Me vs. the Door-to-Door Salesman
Posted by jefferson in Saving Money | 18 comments
It has happened more times than I can count. The family is sitting around the dinner table enjoying a lovely meal when the doorbell rings. We exchange glances and I ask “Are you expecting anyone?” But the unexpected visitor isn’t a friend or family member. It is a door-to-door salesman trying to convince us to buy something that we don’t need.
In a lot of ways, door-to-door sales feel like something from a forgotten era. In my head, I picture the vacuum salesmen and Avon ladies cycling their way through the suburban neighborhoods of yesteryear. We don’t typically get either of those, but we do get other salesmen every couple of weeks showing up on our doorstep, especially as the weather warms up. Unfortunately for them, I have already made up my mind before I even answer the door; I will never buy another item from a door-to-door sales person.
I feel bad for people that have this job, I really do. I had a few sales jobs cold-calling people back when I was in college, and it was just horrible. I would think that knocking on strangers’ doors and trying to separate them from their money would be even worse, especially in this economy. Because I feel bad for them, I always try to be kind and respectful to these sales people. However, I do quickly and calmly let them know that they are wasting their time by talking to me. Here are some common types of salesmen that we get and the lines that I use:
Lawn Care: This is one that we have been getting more and more. These dudes don’t actually want to cut my grass, but instead want me to pay them to fertilize and prevent weeds.
- What I say: Thanks, but I don’t have the money this year.
- What I mean: These guys are seriously overpriced! A big bag of Vigoro is about $40 and takes 15 minutes to apply. They are charging about 5 times that much, and I bet these college kids wouldn’t even do as thorough a job as I would.
Magazines or Books: This classic is usually spun from a young person who claims that they are trying to raise money for a trip to Europe or something, or someone claiming they are under-privileged and can’t find work elsewhere. The reality is that this is a well-known scam, and a large number of these subscriptions and book orders are never actually fulfilled.
- What I say: Thanks, but money is tight right now and we aren’t buying any books or magazines.
- What I mean: I think you are probably trying to scam me, and don’t want any part of that. In addition, they have this lovely thing called the internet now, and I am 100% confident that I could find a better price on both the magazines and books that you are selling.
Home Improvements: This is the most common salesperson that we see, and generally the most persistent. They are always just doing a job in the area, and wonder if we have any projects that we are planning. They would be happy to give a free estimate, and even offer financing!
- What I say: Oh.. We just re-did our kitchen last year, and are still paying for it. No new projects for now.
- What I mean: When we are ready to take on a big project, we are going to do the research and planning ourselves, and not trust somebody who randomly knocks on our door.
The last one there is actually the one that motivated this post, as I have been burnt in the past. A few years ago, a guy knocked on my door noticing that our asphalt driveway was starting to crack. He claimed that he had just moved into the area and had a special epoxy that could bond the cracks. He offered to apply this epoxy to resurface the driveway, for $500. Considering that a new concrete driveway could set us back around $3000, I thought that his offer sounded pretty good and would certainly buy us a few years. I agreed to the deal and a few days later he applied his epoxy and resurfaced the driveway as we talked about. It looked great for about a week, and then the cracks started to appear again. I called him right away and he reapplied and fixed the cracks again, but again it didn’t last. At this point, he stopped returning my phone calls, and I realized that I had been screwed. We hadn’t had a proper contract for the work, and I had no recourse. I was furious at him for selling me a product that didn’t work, and furious at myself for being a moron. I wasn’t big on door-to-door sales before any of this happened, but this experience certainly pushed me over the edge. On the bright side, it certainly taught me a valuable lesson.
These days, I don’t get angry when a salesperson knocks on my door, and I am certainly not going to put up one of those “No Soliciting” signs like the one shown at the top of this post. In my opinion, those signs just seem a little paranoid and anti-social. I said earlier in this post that I would never buy another item from a salesperson at my door, but this rule certainly doesn’t apply to children. It isn’t the same thing when a girl scout, cub scout, or another kid in the neighborhood shows up at my door trying to raise money for their activities. As long as I know the kid, I will always try to help them out by ordering an item or two. I have children of my own, and there is an unwritten rule between parents that we try to help each other’s kids during these fundraisers.
In conclusion, if you are reading this story and you are a door-to-door salesman, I ask that you please try to avoid my house. I won’t believe a single word that comes out of your mouth, and I am not going to buy what you are selling, no matter what it is. Have a nice day.
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This article originally appeared on SDR in April 2012.
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We really dont’ get many of these in an apartment, but one time I guess somebody let a salesman in and it was pretty scary at first to have a stranger knocking at my apartment door (I live in a not-great neighborhood). I admit that I probably wasn’t as friendly to him as I should have been, but something seems a little swarmy about getting into an apartment building and doing that.
I’m very fortunate that I live outside the city limits of Kansas City because we really don’t get any door-to-door salesman.
I’ve had one or two over the past 3 years, but not many. I am with you though…I don’t think I’d ever do business with somebody that came to my door.
My brother had a few door-to-door jobs when he was making his way through college and I always felt bad for him. He was selling cable (AT&T) so it wasn’t terrible but I just don’t know how you could do that. Some people are so mean and brutal…
I’m glad that you’re nice to them. I try to be as well. Their job is hard enough, there is no need to be a jerk and slam the door shut or yell at them like so many people do.
I use to get the door to door magazine sales people quite often. I feel a bit sorry for these people as I consider magazines a bit dated at this point. I don’t know who would actually subscribe other than doctors or dentists that want to stock their lobbies. Everything else you can find online quite easily and it will be less dated.
I guess that’s one advantage to living in an apartment, well in a rental apartment anyway. Maybe it’s different with an owned apartment. I don’t recall dealing with a single door to door salesman at any of my apartments.
I do feel sorry for the job they have to do, but I’m sure I’d still be rather short with them. It’s not that I mean to be rude, but I wouldn’t want to be wasting either of our time.
I am a sucker for kids selling chocolates though.
Fortunately we live in an apartment building that keeps the salespeople out too. In fact, one of my main money goals is to have so much money that I can give a ton of it away and have a lot of “goofball” fun with it – like tell salespeople I’m about to go for a jog and invite them along if they want to talk about their product… and if they called me on my bluff I’d have to run a few blocks, but it would provide many more opportunities for fun. If they took me up on the offer I’d probably buy their product for a gift just to reward the dedication…
I didn’t realize there were still so many door-to-door sales people. I sold cassettes and then school sale crap door to door in high school and junior high, respectively. That was pretty fun.
I usually don’t answer the door. And usually the bark of my bigger dog scares everyone away thankfully! One time I opened the door and she started barking at a salesperson, and he actually had the nerve to ask me to step outside so that my dog could shutup and stop interrupting. I wanted to say “Ummm, my dog is SUPPOSED to be barking at you!”
You guys are funny.. Thanks for commenting.
Michelle: Maybe that’s our issue. We need a dog.
Nick: I *love* this idea! Except I’d be afraid they say yes.
The Rest: You guys are lucky if you don’t get many visitors of this kind.. Hopefully they will be a thing of the past here at some point.
Man, I am a sucker for them. I used to canvass, then I was a commission-only salesperson, so I usually cave. HOWEVER! I just moved to a house where I live in the basement, only accessible via the back door, so really, the only people coming to my door are expected.
Luckily I don’t get the door to door salesman too often -probably because I live out in the country. Thank God If they did come I probably wouldn’t answer the door anyway.
I agree with you. I too have sympathy with door to door sales person. It would be very frustrating for them since most of the time they get to listen NO. I too tell that “What you are selling is nice but I don’t have money to buy it” and guy on the other end knows what I really mean 🙁
I used to be one of those door-to-door salespeople who would ring your doorbell at dinnertime. As a real estate agent, I can recall knocking on many doors to see if I could find potential home buyers and sellers. Most people politely declined me. Then, there were others who slammed doors in my face.
Then, I switched from real estate sales to the BPO (Broker Price Opinions) business and loan modifications. I was still knocking on doors, but it was so much more fun. The business entailed looking for comps and submitting CMA (Comparative Marketing Analysis) reports to banks for a fee. Most of the time, I knocked on doors to find out about homes in the area. The homeowners were always very helpful, because they knew that I wasn’t there to sell them anything. That always made me feel easier about going door-to-door. In a way, I felt like a crime investigator looking for witnesses. It was great.
Most people hate sales people, and I can’t say that I blame them.
I just had one try to scam me. He talked to my wife the day before, who brushed him off. He came back when he knew I’d be home and said he had an appointment. I told him not interested.
I pretty much assume that if you are knocking on my door and I don’t know you.. You are either trying to sell me something, or are up to no good (or maybe both).
i have no time for door to door salesman, I appreciate they have a job to do and need to do it but if i needed whatever they were selling i would be going to get it myself. it doesnt make muhc sense to me and it is an inconvienience having to listen to their sales pitch.
Im not selling Im saving !
I used to have several coming along our apartment but I think everyone got so sucked up until new rules had to be put in place. In some cases they won’t be offering some services worth your time and money.
Not all door to door is scams lot of people are paying to much for tv and internet and these guys brung the deal,s to you they have to checking with the polices in most all cities I think your all funny thus is what’s wrong with our country
Door to door canvassing is an emotionally taxing experience. Dealing with rejection that spans from 5% Luke Warm, 75% Indifference to 20% downright hostility will teach the salesman a great deal about humanity and the lack thereof. I know having been in sales myself. To begin with, residential canvassing entails the bad aspects of being a Mail Carrier and a Salesman. The salesman deals with negativity on a daily basis, day in and day out. It can be heart rending and is often disappointing. It’s a sad life and the rewards are few and far between. Try to extend a little more appreciation and a little less hostility toward the salesman. somebody will treat you the same way if you don’t.