How to you deter sales people calling to your house.

What a country . . .

I always open my door, unless it is *very* late and even then I would check out the window as the person was leaving to see if I recognised them.

Someone asked what you would do if you were sitting down with a glass of wine and your dinner and a bunch of visitors arrive ? Easy . . . answer the door, tell them I'm about to eat and invite them in *if it suits* or ask them to come back if it doesn't. If I have enough wine then I might even pour them a glass. Where's the complication there ?

A few years back our son had a minor medical emergency - one of our neighbours is a nurse so we went and rang on her door and she came over and was able to help get him stable again. What might have happened if she didn't answer ?

If I answer the door and it's a salesman I always do what one of the other posters said - let them run through their spiel (for a minute anyway) and then tell them I'm not interested. If they ask more questions or try to keep the conversation up then I just close the door while saying goodbye. It costs very little to be polite.

To be honest, I find it very strange to think that many people feel that they shouldn't answer the door to anyone if they are not expecting visitors. I know it sounds dramatic, but what if the next time you're watching telly and don't feel like answering the door there's someone outside having a heart attack or being chased by gougers or any of the other myriad of emergency situations *you* might find yourself in one day. Maybe you should just turn up Coronation Street and pour another glass and the problem will go away . . .

Of course there might be some situations where you have a reasonable expectation that the caller will be unwanted (maybe someone from Sky always calls on the first Monday of each month around 1900) and so don't answer, but this can't be the norm for most people.

z
 
In the last couple of hours I have had Eircom Phone Watch, Sky Digital and Bord Gais ring my door bell not to mention the unasked for junk mail of a pizza delivery service. Very annoying when I am working in the back garden. :mad:
 
Seriously, I suppose it is a nuisence, but in all fairness, door to door sales is a tough job at the best of times and even tougher in the current climate.

At least the people are trying to earn an honest living, so I dont feel the need to be rude to them.

To follow on from Zag's comments, your husband, brother, sister, friend may have to do this one day, so always treat others as you wish to be treated.
 
My door bell is connected to a phone in my kitchen so when it rings and Im not expecting someone I answer the phone and say 'Hello?'.
The cold callers have to recite the spiel to my intercom box. I wait until they pause and say 'No thank you, Im not interested in cold callers, bye!' and hang up.

My own personal favourites are the ones peddling religion. I usually interact a little bit more with them if Im in the mood for some divilment - Im not mean to them though :)
 
Simple, Don't answer the door. I never answer my door unless someone, friends or neighbours, rings me beforehand. Otherwise the door never gets answered. (Neighbours usually shout in through the letter box.)
 
Yeah yeah... so you're trying to cheat by not having a TV licence and got caught!!!

;)
 
zag said:
What a country . . .


Someone asked what you would do if you were sitting down with a glass of wine and your dinner and a bunch of visitors arrive ? Easy . . . answer the door, tell them I'm about to eat and invite them in *if it suits* or ask them to come back if it doesn't. If I have enough wine then I might even pour them a glass. Where's the complication there ?



To be honest, I find it very strange to think that many people feel that they shouldn't answer the door to anyone if they are not expecting visitors. I know it sounds dramatic, but what if the next time you're watching telly and don't feel like answering the door there's someone outside having a heart attack or being chased by gougers or any of the other myriad of emergency situations *you* might find yourself in one day. Maybe you should just turn up Coronation Street and pour another glass and the problem will go away . . .


z
Click to expand...


That was me. To be honest, I would think it much ruder to say to friends 'I'm having my dinner can you come back another time' than to just pretend I'm not in.

I take your point re the possibility of an emergency but, as I live in an apartment, I know my neighbours will just bang on my internal front door if they need me in a hurry.

Also, as a female living on my own I certainly wouldn't go down and open the front door late at night if I didn't know who was there.
 
The only people we get are people selling insanely expensive raffle tickets for the local GAA club. They are always neighbours (kind of) so we always end up taking them ...don't feel there's a polite way out of this one!
 
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