# Door to door sales & junkmail



## Graham_07 (4 Aug 2010)

Gearing up for a rant here.  Being fed up of the increasing number of door-to-door salespeople and junkmail, we recently got two nice little signs in B&Q. They are both about 6'' x 2.5''. 

One reads "no door to door salespeople" and we stuck this right next to the doorbell.

The other reads "no junk mail" and we stuck that onto the flap of the letterbox. 

Now one might be forgiven for thinking that this would reduce the number of unwanted callers but no...no way. 

Latest in a long line of incidents :-

" Oh I didn't see the sign until I had rung the bell, but since you're here now....."( sales pitch for SKY TV )

" hey, I saw the sign, but hey, we're not selling you anything...we're here to SAVE you money by switching you to Vodafone". (Now give that fella 11 out of 10 for initiative)

The junk mail one to be fair, has worked. We now no longer get the junk THROUGH the letterbox, they just leave it on the  ground in the porch in front of the letterbox. 

Rant over.


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## Caveat (4 Aug 2010)

Move up to my neck of the woods Graham - In 4 years we have had exactly *3* unexpected/unsolicited callers! 

(The local priest, SF canvasser and 3 very attractive young women selling insurance of some sort.  I let them talk for a while as I observed their lovely....er... pitch...)


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## Markjbloggs (4 Aug 2010)

Graham_07 said:


> Gearing up for a rant here.  Being fed up of the increasing number of door-to-door salespeople and junkmail, we recently got two nice little signs in B&Q. They are both about 6'' x 2.5''.
> 
> One reads "no door to door salespeople" and we stuck this right next to the doorbell.
> 
> ...



Collect all your junk mail, then select one of them - go there and dump it all on their premises.

See how they like it..


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## truthseeker (4 Aug 2010)

I also got a No Junk Mail sign - has improved the situation but still get the odd junk.

Then I put up a 'No cold callers, no salespeople, no canvassers' and the first to call since was last week, a girl about electricity or gas or some such - I answered the door on the intercom and interrupted her spiel with 'can you read'? She muttered 'oh, yes' and I said 'goodbye then'. Which is really no less effort for me than it was before - so not sure the sign is worth it!


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## Purple (4 Aug 2010)

I always talk to cold callers but politely say no. Junk mail goes straight into the green bin.
When it's religious people selling God I argue with them (argue the points they make, nicely) if I have time. I find it very entertaining. I must look like I need saving because I get stopped in the street the odd time by people selling This post will be deleted if not edited immediately.


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## truthseeker (4 Aug 2010)

Purple said:


> I must look like I need saving because I get stopped in the street the odd time by people selling This post will be deleted if not edited immediately.


 
My OH terrorised two poor aul wans at the door from the local church a while ago telling them not to be calling peddling God and that this house had no need of the church etc...

I asked him what had annoyed him so much and apparently it was they just couldnt 'get' that he didnt believe in God and continued to make comments about how someday we would 'need' the church - when he asked how we would need it they said 'well to get married or have your children baptised' and he was gobsmacked that they actually couldnt understand the concept of not believing in God and thought that you 'needed' a church to get married in etc...


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## VOR (4 Aug 2010)

Purple said:


> When it's religious people selling God I argue with them (argue the points they make, nicely) if I have time. I find it very entertaining. I must look like I need saving because I get stopped in the street the odd time by people selling This post will be deleted if not edited immediately.



I'm the same when I have the time. In my student days I did once open the door wearing a "This post will be deleted if not edited immediately saves...Cantona scores the rebound!!!" tshirt. I didn't have to say much that day to get rid of them.


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## Mpsox (4 Aug 2010)

We get the odd caller, have to say that the Airtricity crowd were very irritiating for a while but seem to have stopped now. Main rubbish through the door these days tends to be for clothes collections.

What really bugs me is that none of them close the gate after themselves. It only takes 2 seconds

tempted to get one of those "beware of the dog" signs with a picture of a Rotweiller on it


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## Leper (4 Aug 2010)

Usually, I am polite to these people.  They have got to make a living and if you dont want to do business with them just inform them accordingly.  It is no big deal.


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## Homer (4 Aug 2010)

Leper said:


> Usually, I am polite to these people.  They have got to make a living and if you dont want to do business with them just inform them accordingly.  It is no big deal.



Good point.  I remember my dear departed mother telling me a few years ago that she had had some poor girl on the phone trying to sell her something and that she thought it must be a very difficult job, with people being rude to you all the time.

It gave me a different perspective on things.  I always used to get annoyed with cold callers and could be quite short with them.  After that discussion with my mother, I developed a bit more empathy and have tried to be nicer, while still saying no most of the time.  

I don't always remember this, but it's worth bearing in mind (particularly in today's job market) that most people don't end up in that type of job because they have loads of alternative options.


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## RMCF (5 Aug 2010)

I don't get too many callers, but the main ones are:

1) Eircom. Either selling broadband or PhoneWatch - both at silly prices I may add.

2) Bags for clothes collections for charity - yeah right! These I use to put rubbish in. Handy.

3) Junk mail is normally delivered by my postman, usually for credit cards and Sky etc.

4) The odd local takeaway leaflet. Doesn't bother me as  I use them the odd time.


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## Latrade (5 Aug 2010)

Various, dubious sponsorships appears to be a new one too.

I understand it's the individual's job, but then why should I respect that when they have no respect for my privacy or wish to be left alone? Their sales patter is verging on the aggressive and offensive. The insinuation is you're stupid for turning them away, when you eventually get them to understand you're saying no. 

I know I couldn't do that job, largely because I personally couldn't walk past a house, see them sat down to their dinner and still ring the bell and expect to engage them in a conversation, as they seem to do to me.


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## Graham_07 (5 Aug 2010)

Leper said:


> Usually, I am polite to these people.  They have got to make a living and if you dont want to do business with them just inform them accordingly.  It is no big deal.



And by putting up a sign I would have thought that I was making clear that I did not wish to do business. The big deal comes when people ignore that and ring anyway.



Homer said:


> Good point.  I remember my dear departed mother telling me a few years ago that she had had some poor girl on the phone trying to sell her something and that she thought it must be a very difficult job, with people being rude to you all the time.
> 
> It gave me a different perspective on things.  I always used to get annoyed with cold callers and could be quite short with them.  After that discussion with my mother, I developed a bit more empathy and have tried to be nicer, while still saying no most of the time.
> 
> I don't always remember this, but it's worth bearing in mind (particularly in today's job market) that most people don't end up in that type of job because they have loads of alternative options.



True, and I understand that, but when someone ignores a clear written request not to be disturbed by such sales, it can sometimes be very hard to remain polite.


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## gipimann (5 Aug 2010)

Mpsox said:


> What really bugs me is that none of them close the gate after themselves. It only takes 2 seconds


 
Ah, thought I was the only one who got annoyed at this....however my problem isn't with the junk mailers (who, to be fair, close the gate every time), it's with the postman who never closes it!


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## PyritePete (5 Aug 2010)

usually I hear them out mainly because my wife calls me down after she answered the door !!. When I decline and they persist, this is when I shut the door. Found little snotty nosed Sky agents the worst - he couldn't believe I didn't want to switch to Sky ! And guess what...I never switched


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## Tomodinhio (5 Aug 2010)

I have a "No Junk Mail" sign that has largely reduced the amount of rubish coming in the door, which is great.

Now when it comes to cold callers i have come up with a novel approach of getting them to go away. I dont like being rude to people, however i am running out of ways of telling these people as politely as possible to F off away from my front door. 
Instead of standing there and pretending to listen to their waffle i just say "I'm sorry, my parents (ie. bill payers) aren't here at the moment and i have no idea when they will be back". 
This works fantastically well, it means they just go away without bothering me and if they do come back i just say the same thing. Obviously i can get away with this by being in my mid 20's.


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## MandaC (5 Aug 2010)

Tomodinhio said:


> IInstead of standing there and pretending to listen to their waffle i just say "I'm sorry, my parents (ie. bill payers) aren't here at the moment and i have no idea when they will be back".
> This works fantastically well, it means they just go away without bothering me and if they do come back i just say the same thing. Obviously i can get away with this by being in my mid 20's.



My Mam did this recently to someone trying to sell her something.  Just said, "my mammy is not in at the moment" with a perfectly straight face.  My mam is 64.  Person did not know what to say and just went away.


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## becky (5 Aug 2010)

Have to say I don't get too much at all and don't have the signs on the door. In my last place I could see who was at the door and just didn't answer it even though it was clear I was in.

When I'm buying makeup the SA's are always trying to get you to buy another product to get the gift. I have started telling them I'm just collecting it for my friend and they stop the sales pitch.


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## Ciaraella (5 Aug 2010)

Tomodinhio said:


> Instead of standing there and pretending to listen to their waffle i just say "I'm sorry, my parents (ie. bill payers) aren't here at the moment and i have no idea when they will be back".
> This works fantastically well, it means they just go away without bothering me and if they do come back i just say the same thing. Obviously i can get away with this by being in my mid 20's.


 
That's a great idea, i'll have to try that!!


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## michaelm (5 Aug 2010)

I have an enclosed porch/sliding door thing . . I super-glued a bell (unwired) onto the frame.  I guess most callers ring that and then go away after a while.  Determined callers will open my sliding door and press the original bell . . but I disconnected that when I moved in so I'm unlikely to hear them either.  For those who then knock I politely explain that 'we have a policy not to sign up to, or give, anything at the door' (except for politicians, whom I delay as long as possible, when it suits me).  My kids direct all the junk mail into the recycle.  My wife has vetoed 'Callers by appointment only' and 'Beware of dog' signs, but I'm not sure they work anyway.


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## VOR (5 Aug 2010)

And if they phone you at home this is a good way to deal with it 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hllDWSbuDsQ&feature=related


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## DB74 (5 Aug 2010)

Tomodinhio said:


> Instead of standing there and pretending to listen to their waffle i just say "I'm sorry, my parents (ie. bill payers) aren't here at the moment and i have no idea when they will be back".


 
Must try that myself

"Sorry my wife isn't here at the moment and I'm not allowed make any decisions like this without adequate supervision"

Actually it's notall that far from the truth anyway so should be easy to keep a straight face!


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## micheller (5 Aug 2010)

I am that cranky rude householder at the moment. 
I work fulltime, have young children and am pregnant. Unsolicited sales calls to my door at 8pm are getting the full brunt of all they deserve 
/ rant


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## Leper (5 Aug 2010)

I cant think of a worse job than door-to-door selling.  You would need a brass neck.  But, requests not to be disturbed should be honoured too.  I recognise that the way the unemployment situation is going in Ireland there will be more and more cold callers trying to make a living. In the 8000 jump in unemployment figures released yesterday the majority are from the  professional and clerical areas.

Be careful the way you treat these people, you might be working with them someday.


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## Latrade (6 Aug 2010)

Leper said:


> I cant think of a worse job than door-to-door selling. You would need a brass neck. But, requests not to be disturbed should be honoured too. I recognise that the way the unemployment situation is going in Ireland there will be more and more cold callers trying to make a living. In the 8000 jump in unemployment figures released yesterday the majority are from the professional and clerical areas.
> 
> Be careful the way you treat these people, you might be working with them someday.


 
That's all well and good, I get it's a tough job, I get that people need to earn a living. However, the point is that I never invited them to call, the first principle is that they are disturbing my time at home after a day's work and so at first instance must be respectful of that. In the main they aren't. 

They don't apologise (even when they called during the world cup and it was obvious I was watching the game) in my experience, they try all the training techniques of keeping me at the door even when it's obvious I'm not interested and they insult or infer that I'm stupid when I refuse their wonderful offer.

Having said all that, the ones who are the most respectful when it comes to "cold calling" are the local Mormons. No hassle, no "bullying", a simple not interested and they thank me for my time, apologise for disturbing me and move on (though they always have that weird perma-smile).


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## JP1234 (6 Aug 2010)

In the last few weeks I have had 3 different reps from Sky calling to sell us Sky HD..even though we have it. Surely they should at least be able to check. By the third time I was getting quite annoyed and asked the rep to ensure I was not contacted again...though I have no idea if it will make a difference.

Eircom phone watch were bad for a while, despite the fact we clearly have a working alarm they still insisted in trying to get us to sign up.

Airtricity I simply say no and shut the door on them, no discussion as I find them too pushy.

Still, none of them are as bad as the "French Painters" trying to sell his original paintings


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## JP1234 (7 Aug 2010)

JP1234 said:


> Still, none of them are as bad as the "French Painters" trying to sell his original paintings



and believe it or not I have had 2 of these today!!!


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## z104 (13 Aug 2010)

Thw guys that collect the clothes drop leaflets through letterboxes in my area at 4am in the morning. They wake me up twice a week. 

How do you deal with people doing this. They don't answer phone numbers or emails.

The guards say they can do nothing about it.


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## Complainer (13 Aug 2010)

Niallers said:


> Thw guys that collect the clothes drop leaflets through letterboxes in my area at 4am in the morning. They wake me up twice a week.
> 
> How do you deal with people doing this.


Earplugs?


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## Graham_07 (13 Aug 2010)

Niallers said:


> Thw guys that collect the clothes drop leaflets through letterboxes in my area at 4am in the morning. They wake me up twice a week.
> 
> How do you deal with people doing this. They don't answer phone numbers or emails.
> 
> The guards say they can do nothing about it.



Block the letterbox until you get up? (perhaps with a brick with string on  in front of it and a note on the brick saying "this brick is connected to the rottweiler sleeping behind you...your move".)


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## Megan (13 Aug 2010)

MandaC said:


> My Mam did this recently to someone trying to sell her something.  Just said, "my mammy is not in at the moment" with a perfectly straight face.  My mam is 64.  Person did not know what to say and just went away.


I use the line that "I am the cleaner" and the boss is out. I have got funny looks when I answered the door in my dressing gown.


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## Graham_07 (13 Aug 2010)

Megan said:


> I use the line that "I am the cleaner" and the boss is out. I have got funny looks when I answered the door in my dressing gown.



I bet


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## loukkcat (17 Aug 2010)

I have a no junk mail sign on the door too, and the only people who disregard it are the local politicians with their pointless, self-glorifying newsletters, which to be fair, which I assume are being paid for out of taxpayers money! 
I don't know what makes politicians think they are beyond the realm of no-junk mail. There is one particular politician does it at least once a month, so I know who I won't be voting for next time round!!


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## Complainer (17 Aug 2010)

loukkcat said:


> the local politicians with their pointless, self-glorifying newsletters, which to be fair, which I assume are being paid for out of taxpayers money!


If it is a local councillor, the newsletter is not being paid for out of taxpayers money. If it is a TD, it might be printed in the Dail at a subsidised rate.


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## sam h (17 Aug 2010)

Megan said:


> I use the line that "I am the cleaner" and the boss is out. I have got funny looks when I answered the door in my dressing gown.


 
My Mother in Law uses this line also, works a treat


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## Niallman (24 Aug 2010)

Its a lousy job alright calling door to door and its so dificult not to get annoyed with them!  Ended up having a row with a guy from a well known charity organisation one evening who started getting angry with me coz I wouldn't sign up for his direct debit donations. Heard him do the same to the neighbours after he was gone from our house. Completely ignorant, complained about him but never heard anything back. 

And as for the leaflet droppers, we had a sign up saying "No Junk Mail" for a while which worked but it just looked stupid on the door. Was thinking of putting the green bin out the front with "Junk Mail Here" on it! Probably wouldn't look much better though!  

Since we took the sign down, the usual flow of stuff is back and our letter-box flap ended up broken. I'm well sick of the piles of stuff jammed into the letter-box every evening that goes straight into the bin. Anyone know are these leaflet droppers working for a particular company or how does that work?

...and don't get me started on the "Charity" clothing collection leaflets with their fake charity reg or company reg numbers and spelling mistakes.


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## fizzelina (24 Aug 2010)

Niallman said:


> ...and don't get me started on the "Charity" clothing collection leaflets with their fake charity reg or company reg numbers and spelling mistakes.


 
The fake "Charity" leaflets are rarely put through the door properly, they are left half hanging out of the letterbox. There is a reason for this - they then know which houses are empty / vacant / owner on hols. There are theories that these people are responsible for burglaries. The postman manages to put the post through the letterbox and it can't be seen so why can't they?


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## Complainer (24 Aug 2010)

fizzelina said:


> There are theories that these people are responsible for burglaries.


Conspiracy theories maybe.


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## Caveat (24 Aug 2010)

fizzelina said:


> The postman manages to put the post through the letterbox and it can't be seen so why can't they?


 
More like simple laziness or timesaving I'd say. If you're 'delivering' say 500 or 600  of these per day, you would probably save almost an hour by not bothering to push it through the letter box properly.

The people who deliver ours don't even make to to the door - we always find these bags with elastic round them lying on the ground outside our gate - we use them as bin bags.


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## Firefly (24 Aug 2010)

Niallers said:


> Thw guys that collect the clothes drop leaflets through letterboxes in my area at 4am in the morning. They wake me up twice a week.
> 
> How do you deal with people doing this. They don't answer phone numbers or emails.
> 
> The guards say they can do nothing about it.


 
Block up the slot in your door and put a letterbox at your gate?


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## z104 (24 Aug 2010)

No gate.

I might just let my dog out to take it off them next time


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## Firefly (24 Aug 2010)

Niallers said:


> No gate.
> 
> I might just let my dog out to take it off them next time


 
You could block up the slot on the door and put a post box next to it - then you could just bring the junkmail to the Green bin on the way out.


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## galleyslave (24 Aug 2010)

Leper said:


> Usually, I am polite to these people.  They have got to make a living and if you dont want to do business with them just inform them accordingly.  It is no big deal.



I'm polite too. my dog on the other hand...


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