Door-to-door sales

[Dr. Diaphanous]

How do you feel about salesmen who knock on each door in an area to sell something/ advertise/ sign you up for a service?

The poll concerns legitimate sales/ charities/ religious groups/ political campaigns/ polls, but not conmen.

Full disclosure:

Spoiler:

I have been offered a door-to-door sales job and I have done a week of training, but I'm not sure whether to stay on, because I'm uncomfortable bending the truth to get people to buy things, and mainly because it's something like a 12 hour day with no pay except commission per sale, so you can't make a good living unless you're very good at it.

[Deva]

Agrees with Options Two and Three. Earns money. Requires that like everyone else. Dreads speaking with the person, regardless.

[K-R]

Some years ago, a door-to-door guy let himself in through our back gate, and knocked on the back door...at eight o'clock at night. No idea what the fuck he was thinking. Just about got ripped to shreds by our dog.

[pizzazz]

How do you feel about salesmen who knock on each door in an area to sell something/ advertise/ sign you up for a service?

The poll concerns legitimate sales/ charities/ religious groups/ political campaigns/ polls, but not conmen.

Full disclosure:

Spoiler:

I have been offered a door-to-door sales job and I have done a week of training, but I'm not sure whether to stay on, because I'm uncomfortable bending the truth to get people to buy things, and mainly because it's something like a 12 hour day with no pay except commission per sale, so you can't make a good living unless you're very good at it.

I just started such a job (well technically I'm not selling anything), I have the same misgivings (work day isn't as long though).

[EdgarJPublius]

About the same way I feel regarding phone books, junk-mail and other spam. It's wasteful, exploitative (typically of both the customers and the salespeople) and just plain rude.

[You, sir, name?]

I blame them for doing their job. Even if it is your job to do something morally reprehensible¹, you are still responsible. The "I was only following orders" defense is even less valid in civilian life than in the military, as there is no risk of court-martial.

¹ I count pestering people for a living among what's morally reprehensible.

[Ptolom]

as there is no risk of court-martial.

You don't know how these operations are run.

[UniqueScreenname]

I do a lot of volunteer work going door-to-door, so I definitely understand it, but we don't charge anything for what we do, so I don't feel the same about salesmen as I do about my activities. In any case, I picked the second one.

[Giant Speck]

I've had to put a "no soliciting" sign on my door to prevent people from trying to sell me stuff. I've had two people try to sell me magazine subscriptions, one person try to sell me a newspaper subscription, and one person try to sell me candy.

And it doesn't even stop at my own apartment. Back in February, a young couple followed me around Lowe's waiting for me to stand still long enough to try to get me to buy magazine subscriptions from them. And when eating at a restaurant in March, someone came up to my table and tried to sell me dreamcatchers.

[EdgarJPublius]

I do a lot of volunteer work going door-to-door, so I definitely understand it, but we don't charge anything for what we do, so I don't feel the same about salesmen as I do about my activities. In any case, I picked the second one.

I think there are key differences to going door to door with a legitimate purpose, such as raising awareness, money for charity, performing surveys and etc. vs. going door to door hawking magazines, weird religions and vacuum cleaners.

For the record, I only didn't pick the fourth option because as far as I am aware, the actual people going door-to-door are often victims themselves, or at least have little say in what they do and say. The real criminals are a few steps higher up the ladder.

[Dr. Diaphanous]

Some years ago, a door-to-door guy let himself in through our back gate, and knocked on the back door...at eight o'clock at night. No idea what the fuck he was thinking. Just about got ripped to shreds by our dog.

I think that (in the UK) it is legal for them to knock on your door up to half past eight at night.

I've had to put a "no soliciting" sign on my door to prevent people from trying to sell me stuff.

As I said, I have a little experience in the trade, and to be honest a lot of people just see your sign as an added challenge. This is not helped by the fact that a lot of people with such a sign do seem interested in buying, and only a minority will simply point at the sign and close the door. When people do point to the sign the standard response is "I didn't see it" or "Don't worry I'm not allowed to sell you anything on the door, I'm just here to give you information and book you a slot on the market (which totally isn't the same as signing you up because you can cancel the subscription at any time in the next 2 weeks)". People do have the decency to steer clear if you have a sign saying you are disabled, but that's partly because you get no commission for signing up a vulnerable person (over 75 or mentally disabled).

I think there are key differences to going door to door with a legitimate purpose, such as raising awareness, money for charity, performing surveys and etc. vs. going door to door hawking magazines, weird religions and vacuum cleaners.

"I'm raising awareness of this new vacuum cleaner which is 100% more powerful and 20% cheaper than ever!"
Also, don't weird religions count as charities?

[PerchloricAcid]

I can't blame them for doing their job, but I wish they would stay far away from my door.

[PatrickRsGhost]

Living in the States, I had no idea this kind of thing still goes on anywhere. I thought such a practice was eternally enshrined in classic TV sitcoms like "The Brady Bunch", "I Love Lucy", "The Dick Van Dyke Show", or "The Andy Griffith Show".

I would be very annoyed with someone coming to my house at the worst possible time (usually while I'm eating supper), trying to sell me something.

Check that: We do have door-to-door salespeople here in the States, but it's very rare. The way you described it, it's a common thing there in the U.K. Once in a while we might have an Avon rep going door-to-door, or we might have a Kirby vacuum cleaner salesman going door-to-door, but it depends on where you live and the time of day. Most solicitations in the U.S. are done via telemarketers (over the phone).

The major door-to-door solicitations we see (at least in my area) more commonly fall under two groups:

Group 1: Kids from a local school group (football team, baseball team, softball team, band, etc.) trying to sell items to help raise money for said group. In most cases, it's either chocolate bars or gift wrap. Other times it might be Krispy Kreme doughnuts (which we will buy) or coupon books with coupons to local vendors/businesses. Sometimes it's pledges for x number of dollars per each jumprope jump or meter run. Other times it might be just cash donations for school team uniforms or equipment.

In some cases, these groups might gather in public areas, such as at a park, or in the parking lot of a grocery store/big box retailer, or in their own school's parking lot, doing some kind of fundraiser, such as car washes, yard sales, or other activities to try to raise money for their group.

Group 2: Representatives/members of a local religious organization/worship center, trying to "spread the word of (insert deity's name or prophet's name here)" and offer up pamphlets or books regarding such matter. I once had a kid probably about 10 to 12 years old try to sell me some religious books. I told him I was on a very tight budget, and didn't have a lot of excessive money to spend. He tried to play the "ORLY?" card, looked at my car, trying to catch me in a lie. I had just gotten it about two months earlier, so it still looked brand new. I saw him look at it, and quickly told him the payments and insurance were pretty damn high (which was true), and that I had gotten the car two months ago. He left, looking rather put off.

The latter is becoming more aggressive. I have had them approach me while pumping gas at a gas station, walking to and from a restaurant, or to and from a grocery store or big box retailer.

[K-R]

Some years ago, a door-to-door guy let himself in through our back gate, and knocked on the back door...at eight o'clock at night. No idea what the fuck he was thinking. Just about got ripped to shreds by our dog.

I think that (in the UK) it is legal for them to knock on your door up to half past eight at night.

I don't much care what's legal, it just plain wasn't sensible. Front door? Whatever, fuck off. Back door? After dark? You're an idiot.

[Izawwlgood]

Dr. D, out of curiosity, do you know that this job isn't a pyramid scheme?

[Ulc]

I don't really mind the yearly charities knocking and being polite.

Pestering me about selling me stuff on the other hand? Seriously? Getting money by you employers for professionally annoying people? Why not torture kittens while you're at it?

[Dr. Diaphanous]

Dr. D, out of curiosity, do you know that this job isn't a pyramid scheme?

I'm not sure, but many people believe it is...

many people believe that multilevel marketing is also a pyramid scheme.

[Роберт]

Don't do it. Multi-level marketing is essentially a scam.

[Dr. Diaphanous]

I've quit the job.

I'm not sure it was a scam though, the business model at that place seemed sorta sustainable.

[bluebambue]

I'm curious as to what the business model is.

[Giant Speck]

I've had to put a "no soliciting" sign on my door to prevent people from trying to sell me stuff.

As I said, I have a little experience in the trade, and to be honest a lot of people just see your sign as an added challenge. This is not helped by the fact that a lot of people with such a sign do seem interested in buying, and only a minority will simply point at the sign and close the door. When people do point to the sign the standard response is "I didn't see it" or "Don't worry I'm not allowed to sell you anything on the door, I'm just here to give you information and book you a slot on the market (which totally isn't the same as signing you up because you can cancel the subscription at any time in the next 2 weeks)". People do have the decency to steer clear if you have a sign saying you are disabled, but that's partly because you get no commission for signing up a vulnerable person (over 75 or mentally disabled).

Well, my experience may be uncommon, but I don't get solicitors or salespeople anymore. Hell, I don't even get pizzeria flyers anymore.

[EdgarJPublius]

I haven't had many salespeople since I moved to a third floor apartment. However, those I do get are pretty determined.

I'm too polite not to answer the door (but not so polite as to put a shirt on before I do).

The Mormon's come around once or twice a year. They're kind of intimidating too because there's usually two or three of them and they're always wearing suits, so if I don't think about it (I usually don't) it's easy to imagine they might be Feds or something. They at least get the hint pretty quickly and move on.

The other kind I get, usually once a month or so, except almost never in the summer, are stereotypical 'at-risk youth' looking magazine salesmen. Usually selling subscriptions as a 'fund raiser' for some vaguely charitable cause.

If you are unfamiliar, this is basically the real-life equivalent of emails from Nigerian royalty. The salespeople are frequently bussed in from out of state, fed some lines about some supposed charity or contest, dropped off in an unfamiliar neighborhood and told to make sales.

There are about an equal number of stories of the sales companies hiring violent criminals who rob, assault and/or rape people who let them in, and of otherwise innocent sales-people being left in an unfamiliar town/state for not making enough sales to cover the ride home.

Far more likely they'll just take your money and you'll never see a magazine, and/or they'll make additional charges on your card or make unauthorized drafts on your account if you're foolish enough to not only pay their inflated price, but do so with a check or card.

When I was in college, living on-campus they were really scummy and difficult to deal with. Now it's much easier.

[thorgold]

I can't begrudge door-to-door salesmen. I used to be a Scout, I was self-supporting in my hobby through my sales job, so when I see a guy doing sales I'm not necessarily mad he's interrupting whatever I'm doing.

What do piss me off are salesmen/companies that leave brochures in your door - stuff on the handle or wedged between the screen and the door jam. 99% of the time it's worthless lawncare advertisements, and 99% of the time the fly loose and litter everywhere. Come on - if you want to give me an ad, put it in my mailbox. If you litter on my door, I'll take your pamphlet, shred it, and use it for compost.

We don't get Mormons or JWs often. In my experience, they avoid anyone who knows two cents about their religion's doctrine, since "lukewarm" believers are easier targets (Why do you believe in your god? Don't know? Well, let me tell you...). By my count, there are two Christian pastors and four church elders, plus a rabbi, in my neighborhood. I guess they got sick of the competition.

[SecondTalon]

if you want to give me an ad, put it in my mailbox.

In the US, they can't. Not legally, at least. The only people who can open the mailbox are postal workers and the residents of the place. Putting something that wasn't mailed in a mailbox is a Federal offense.

[K-R]

I've quit the job.

I'm not sure it was a scam though, the business model at that place seemed sorta sustainable.

That's how scams work. The mark sees them as something that works, when it actually doesn't.

[EdgarJPublius]

A well structured MLM can be a lot more sustainable than a pyramid scheme as there's actually product to sell, so money does enter the system other than just from new recruits. The trick is that it's only 'sustainable' for the top .1% or so of recruiter/distributors. While the average 'partner' or franchisee or whatever typically only makes on the order of $100 a month, which is nowhere near a livable wage.

[PatrickRsGhost]

I almost took a multilevel marketing job. When I thought that we were going to lose our contract with one of the counties in Georgia, before it was renewed for another year, I had done a light bit of job searching, and landed an interview with an insurance company looking for office managers. They said I would be running the office, and they were looking to open one in my area. I had to sit through a two-hour "orientation", which explained a bit about the company, and the product we would sell. A few days later I went in for a second interview, and the guy I interviewed with was telling me how I'd be hiring sales reps, how I'd be doing sales, and they would also recruit sales reps. He was foolish to draw it out, and sure enough, it was a multilevel marketing plan. I saw it as a pyramid scheme, so I quickly backed down. I said thanks but no thanks. He tried calling me a couple of times after that, but I never returned his calls.

I don't do well with sales. I can't pressure someone into buying something they feel they don't need. If I don't use the product or service myself, I can't sell it well. To me, the best seller is the customer.

[Роберт]

I've quit the job.

I'm not sure it was a scam though, the business model at that place seemed sorta sustainable.

I didn't say it was a flat-out scam, I said it was essentially a scam. It's not a pure scam for sure.

[pizzazz]

I could never do actual sales door-to-door, I'm not pushy enough. Luckily all we're doing is getting people to switch their electricity supplier (many US states, including the one I live in, recently deregulated the electricity market so the local utility doesn't have a monopoly on electricity supply).

[EmptySet]

I don't think I've ever actually had a door-to-door salesperson. I do get occasional religious types and people begging for some charity or other, though.

The best one was a fellow who said he wanted to talk to me about the evils of drinking, obviously as a prelude to hawking his religion. I told him I didn't drink, and the poor thing looked so confused it was all I could do not to burst into laughter.

[Jorpho]

It was a very happy moment indeed when I walked away from Vector Marketing. A terrible racket, that.

I don't blame the door-to-door salespeople; I blame the insidiously evil people at the top of the chain. (I suppose they could be mostly deluded instead of evil, but Hanlon's Razor only cuts so deep.) Then again, maybe I'm only saying that because I live in an apartment building and never have to deal with anything worse than flyers from the local cable guy.

This is ten years old now, but still riveting reading:
http://www.cockeyed.com/workfromhome/workfromhome.html