Stupid me-don't open the door for ANYONE

[Clod Stomper]

Had to be them.  I remember their ads in the newspaper.  "Must love loud music."  From what I read, it's because they would drive around in a van, dangerously, with the radio cranked up.  Very high turnover.  The owner makes money by putting a ton of kids out there selling expensive vacuum cleaners and every once in a while, they sell one.  Salespeople don't make much unless they manage to sell a few.

 

A couple of them freaked out a buddy of mine a few years ago.  He lives at the end of a dead-end road, sort of out in the sticks.  They pulled up, mumbled something, shoved a can of cleaner in his hands and left.

 

One stopped by our house a while back, in the daytime.  An attractive female who was not at all pushy and seemed genuinely disappointed when I didn't have time to let her do a demo.  But she just left.  Looking back, I should have introduced her to an endeavor that I was involved in at the time.  It hasn't worked out all that well for me (I'm a terrible salesman), but a pretty girl may have better results.

 

I don't blame the salespeople.  They're enticed by an ad promising them easy money then pushed out on the road with no training.

[whitewolf001]

Had to be them.  I remember their ads in the newspaper.  "Must love loud music."  From what I read, it's because they would drive around in a van, dangerously, with the radio cranked up.  Very high turnover.  The owner makes money by putting a ton of kids out there selling expensive vacuum cleaners and every once in a while, they sell one.  Salespeople don't make much unless they manage to sell a few.

 

A couple of them freaked out a buddy of mine a few years ago.  He lives at the end of a dead-end road, sort of out in the sticks.  They pulled up, mumbled something, shoved a can of cleaner in his hands and left.

 

One stopped by our house a while back, in the daytime.  An attractive female who was not at all pushy and seemed genuinely disappointed when I didn't have time to let her do a demo.  But she just left.  Looking back, I should have introduced her to an endeavor that I was involved in at the time.  It hasn't worked out all that well for me (I'm a terrible salesman), but a pretty girl may have better results.

 

I don't blame the salespeople.  They're enticed by an ad promising them easy money then pushed out on the road with no training.

 

At our very core we're all humans that when enticed we'll default to more BASIC human urges which are essentially the seven deadly sins. You put an offer out there that is TOO tempting and someone will take the bait.

[RobertNashville]

There was a time when putting up with people selling something door-to-door was just an inconvenience but those days are long past.

 

Today if anyone is actually selling something door-to-door it is almost a guarantee that the "product" is either stolen, sub-standard or overpriced (or all the above) OR that you are dealing with potential home invasion and/or home robbery (someone scoping out your home on the pretense of selling something).

 

Either way, the only people I open my door to at night are LEOs or those I've invited over and are expecting!

 

Glad nothing bad happened here; count it as a learning experience/reminder. :)

[Guest RebelCowboySnB]

That vacuum sales pitch would not end happy here. But then I am on my porch with gun openly in holster before people have time to get out of a car. Putting up with pushy sales people will not happen. I will assume bad things.

[jtmaze]

I live way out in the woods and have 2 100lb dogs in the window barking as I go to the door armed. They usually like to talk in the yard. JTM We the People of the United States, in order to form a more Perfect Union......

[Dustbuster]

Just found this must have item works great guaranteed:



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 of course it ate my spelling.

[Guest carter]

There was a time when putting up with people selling something door-to-door was just an inconvenience but those days are long past.

 

Today if anyone is actually selling something door-to-door it is almost a guarantee that the "product" is either stolen, sub-standard or overpriced (or all the above) OR that you are dealing with potential home invasion and/or home robbery (someone scoping out your home on the pretense of selling something).

 

Either way, the only people I open my door to at night are LEOs or those I've invited over and are expecting!

 

Glad nothing bad happened here; count it as a learning experience/reminder. :)

ehh SOMTIMES maybe...last year i did buy a card from 2 young guys... it was to a Midas car care center... it wasn't a bad deal and they walked up during the day when i was outside working on my truck... every other oil change free and the ones in between are 14 bucks...free tire rotation and a host of other free things and discounts... 

[Pcdokk]

My doors are always locked, my dogs alert to every unknown sound, and yes, when I hear an unexpected knock on my door day or night I approach the door with weapon at the ready (concealed from plain view). I never so much as crack the door without asking who they are. If it sounds like a legitimate person I still make them walk down the porch and hold their ID up to a window so I can get a look at the ID and the person. I have no problem politely asking them to leave if I have no interest in what they are there for; sometimes not so politely if they argue or refuse to leave and I will never hesitate to make a non emergency call to LEO's reporting a suspicious person in the neighborhood. Friends know me well enough to let me know they are dropping by even if they call from my driveway. Just common sense in my humble opinion.

[Guest boatme99]

And rip that c*** off the peephole!

[QuietDan]

To Summarize:

 

1. Don't open the door.

 

2. Arm up. They might force the door.

 

3. Observe through the peep-hole for I.D. details.

 

4. Call the law. Make a detailed report. Let the Law sort it out.

[Guest SavageOne]

Never had anyone knock on my door, day or night. Could be the long dark driveway, or the blinding motion activated flood lights. Might even be the 5' fence with the locked gate.  No one drops by uninvited or unexpected. I'm a retired LEO and have a bit of insight into what to expect from people in general. It occurs to me that perhaps I need to work on my people skills--------------Naw!

Edited January 23, 2014 by SavageOne

[10-Ring]

I would bet my paycheck they had a trunk full of Kirby vacuum cleaners.  They got my parents 25 years ago.  Salesman got dropped off at my parents rural house and his boss wouldn't pick him up until he made the sale.  I'm less compassionate, I believe I would have given him a long walk to think about life.

[Guest Nick@NKG]

I had some one pounding on my back door in the middle of the night a few weeks ago. My wife woke me up she heard it. I saw it was 2 in the morning. My first thought was, it was a friend or family member and something was horrible wrong! (scary feeling). Still I was suspicious, I Grabbed the Mossberg 500 and slowly creeped to the back door to find no one. I stayed up for a couple hours watching out the windows and watching cars driving by. The next morning I woke up to a kicked in storm door on the front door. Must of happened after I went back to bed. What is wrong with people!!!? I am thankful that I have taken the time in my life to arm my self and learn to efficiently use a firearm. Glad No one made it into my house for their sake.