Door to door salesmen

[fireside44]

Most communities have passed ordinances against door to door sales .

Wrong. Most communities have not passed any ordinances, which is why door to door sales still continue. Housing developments maybe, but most suburban areas have no such ordinances.

 

[ultradoc]

I allways check to see who it is when the knock/ring accures. I have a window at the top of my door so I can look out. the step to the door is about 4 in. below the door and I am 6 ft. plus so I look down to them then decide whether to answer or not.

 

[rlp]

True here and I agree. But times they are a changin it seems for sure. A friend in Windsor over the border from Detroit told me last week that a guy came to her door in an Gas Company Uniform to check her meter for a 'new rate program' and wanted inside her house. She is a single mom with 2 kids. Long story short she asked for a card to call his office and he left, on foot. No truck or such in site and she felt lucky for having opened door, and person walking off. A friend of her's down the street had a woman limp up to her door with a story of a car wreck; same thing, no car but friend closed door on her and the women left in truck
parked down the street with 2 guys. Now I dont know really what type of hood they live in but there you have it. Just some fyi here.

 

[rogertc1]

My pitbull meets most people at the window by the front door. A very effective screening.
No one ever stays ...even UPS

 

[TNboy]

I lived with my grandmother in a rural area for a few years when I got out of highschool. We lived at the end of a half mile long gravel driveway. It was pretty obvious when you turned onto the driveway from the road that it was not a public road, cattle gap, mailbox, etc. People would still show up from time to time. I was most always carrying or atleast had a gun close by or in the truck. (Legal, though underage I was on private property) I remember a couple of times I was open carrying while working outside, just because I didn't have a shirt on. I experienced a few strange things.
* Once a young kid pulled up while I was outside, I approached his vehicle and said in a somewhat standoffish voice "Can I help you with something?" The kid was polite, and showed me an invitation to a cookout down the road, he couldn't find the correct address, I recognized the name of the people he was trying to find and directed him, no harm, no foul, he was very polite and I let my guard down pretty quick.
* I was working on a lawn mower out by the shop when two cars pulled in. I was home by myself and carrying in a holster with no shirt on so the gun was very obvious. I approached the first vehicle and something just didn't seem right. I asked the occupant if there was something that I could help him with. He told me that he was looking for property to buy, I informed him that we didn't have any for sale. The property was waterfront, and he started asking me how deep the lake was in the middle, how deep it was at the dock, etc. I told him that it really didn't matter since we wern't selling, I finally got him to leave, but something just wasn't right, I'm really glad I was there because I think that they were up to no good.
* Came home one night and there was a boat out in front of the house night fishing, no big deal, but they kept shining a high powered spot light on the house, which I found odd, it wasn't accidental, being about 18 and stupid I slipped out and unloaded a semi auto .22 in the air rapid fire. They left, and as far as I was concerned I was just shooting a gun in the air out my back door in the middle of the night.
* There were a lot of coon hunters in the area and I knew most, and most I knew I really didn't care for. I can appreciate issues coon hunters deal with as I used to hunt them myself. Dogs can't read signs and sometimes go places you had rather them not go. I normally would have had no problem with any of them coming to get their dogs, I would prefer they call me first and let me know what they are doing, or at the very least knock on the door. Sometimes they would just show up to get their dogs though. Grandma had that happen a couple of years ago, it was some guys we didn't know. She met them on the porch with a 12 gauge and told them to move along.

 

[ElToro]

TNboy, my FIL lives in middle TN in a rural county way out in teh sticks. you have to go down a long road then turn off to his road and its a good 1/2 mile gravel road to his house. he gets uninvited people all the time.

i live in the Bay Area. we were between house sales and purchases and i was too lazy to pack and unpack houses and too cheap to rent an apartment for a few months so we lived in my MIL place for a few months. not that bad as she worked nites and was gone by the time i got home so we didnt have to interact too much. anyway, she had one of those steel cage screen doors and it was october and about 9pm. cool but not cold but very dark. some turkey knocks on that door and starts on me about selling magazines or some thing . no it was nice cuz it was set up so the porch lite illuminated it well but if the interior hall light was off they could not see in and it was deadbolted steel door. i asked him if he knew it was 9pm and he had some lame answer. sorry pal not interested.

where i live now, i dont have a screen door but i do have a window at about 5.5 feet up in the door. i can look down on somebody yesterday a yong guy knocks and against my beter judgment answered the door and he starts about shampooing carpets. i said sorry pal i got hardwood, which i do and show him. he slumped away. i do worry about my wife being home alone as she entertains these goofs. a few weeks ago i was in the bathroom doing # 2 and the doorbell rings and she answers and she interatcs with some pushy sales guy for several minutes for some product we dont need and every time i heard her say sorry not interested he would change the subject and get pushy. i was starting to get nervous and seriously planning what i would do with my pants around my ankles if she started to scream for help. the dresser with the heat was only a few feet away so i wasnt too worried but i told her not to engage these guys for so long or at all. i would like to get one of those similar steel cage screen doors with deadbolt but its not typical for the nieghborhood. although i dont really care what my neighbors think of my saftey.

 

[Stelth]

El Toro; It's simple. Just don't answer the door for strangers. They eventually go away.

 

[justashooter in pa]

"you can tell the iceman, he better leave some ice,
and you can tell the postman, he better ring more than twice.
in the morning when i come home, i better see some groceries on the shelf,
and you can tell that slick insurance salesman he better write some insurance on himself...

i think i'm getting some outside help i don't really need."

 

[bababooey32]

just a community where you aren't allowed to possess or carry friearms. It's legit and the SCOTUS recently ruled to keep communities like mine this way.

Huh? The only "community" I can think of that could prevent you from legally keeping a firearm in your home would be a prison. I believe in AZ the state fireamrs laws would preempt any local or "community" ordinances...

I've been wrong before though!

 

[berettashotgun]

Wasp and Hornet spray is 2 for $5 at wally world as we type.
A brass power nozzle on the water hose works with a long reach in the winter months.
But a nice Para 14-45 visual ALWAYS works wonders - I don't care to be around people uncomfortable with firearms. I have to at times, but I don't like it much, tolerance - that sort of thing.
I always answer the door, carrying discretely.
I also am polite, you never want to look a gift horse in the mouth.
But I think the reason God gave man two hands - to extend one to help the fellow man and to hold a weapon in the other if he came up swinging.

 

[KingEdward]

if it's an 8 year old or my preacher, I'll open up and chat.

otherwise, from behing the dead bolted door it's

"STATE YOUR NAME, STATE YOUR BUSINESS".

If they wan't to go a little farther then there will be
a request to show ID and a phone number for me to
call to verify with their boss or company they are legit.

Even then, it's probably door stays closed and NO THANKS.

 

[medalguy]

We live in a remote area in northern New Mexico, about 1/4 mile down a gravel road with a gate that's always chained with two no trespassing signs, one on the gate itself, another on the fencepost beside the gate. I am truly amazed at the frequency with which people open the gate and drive up to our house, or turn off the road to go over to the mountain behind our place. We have an alarm on a post just inside the gate so we know EVERY time someone comes down our road. They are always met with a double barrel 12 ga at the front door if they get that far. I have discussed this with several deputies, and they have all agreed people are just plain STUPID! One deputy suggested keeping the gate padlocked at all times, but then legitimate deliveries and friends couldn't get to us nor emergency vehicles if needed.

I agree, people are plain dumb.

 

[Pyzon]

I agree, people are plain dumb.

Yep, I agree completely, but it seems that a lot of salesfolks pretend they don't see just knocking on your door (or calling your phone even if it is listed on the do not call registry) trespassing.

Matter of fact, I don't recall ever having read the official legal definition of what trespass consists of, but I consider it entering a property without an invitation.

I have had lots better luck with a sign at the end of the drive I share with another family that reads "RESIDENTS ONLY, NO SOLICITING, NO UNINVITED ENTRY".

We've had far fewer annoying folks knocking since I put that up and took down the sign that simply said "Private Drive". But, now and then somebodys still thinks it doesn't apply to them. Amazing.