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Ok I don't understand why people would actually buy from door to door salesman now a days anyways? The internet has made things so much easier and cheaper in some cases. Also, I will be putting a small no soliciting sign on my front door to deter anyone from thinking about it. Has anyone else thought of this idea with the small sign you can buy from HD/Lowes??
Ok I don't understand why people would actually buy from door to door salesman now a days anyways? The internet has made things so much easier and cheaper in some cases. Also, I will be putting a small no soliciting sign on my front door to deter anyone from thinking about it. Has anyone else thought of this idea with the small sign you can buy from HD/Lowes??
Yeah, you can put one out - we have - but it didn't stop anyone b/c no teeth in it w/o an ordinance.
Plus - even if someone respects the sign and doesn't come up to your house - just having people roaming around the neighborhood is disconcerting (even if they don't come up to the houses). They could be thugs "casing things out" - so why not have an ordinance that prohibits people coming into our neighborhoods.
I think most of us are more concerned about break-ins and people trying to figure out if our homes are easy pickings . . . than we are worried about scam artists - if that makes sense.
When I was involved in a similar business, towns with local ordinances either prohibiting solicitation or requiring a license for solicitation were supposedly off limits, but it didn't stop people from hitting them anyway.
The way this normally works is everyone works as an independent contractor, and their merchandise is consigned to them through a local office (or in the case of the magazine sales, a regional office usually ... much more traveling involved in that line than in what I sold). So what that means is nobody is really an employee, and each of these solicitors is more or less self-employed. That makes it completely impossible for the company consigning the merchandise to really regulate how individual solicitors behave.
For instance, I worked for a bit in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. The city of Virginia Beach required a business license to solicit. Out of an office of 200 people, only two of us ever bothered getting licenses. The city of Hampton completely banned soliciting. At least once a week we had someone in the field picked up by the cops there. The fines were far less than what they would make in a typical day in the field, so from an economic standpoint, it was worth the risk.
So I guess my point is while a local law banning solicitation is certainly inconvenient for these guys, it by no means stops them. In Charlotte, I can't imagine that the cops would even bother to act on a call for this.
When I was involved in a similar business, towns with local ordinances either prohibiting solicitation or requiring a license for solicitation were supposedly off limits, but it didn't stop people from hitting them anyway.
The way this normally works is everyone works as an independent contractor, and their merchandise is consigned to them through a local office (or in the case of the magazine sales, a regional office usually ... much more traveling involved in that line than in what I sold). So what that means is nobody is really an employee, and each of these solicitors is more or less self-employed. That makes it completely impossible for the company consigning the merchandise to really regulate how individual solicitors behave.
For instance, I worked for a bit in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. The city of Virginia Beach required a business license to solicit. Out of an office of 200 people, only two of us ever bothered getting licenses. The city of Hampton completely banned soliciting. At least once a week we had someone in the field picked up by the cops there. The fines were far less than what they would make in a typical day in the field, so from an economic standpoint, it was worth the risk.
So I guess my point is while a local law banning solicitation is certainly inconvenient for these guys, it by no means stops them. In Charlotte, I can't imagine that the cops would even bother to act on a call for this.
Thank you for weighing in and giving us your firsthand perspective!
So . . . what would your recommendation be - or what ideas do you have that would help us as we try to figure out how to address the situation? I would really appreciate hearing your thoughts. Thanks!
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Last edited by brokensky; 04-06-2008 at 03:41 PM..
Reason: typo
Only recommendations I can really give you is be really rude to them, waste their time as much as possible and never buy a thing ... and influence your neighbors to behave the same way. If you see them walking around your neighborhood, give them the third degree. Insist on looking at their identification. Tell them that you need to see their solicitor license immediately (especially if no such license exists in your area). Tell them they don't belong in your neighborhood, and you are calling the cops on them ... and they should wait right there for you (then go inside and make yourself a nice peanut butter and jelly sandwich or something, completely forgetting you ever spoke to them). Make your neighborhood a complete waste of time for them.
Remember that time is very important to these people. They work on the "Law of averages" - which more or less means that their income is directly proportionate to the number of homes they visit. The more you slow them down, the less money they make, and the less inclined they will be to go to your neighborhood again.
Do not be afraid to treat them like garbage, because you are doing them a favor if you do. In order for them to wake up and leave this line of work, they have to get seriously discouraged and frustrated. Being nice to them at all brightens their day and makes them more inclined to show up for work the next day.
It's probably obvious from a lot of my postings that I don't really have much faith in government solutions to ... well, anything. I am not speaking from ideology in this case though, I am speaking from experience. All the laws in the world won't stop these people, but a neighborhood full of people who are openly antagonistic will.
If you have a neighborhood watch, at your next meeting, spread the word. I have in my neighborhood.
LAMF - thank you soooo much! These are great suggestions and hearing it from you makes it really good info!
I really appreciate your taking the time to post this for us all.
This reminds me of an earlier post about magazine sales . . . and it sounds like the poster did exactly the right thing to approach the "salesperson" and scare him off!
Your comments reinforce what I have been thinking about running these people out of neighborhoods. I especially LOVED your suggestion to ask for a permit, even if one is not required! That is a hoot! I will definitely be doing just that.
Great post - thank you for adding such good info . . .
Ok I don't understand why people would actually buy from door to door salesman now a days anyways?
I read an article a couple years ago that basically said that the do not call lists had made face to face solicitations greater than they used to be.
Quote:
Originally Posted by himain
The internet has made things so much easier and cheaper in some cases. Also, I will be putting a small no soliciting sign on my front door to deter anyone from thinking about it. Has anyone else thought of this idea with the small sign you can buy from HD/Lowes??
I have one of those signs stuck to my front door. The only people that it really seems to stop are the people I want to buy cookies from.
As a door to door salesman, I am saddened by these remarks. All I am trying to do is make a living using the limited knowledge God gave me, selling a product that I am unable to sell online because it requires a demonstration firsthand. When people are rude to me, I just move on, because I know that this is the way I feed my family and put two of my three kids through college. Why can't people politely say they are not interested and close the door. I respect that and I never try to "talk someone into" something they do not want or need. I get rejected 100 times a day, my feet are marked up, and I go through shoes on an almost monthly basis. When I am not going door to door, I work another full time job, and I would never consider going on welfare or declaring bankruptcy. Please be more considerate when posting these horrible suggestions. Thank-you.
As a door to door salesman, I am saddened by these remarks. All I am trying to do is make a living using the limited knowledge God gave me, selling a product that I am unable to sell online because it requires a demonstration firsthand. When people are rude to me, I just move on, because I know that this is the way I feed my family and put two of my three kids through college. Why can't people politely say they are not interested and close the door. I respect that and I never try to "talk someone into" something they do not want or need. I get rejected 100 times a day, my feet are marked up, and I go through shoes on an almost monthly basis. When I am not going door to door, I work another full time job, and I would never consider going on welfare or declaring bankruptcy. Please be more considerate when posting these horrible suggestions. Thank-you.
So I should be nice to someone that shows up at my front door uninvited? BS. You should think about another line of work if all you're getting is rejections.
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