I have a “no soliciting” sign on my front door and still get pestered to death by salesmen and charities, some of them quite rude. I guess they don’t consider themselves solicitors :mad:
They don’t understand the “No” part. And the charities and Bible thumpers don’t consider themselves solicitors.
I knew a guy years ago who was a sales manager for a magazine sales organization. He advised his new recruits not only to ignore “No Soliciting” signs but to view them with glee, because most of the people who put these signs up do so because they have little sales resistance and have a hard time saying no to someone face to face. He said he and his crews came to view “No Soliciting” types as easy marks, or at least easier marks than the average bear.
My grandmother used to take naps during the day and she put up a sign saying “Day Sleeper. Do not disturb.” on her door and she very rarely got anyone ringing her bell. Most sales people don’t want to deal with a pissed-off person who they just woke up despite having been told not to.
I used to work in an office where we had this on the door. Surprisingly, we got LOTS of people who, when confronted, would say things like, “Oh, that’s okay,” “Don’t worry about it,” “This will just take a minute of your time,” etc.
Clearly, they do NOT think of themselves as solicitors.
When you call the security guard they clear out.
I think that this sales manager was full of it. I put a “No Soliciting” sign on my door because I don’t want to be disturbed. I have plenty of sales resistance. What I have problem resisting is the impulse to toss the contents of the litterboxes on assholes that have rung my doorbell to sell me stuff. I don’t mind replaying a bit of a game if it means that I finally get my package from Amazon. I DO mind losing that time if it’s some asshole selling stuff I don’t want or need.
Putting up a “Day Sleeper” sign didn’t help much, either. People who are going door-to-door really don’t care if you’re trying to sleep, because they think that THEIR need for another sale or another donation or another convert is far more important than the homeowner’s right to sleep.
I don’t have a problem with sales resistance, either - I DO have a problem not yelling at people who ignore the sign. Now that I think of it, it’s not really a problem since I ask them if they saw the sign, they say yes, I tell them we’re not interested and slam the door in their faces - no problem.
I had a God-botherer tell me he wasn’t soliciting - that got my back up. I said, “Yes, you are, and we’re not interested” and slammed the door. They haven’t been back yet.
I’m sure there are always people who don’t have a problem telling salesmen to bite it. The purpose of my post was to illustrate how a “Day Sleeper” sign might be a better alternative to the “No Soliciting” sign which clearly isn’t working for the OP.
And the purpose of MY post is to show that putting up a “Day Sleeper” sign also clearly doesn’t work.
Anyone who goes door-to-door wanting to sell something, or get donations, or convince people to go to their church, is NOT going to be polite enough to refrain from ringing the doorbell. Because being polite doesn’t work for them, being aggressive does work.
In my county, it’s illegal to ignore a “No Soliciting” sign. Some people print and post the code section. That doesn’t even work all the time, but it helps.
I don’t know why you’re getting so pissy about this. I would have thought it would be obvious that no one solution will work for everyone. Still, it clearly did work for my grandmother (or at least most of the time, as she was bothered much less once she put the sign up), and I don’t see what harm might be done to the OP to try it and see.
It’s counter-intuitive to think that you’re going to be able to sell something to someone who has specifically asked you not to wake them; the assumption being that they work nights or whatever and are going to be royally pissed if you do. Sure, some will go ahead and give it a shot, but I think most people will respect the fact that you probably work nights and don’t want to be awakened, and that you’re not going to give up an hour’s worth of sleep to listen to them prattle on about their church or vacuum cleaner. I’d think they would be far more inclined to move on to the next prospect where they are less likely to be wasting their time.
Again, I don’t see what harm can be done by trying it, either way.
I’m pissy because it didn’t work for me. It hasn’t worked for 30 years, and I’m really getting tired of it.
That is why I have a note on my door that says that “I do not answer the door unless you have called ahead and made an appointment.”
It is also handy that we have only cell phones, and there is no phone number available for this address in the crosscheck directory <wicked evil grin>
We are on good terms with our postal humans, the fed ex driver, the UPS driver and they know to put the packages in the box =)
I know I’ve told this story before, but I’ve made it a habit of not answering the door if I don’t know the person, especially if that person is holding a clipboard, a brochure, a box of candy bars, etc. How do I know what they’re holding? I look out the window. Sometimes they see me looking at them, after which I still refuse to open the door. By their level of persistence, it’s obvious that some of them believe that if eye contact is made, or if it’s obvious that someone is home by the sounds inside the home, that there is some sort of law that compels us to open the door. There is not.
One clipboard-wielding nut got so increasingly agitated that I wouldn’t open the door, despite the fact that we could glare at each other through my study window (where I was cruising the internet) that he nearly busted the side windows of my door with his pounding. I finally hollered out that I was calling the police and he left. But, oh, was he mad. :rolleyes:
I recommend this tactic for everyone. I’ve raised my kids to look out before ever opening the door, too. Sometimes they’ll holler, "Don’t answer it! and I know the guy at the door hears it. Oh, well. Keep knocking.
BTW, if you can’t see who they are, try hollering out, “What do you want?” If they don’t give a satisfactory answer, say “Goodbye.”
Sadly, I’m afraid for some salesmen, canvassers, and religion peddlers, the word “solicitors” is the problem. Some of my students have frighteningly limited vocabularies and I can see this word being a stumper for them.
While I admit I’m an asshole in this regard, I’ve always advocated the “make door-to-door types as uncomfortable as possible.” I’ve noticed that when I politely refuse the church folk standing on my doorstep with their literature, they come back–but when I invite them in for a three-way, they don’t.
The last bit? Especially effective on Mormons. 
People actually sell stuff door-to-door? I’ve always looked at that as something from old sitcoms. I’ve had my share of Watchtower pushers and such, but I don’t believe I’ve ever seen anyone actively trying to sell a product, aside from school fundraising candy (pre-Sam Manzie).
Is that really still a thing? What are they selling?
Heh…“Whaddya mean ‘solicitors’? I’m not a prostitute!”
Door-to-door sales include magazine subscriptions (teens will frequently claim that they are “collecting votes” for a scholarship, and the way to vote is to buy a subscription), vacuum cleaners, cable or dish TV, power companies, candy bars (yes, still), and home security systems, just off the top of my head. There’s also the folks who want to mow my lawn, repave my driveway, or do other home improvement projects.
Seriously, I wouldn’t get so pissed if it weren’t for the fact that I suspect at least some of them are trying to see if someone’s home, and use the sales pitch in case someone IS home. At least half of them will open my screen door when they are waiting. I don’t know how many times my little feline escape artist has slipped out to chew on the grass and explore the great outdoors.
And not answering the door doesn’t solve the problem that they’ve awakened me, or pulled me out of a game that I can’t pause. I also order stuff that gets delivered, and Og help you if you don’t jump to answer the door, because the delivery people WILL just go on their merry way after about two seconds. And a lot of times I have no idea when a package will arrive, not even a specific day.
I get pissed because people say things like “Just put a sign on the door” and it does not work. I mean, if YOU got awakened at 3 or 4 in the morning, YOU’D be mad, right? Especially if it happened repeatedly? That’s the problem with being a day sleeper.
Try to catch your delivery person and tell him to just leave the stuff inside your screen door. Most will comply unless it’s a signature-required item.
My son takes naps in the afternoons, and if anyone rings the bell or knocks, my dog starts barking like crazy, which tends to wake him up from his naps. Last time someone ignored our multiple signs (seriously, not just No Soliciting, there are signs on the door saying do not ring or knock from 1 to 4, this means everyone), it was a couple of Jehovah’s Witnesses. I’m pretty sure the language my wife used would assure her a spot in hell.
No one’s tried it since. Maybe they all talk to each other.
I’m sure that good percentage of people simply ignore any and all signs, but I agree with **Julia **that I think quite a few people simply have no idea what the word “soliciting” means, and don’t realise they’re doing it.