is better than abortion.
AA: No, I believe a child needs a mother and a father.
Me: So what would you have done with the children born to the pregnant 9/11 widows. Make these women get married or take their babies away?
AA: Definitely not!
Me: But you just said children need a mother and a father.
I dislike the practice generally - although not violently enough to put up a sign. I can think of one example that I found not at all objectionable:
-a guy called at the door and introduced himself as a milkman intending to start a delivery round in our area. I suppose he could have just done a leaflet drop, but I don’t think that would have been nearly so effective for him, and in this case - with a personal service so traditionally established as to be an institution, I don’t begrudge him this mode of solicitation at all.
As a rule, I don’t buy anything - goods or services - from unexpected callers. I made one exception for the milkman.
You know, the thought has crossed my mind to set up an umbrella holder filled with katana blades, right next to the front door.
I get Jehovah’s witnesses, magazine sales kids and black kids from L.A. selling candy at ridiculously inflated prices. The latter two are obviously scams to me, and I figure they are casing the joint to rip me off. I suspect my city actually prosecutes these people for any illegal activities as they are happening with decreasing frequency. I try to engage the JW’s to hone my pro-evolution debating skills. One day, I’ll convert a JW to science and secular humanism!
I’m also the neighborhood weirdo, so unfortunately, kids with legitimate candy selling fundraisers never come by. I always buy from them.
I’ve posted signs that say “Baby sleeping,” because I’ve finally gotten a sick or fussy kid down for a nap, and somebody comes knocking on the door and wakes him up. I’ve thought about telling the salespeople/missionaries to come right in, and sit there and rock that baby back to sleep for the next two hours, and feed, burp, and change him too. That would teach 'em.
The moat isn’t a bad idea, if I could figure how to work it into the landscaping…
I don’t know why, but most of the callers open my screen door when they’re waiting for me. My ever curious cats are WAITING for this moment, and even though I might not see them at first, I do see a fuzzy butt zooming out the door. One salesman did help me retrieve the escaped cat. The others all decided that they’d rather be anywhere else, as long as it’s out of my range, because I’m generally furious.
I dunno, there’s a no-call list to stop* phone solicitation, and I find the D2D people to be more annoying. People calling don’t know I am home, they can’t see me and I can just hang up on them right away. But to see who is at the door I have to walk up to the window by the door down the foyer, then feel kinda creeped out that they know I am home but am refusing to answer. Luckily we don’t get much D2D stuff. And at our house we usually know when visitors are coming beforehand so we will know who is ringing the bell. We’ve never had a Jehovah’s Witness or anything that could possibly be entertaining though either.
*it’s pretty much worked for us but I don’t know about everyone
I’m not sure why this is such a problem for so many people. My husband and I do not answer the door. Period. We don’t even have a doorbell. There is no moral or legal obligation for us to answer the door or the telephone, so we don’t do so. Why is that so hard? (Not snarking. I honestly do not understand why people have such a hard time with this.)
We have an answering machine, so if someone is ill or a great crisis occurs, we can be informed, and that’s all we should be expected to do to accommodate the needs of others, strangers and family alike. (Hah, you think it’s hard to convince salespeople to go away? Try explaining to our elderly mothers that they cannot call us in the middle of the day because it is the middle of the night for us.)
cmyk, just sit in your window (in your underwear, if need be) and continue what you’re doing. Eventually they’ll get tired of watching you scratch yourself and go away.