2 West Seattle door-to-door alerts: ‘Free meat’; ‘paper routes’

They might be legit, they might not. Two of your West Seattle neighbors wanted to share door-to-door alerts from encounters last night, just in case:

First – Dennis sent a note last night saying that neighbors of his reported that “a couple people knocked on their back door, on the alley side of the house, and asked if they wanted some free meat? And an argument ensued… they eventually left without any further issues.” (He didn’t mention which neighborhood, so we’ve sent a followup question.)

And received this morning from Lynne:

This may be too late to be helpful but last night around 7:00 pm a young man was going door to door on 44th Ave SW near Charlestown. I responded but did not open the door. He asked if we got “the paper” and said he was “checking the paper routes”. He had no visible ID nor did I ask. He was about 5′ 8″, white, close cut blond hair, green-ish eyes. He was wearing a blue jacket, blue jeans and blue and white skate style athletic shoes. I watched him knock on the neighbor’s door but they did not answer. He did not seem to have any “equipment” to be performing a survey such as a pen, clipboard or visible hand held device nor did he take notes of any kind after visiting either home. We are renting this home short term right now while our kitchen is being renovated so this may be perfectly normal activity but new to us. I thought it may be worthwhile to mention.

Reminder – commercial solicitors are supposed to have ID to show. (For charity soliciting, it’s not required.)

15 Replies to "2 West Seattle door-to-door alerts: 'Free meat'; 'paper routes'"

  • SMB April 13, 2012 (8:51 am)

    What was the argument about? Whether they really wanted free meat?!?

  • Michelle April 13, 2012 (9:13 am)

    Somebody rang our doorbell and knocked on my door around 4:30pm yesterday (4/12). I peeked at him, but he didn’t see me. I didn’t recognize him or notice any id/clipboard/etc, so I left it alone. White male, about 6′, short hair, black jacket (?), jeans and tennis shoes. He continued up California past the old Charleston Cafe. He left no flyer. Made me a little suspicious.

    Be on the lookout to be safe.

  • chinook April 13, 2012 (9:30 am)

    Had a similar ‘meat’ experience last summer near 39th and Morgan. It was a warm night so our front door was open and my husband and I sitting in the living room clearly visible from the street. Can’t recall the name of the business but there was what looked to be a hand painted logo on the side of a small truck. A guy came to our door and yelled in “are you a carnivore?” Very odd. Long story slightly shorter – he said he had ‘extra meat’ on the truck that he wanted to sell cheap. Yummy – extra meat sitting on a non refrigerated truck on a hot summer night. We told him we were vegetarians and closed the door. Although he was looking in the door and around the room – I looked up the business and found a website (not that that is necessarily a glowing endorsement) and we haven’t seen them since. No further issues or suspicious folks seen around house.

  • Amie April 13, 2012 (9:37 am)

    Michelle’s description is a pretty good match to the guy who smashed my car window at Westcrest dog park this past Monday, and who someone else here on the WSB identified as the guy who broke into one of their van-pool rider’s truck and was siphoning gas 3 weeks ago.

    Sounds like a dangerous guy. I would suggest anyone sighting a man of that description (around 6′, thin build, short blonde hair), or the car (older Japanese model, red with a black or grey primed quarter panel over the driver’s side front wheel) to report it to the police. The non-emergency number tot eh SW precinct is 206-733-9800.

  • Kevin April 13, 2012 (9:56 am)

    The one asking about the paper came to our door last night around 7:30ish. My wife talked to him and said there was ID around his neck. We didn’t give him any info though.

  • A April 13, 2012 (10:08 am)

    There are an awful lot of “around 6 foot” blonde men with thin builds in this city. It’s a pretty vague description to use when calling something in. The car, on the other hand, makes sense.

  • fanofFSPD April 13, 2012 (10:27 am)

    Have fun reporting every white 6 foot blonde kid u see and trust me youll see a lot in WS especially around 2:30 when school gets out. because when I’m out and about on my day off I’m going to love getting stopped by the cops for being me. Its not what u know its what u can prove. Call when u see the 6 foot blonde guy doing something illegal not walking down the street. Because its one thing ive learned on WSB once the community gets these descriptions they go on the hunt for people that havent done anything

  • Tracey Jordan April 13, 2012 (11:00 am)

    Y’all gonna buy some of this meat or what?

  • Jim P. April 13, 2012 (11:11 am)

    The “I’ve got extra of whatever sort for free/cheap” is an old scam.

    It tends to either stolen or inferior quality junk someone is trying to pawn off since many people ask a lot fewer questions if they think they are getting a “steal”.

    Someone knocking on your side or back door is just plain likely to be up to no good unless you live in a really upscale mansion with a “Tradesman’s door” at the back of your house for your butler to handle. ;)

    The only time I have ever gotten a survey from the Times, it came by mail inquiring as to my satisfaction with my paper delivery.

    treat anyone at your door who seems hinky as probably *being* hinky. Honest people rarely act dishonest or sneaky and it’s your home and family.

  • WestSide45 April 13, 2012 (11:43 am)

    The “Free meat” guys sounds similar to the come-on used by the Iowa Steaks guys last year. Low-grade beef along with chicken and fish sold out of little trucks. They usually start off by saying something like “I have some extra meat in the truck after my deliveries today and my boss says to sell it cheap”.

  • Adam April 13, 2012 (2:10 pm)

    Yeah, someone who goes into my backyard and knocks on my back door is going to get a less than warm reception.

  • Vixtor April 13, 2012 (3:05 pm)

    I think the cheap meat guys were legit last year. Overstocked possibly. Company name on truck matched the name on the meat samples. Bought some wonderful filet mignons from them. Would still be wary of Times Guy though. I believe they do most of their advertising through fairs these days but you should contact them to inquire if they still send people door to door. And, if so, whether west Seattle vendors.

  • Amie April 13, 2012 (3:48 pm)

    I just meant guys fitting that description who are acting suspiciously – like coming to your door without legit credentials, looking like they are casing cars or houses, etc. I think it’s pretty obvious when someone is out of place or up to no good.

  • Liz April 13, 2012 (6:25 pm)

    So, I’ve had the same guy come to my door on two different occasions asking if I’ve received my newspaper and if it was in good condition. Mostly it’s annoying, because I’m cooking dinner and busy, but it’s also weird because I’ve never had that happen in all the years that I’ve subscribed to the paper. He had navy clothes on with a Seattle Times Logo, but I don’t remember if he had ID. He is not the same guy as described above, but he was definitely an odd duck. (He kept asking me if I was a stylist. I have no idea why.)

  • Carrie Ann April 13, 2012 (8:47 pm)

    Despite the “No Solicitors” sign we have posted, someone knocked on our screen door (42nd & Andover) yesterday evening, and asked, “Did you get the paper?” I asked him, “…What paper?” thinking he was maybe talking about one of the flyers for yard work/house painting/etc. we’ve recently received. He said, “The paper. P.I. Sunday Times?” I told him we don’t subscribe and aren’t interested. He seemed confused and said, “No, I’m just checking on routes, to make sure you got your paper OK.” I told him we hadn’t subscribed in a couple years, and still weren’t interested. He seemed slightly annoyed by our exchange, said, “OK, thanks.” and made his way to our next door neighbors’ house. Somewhat matches the description, above: 6′, caucasian, blue/green eyes, close-cut hair, tan jacket, and blue jeans.

Sorry, comment time is over.