Door to Door salesmen Don't understand the word NO!! !! !

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I am over it!! In the past week I have had 10 sales people knock on my door! And I am In an apartment complex and the f*****s still manage to get me!! I feel like punching them in the teeth I hate them!! I am not talking about kids who are selling chocolate!! I often by them!! !

Last edited by bigbadbeast2007 on 17 Apr 2011, 5:08 am, edited 1 time in total.

Just firmly say "No thank you" and close the door.

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Yeah I done this once and the as*hole was still standing there 5 minutes later!! !! !

Ignore him.

i did!! if these docuhebags!! do this too me i am getting a big mean dog!! ! but i can't since my apartment wont allow pets apart from birds

I've found answering the door naked is effective, at least with Mormons.

Last weekend I was expecting a friend at 9.00am. At 9.05 the doorbell rang and the dogs started going mad, as dogs do. As I went to let him in, I feigned anger and shouted at the dogs "KILL! KILL! KILL!". I flung open the front door so the dogs could charge out and slobber him to death only to find a terrified little old lady collecting for the church.

I agree with Tequila. I'd say no, shut the door and ignore them.

There's some big mean birds out there.... if you can get a big macaw or a cockatoo, do it. Answer the door with one of those and it should solve some of the problem. Just let it hang out on your shoulder when they come by.

Door to door salesmen generally are hired by a company to spread a message, if it's non-profit like asking for help cleaning a lake or trying to sell carpet.

You have many options. You can just say your parents aren't home (my favorite) it's easier that way, they won't bother you much past that.

You can also just stick a "No Soliciting" tag on your door, I think home depot would carry them.

What about spraying one who waits with one of those plant water sprayers or a water gun. It's something that couldn't hurt them and would get the message across (I think).

Another idea, get a recording of a scary sounding dog to play (playing it from a bedroom perhaps), you'd probably have to let the landlord know that you're doing that though.

Such salesmen are trained not to give up while you are still in front of them listening to what they've got to say because there is still the chance they'll get a sale. I've heard of some people buying things they don't want just to get rid of the salesman! Dumb or what! The answer as someone else has already mentioned is to politely and firmly say "I am not interested" and shut the door - even if they are still in mid sentence. Do not even get into a conversation about why you aren't interested in their product/ service/ religious crap. Close the door and that is the end of it. They won't hang around outside for long. Don't go back and open the door again to them no matter how many times they ring the bell. The same thing with telesales people, just tell them you aren't interested and hang up the phone. Done. No need to make a big fuss about it or get killer dogs etc!

I always get sucked into that sort of stuff. Salesmen are the reason I'm paranoid to answer the door.

Best bet is to just tell them firmly that you're not interested and shut the door, as others have said. If you let them begin their speech, you've already given in to them... at least that is how it is for me.

If that doesn't work, then you can start getting creative.

Tell them you have a baby in the bathtub.
Stare at them blankly and pretend you don't speak English.
Open the door in a costume, bathrobe, or towel.
Put up a "No Soliciting", "Beware of Dog", or "Private Property" sign.
Ask them direct and/or probing questions to make them uncomfortable.
Tell them you have some somewhere important to be or do and don't have time right now. Be as vague as you need to be, and do NOT let them try to reschedule.
Ask to see their license or ID.
Try to sell them something instead.

It doesn't matter if they've started their speech or not. The normal rules of social engagement do not apply with door to door salespeople. Normally it would be considered rude to leave someone while they are mid sentence talking to you. So salespeople play on that; knowing that many people will observe the social norm and you get stuck trying to wait for an opportunity to end the conversation in a normal way. It won't happen. The only thing you can do is be decisive. It doesn't matter that it will seem rude to barge straight in and talk over them "I am not interested, goodbye". Don't even wait for a pause in their script to say it. As soon as you've figured out that they are trying to sell you something you don't want end it there and then. It doesn't matter that they are still talking while you are closing the door on them.

Do this a few times and you will find it helps with your self confidence too by not allowing salespeople to dictate to you. The only power salespeople have over you is what you give to them. Don't lie to them about having a baby in the bathtub or other crap it just sounds lame. Just be straight up with them and finish it.

The bit in bold is important.

Simply tell them that you're not interested thanks and close the door on them.

I live on a farm, at the end of a barely-paved road, with the nearest house nearly a mile away... AND WE STILL GET THEM! What's worse, is that in addition to the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Mormon missionaries, and the politicians who come for signatures to drum up support, and the magazine salesmen, we also get FARM SALES REPS! We grow avocados and Satsuma oranges, so we get every kind of fertilizer and pesticide salesman, and farmland leasing and harvesting agencies wanting to sign us up, and all kinds of crap.

I have learned to just say "NO" politely and firmly, and to repeat it as many times as needed while still being polite. If you start to lose your cool, they will use that to try to get you to buy something just to get rid of them. A sale is a sale to them, even if they have to leave with you hating them. For the politicians, I flash my Texas license, and say "Sorry, I'm house sitting, and nobody will be here, who lives here, for the rest of the year (or until after whatever election has happened). That gets rid of that one, plus no more from the same party should bother to come later.

And most importantly: Place signs in plain sight, and in alternate languages if you live in a multi-language community.
"NO SOLICITING" and "NO PEDDLING" and "NO PROSELYTING"

Charles