Should door to door solicitation/telemarketers be illegal? (ethics, religion, workers)

[NYTom]

Should door to door solicitation be illegal? As well as telemarketers that call you at home?
Nobody ever wants to be bothered, and in this day and age nobody should have a stranger approach their front door trying to sell them something they don't want.

[2nd trick op]

Yep! And most call center workers dread being forced to weave a sales pitch into their contacts with the public. It demeans both the caller and the CSR, and sets you up for increased "handle times", which are often used as a measure of productivity. And Lord help you if your personal sense of ethics is at odds with an "always be closing" mentality.

[jeffdoorgunner]

yes

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by NYTom

Should door to door solicitation be illegal? As well as telemarketers that call you at home?
Nobody ever wants to be bothered, and in this day and age nobody should have a stranger approach their front door trying to sell them something they don't want.

The same goes for proselytizers. Add them to the list. Nobody should have to put up with strangers pushing their religion.

[engineman]

We screen all calls with caller ID. If we don't know you we don't answer.

No door knockers here, so no problem.

[Luckystrike1]

I view them as a means of another way to earn a living, although I highly doubt that any of them are lucrative.

If one wants to add religion to the pile then you may as well throw in political reps as well.

[OpanaPointer]

NoMoRoBo.com (free for land lines) works for us.

As for the proselytizers:

[Old Gringo]

Probably should be, but the corporations behind it make political contributions, so we're stuck with it.

Just develop techniques to discourage them.

[PeachSalsa]

Originally Posted by engineman

We screen all calls with caller ID. If we don't know you we don't answer.

No door knockers here, so no problem.

I screen everyone, too. If I do not know the number, I never answer. They can leave a message (but never do).

I have a "No solicitation" sign on my front door, which has cut down on unwanted doorbell rings immensely. I usually do not answer the door unless I am expecting someone. I have a peephole now, so I can see if it's a neighbor, but otherwise, if I do not recognize the person, then I do not answer the door.

[JanND]

Originally Posted by NYTom

Should door to door solicitation be illegal? As well as telemarketers that call you at home?
Nobody ever wants to be bothered, and in this day and age nobody should have a stranger approach their front door trying to sell them something they don't want.

Don't answer your door. Screen your calls. End of.