Door-to-door alert: “Obnoxious,” “belligerent” solicitors reported

| Door-to-door alert | Gatewood | West Seattle news

First one we got a half-hour or so ago, we were mulling over how to handle. Then came the second one. That suggests a trend – so here are two reader reports of pushy door-to-door folks out in southwest West Seattle (Gatewood and Fauntleroy) tonight:

First, Chris sent this one headed “Belligerent door-knockers in Gatewood”:

This happened several hours ago around 6:30 PM. I answered a knock on the door, and when I answered there was a guy standing about ten feet back, speaking very animatedly but about nothing I could understand. When asked for his badge he pulled a card out of his breast pocket that I couldn’t see from my distance, and appeared to be very offended that I requested it. He asked me if I would have called the police if he hadn’t had a badge, and when I said I probably would have he told me to go ahead and walked off. I’m still hoping he simply had poor communication skills. I think he was working with at least one other guy because I saw someone else on a neighbors doorstep as well.

Then, we just got this from KD in Fauntlee Hills:

I just received a visit around 8:45 tonight, from a young man in his 20s with shoulder length hair claiming to be a salesperson named Dimitri. He was nicely dressed in a white shirt and tie, and claimed to be selling something to earn points to help his family. I said “No thanks, I’m not interested.” Upon closing the door, he began swearing at me through the door saying, “F*** YOU, Bitch”. My husband heard him, walked around to the side of our house, and then saw him walking over to our neighbor’s house. The guy looked at my husband and said, “Do you want to hear what I have to say?” My husband replied, “I already heard what you said to my wife.” My husband then went back into the house.

I contacted the police to let them know a suspicious person was going door to door, swearing at people.

I learned my lesson! I should not have even answered the door to a stranger after dark. I am now done answering the door to ANY solicitor or person I don’t know.

For those who need a refresher course, we’ll go look up the door-to-door solicitor rules in city code and add the link here a minute (used to be on our Crime Watch page, accidentally fell off, need to put it back there anyway). UPDATE: Here it is. The Crime Watch page has it now too, in the “resources” section.

JanS September 23, 2008 (9:45 pm)

I live in a secure apt. bldg., and don’t have to deal with this kind of stuff for the most part, but maybe you should have your camera ready and poised if you decide to answer…take their picture for posterity…..or evidence :)

Creighton September 23, 2008 (11:45 pm)

I thought I saw some young men visiting houses in my neighborhood, Genesee, about 6:30pm today. Wouldn’t have noticed it, but there was a white guy in a white cargo van watching them from the top of the hill. Supervisor? Everyone disappeared before I could get more info.

Ken September 24, 2008 (5:19 am)

I got the magazine sales pitch with the training youth speech today. He appeared to have the business license and stuck to the standard pitch until I pointed out that we only read magazines online.

He was polite and normal but since he was not white I can see how some would react differently.

chris September 24, 2008 (6:59 am)

Ken,

I was one of the original posters above, and I just want to clarify that the guy’s race was not what bothered me. As I pointed out his badge was not visible, and when I politely asked him about it he became quite agitated. This was not a racial issue.

WSratsinacage September 24, 2008 (7:32 am)

Thanks for letting us know Chris and KD. KD, the way you were treated makes me really mad. That behavior toward you was unacceptable.

T De September 24, 2008 (7:41 am)

A very polite young man appeared on my door step in the Genesee Hill area around 5pm last night. He wanted to give my home a free energy inspection and as polite as he was… I don’t think so! I’m trying to find some “No Soliciting” and/or “Beware of Dog” signs – maybe even start a campaign to ask the city to ban door-to-door soliciting. And, I’m not trying to ban meter readers from doing their jobs because they are never a bother and always secure my gate. But it’s really creepy when strangers appear at my picture window and look inside my house before knocking on my door to sell me something. They have to climb a hill and unlatch a gate to get in, so it’s not like I make it easy for them. Enough of door-to-door soliciting!

Courtney September 24, 2008 (8:10 am)

They visited our house last night around 5:30pm (Gatewood area). I was coming out of my garage when I heard “Hey mamma, how you doin’?”. I was a bit shocked as I was heading out to work in my yard and couldn’t really just shut the door :). Luckily right then my husband pulled up. The young man gave him the full song and dance and when we told him we weren’t interested he seemed pretty agitated. In a last ditch effort he wanted to guess where my husband had purchased his shoes and if he got it right we’d have to buy two magazines from him. We again told him no and he finally left. It was a pretty crazy experience.

marty September 24, 2008 (8:27 am)

Why is door-to-door soliciting even allowed? Seems like it causes more harm than good. Does anyone actually want someone coming to their door to sell them something? If I see someone outside the grocery store with a petition to get a law to outlaw this practice I will certainly sign!

Matt September 24, 2008 (8:38 am)

About two weeks ago, there were two guys working the Gatewood hills neighborhood. The guy who came to my house was also hard to understand and not clear about what he wanted. When I told him I wasn’t interested, he became angry and threatened that he would be back. I called 911 to report the incident and they sent a police car over right away. The police officer confirmed that several people have been spotted going door-to-door in West Seattle for a few weeks now, often being rude to homeowners. The police officer said that sometimes these people are brought in from other states and told to work through certain neighborhoods. He also said to continue to call 911 when these incidents occur.

Irukandji September 24, 2008 (9:12 am)

We had a couple incidents a few weeks back. I now have the following sign posted:

NO SOLICITORS
We do not buy, endorse, sign or donate at our door.
We will not help you earn points.
Don’t even knock.
Thank you.

The neighborhood kids don’t bother to read it since it’s at ADULT eye level, so we can still get our quota of Chinook Books, wrapping paper and magazines to support our schools.

Robert2715 September 24, 2008 (9:34 am)

http://www.amazon.com/Go-Away-Door-Mat-1601/dp/B000I1UYXO

JimmyG September 24, 2008 (9:45 am)

The “go away” doormat doesn’t stop them. I know this 1st hand.

Robert2715 September 24, 2008 (10:00 am)

JimmyG – Perhaps – But I just have this vision: I’d open the door, slowly look down at the door mat (assuming the solicitor would do likewise), then… SLAM! :-)

JimmyG September 24, 2008 (10:08 am)

True Robert.
But when I pointed out my “no soliciting” sign to the young adult trying to sell magazines to me last week he first tried to phonetically pronounce the sign but couldn’t, and then asked me what “no soliciting” means.
So even my doormat in combination with the sign isn’t much of a deterrent. I think I need to step up my game.

StringCheese September 24, 2008 (10:10 am)

Courtney – just to fill you in on the “where you got your shoes” scam. This is amazingly popular in New Orleans, where I lived for many a year. They bet they can tell you where you “got” your shoes. The unsuspecting tourist assumes they mean “purchased” but in the end they get you by saying… “You got them on your feet!”. Due to semantics, they are right and you are had.

RS September 24, 2008 (10:16 am)

We had someone knocking on our door and ringing the doorbell repeatedly around the same time. We’re way down near White Center so they must have really spread out! I just don’t answer the door to anyone. No one I know would stop by without calling and nothing except hassle has ever come from me answering a random unexpected knock on the door.

Johnny Davies September 24, 2008 (11:14 am)

Speaking of the incident where the solicitor shouted the expletive to the wife – wasn’t there a time when you could punch someone in the face when they “had it coming”? The police would say “Sorry pal, you DID have it coming”.
.
Seems like we need more of that these days. The disrespect, vulgarity and brazenness of some people has really gotten out of hand. Since there aren’t enough police to help with EVERY person, solicitor or criminal, the victim is left to be just that – the victim.

GW September 24, 2008 (11:22 am)

2 evenings in a row we’ve had solicitors knock on our door, and when they left, they didn’t latch the gste. I’m picking up some signs on my way home.

Enough, already.

WSratsinacage September 24, 2008 (11:29 am)

Amen Johnny D – “I thought about saying something similar in my comment above. LOL – Speaking of the incident where the solicitor shouted the expletive to the wife – wasn’t there a time when you could punch someone in the face when they “had it coming”? The police would say “Sorry pal, you DID have it coming”.
.
Seems like we need more of that these days. The disrespect, vulgarity and brazenness of some people has really gotten out of hand. Since there aren’t enough police to help with EVERY person, solicitor or criminal, the victim is left to be just that – the victim.”

CMP September 24, 2008 (11:39 am)

I’d sign a petition to ban door to door soliciting too! Thankfully I don’t have to deal with it since I’m in an apartment, but it’s frustrating reading about what homeowners have to deal with on the blog. On a side note, I saw a few beligerent people out last night around 7:30 when I was walking the dog along California Ave between the Morgan and Alaska Junctions. Where do these weird people come from and why do they appear to be on drugs or really drunk at that time of day?? Creepy.

T De September 24, 2008 (12:05 pm)

I just sent a note to the mayor’s office via the mayor’s home page, asking what we can do about this problem and referring them to the West Seattle Blog link regarding all the comments collected over the summer. I don’t have a clue about how to do a city petition, but I’m willing to learn. Feel free to also e-mail the mayor’s office about this… http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/citizen_response.htm

We should have the right to not be accosted by uninvited strangers at our homes.

harriet benjamin September 24, 2008 (12:38 pm)

Better to be judged by 12 than carried by six.

JB September 24, 2008 (1:03 pm)

I’m in the Genesee area. I got a visit from the magazine solicitors yesterday as well, but this person was very professional and respectful. This seems like a difficult way to earn money and I sympathize with him.

In spite of that, I put up a No Solicitors sign after he left. I’m with RS- there’s no reason I need to open the door for a stranger.

kittylove September 24, 2008 (1:03 pm)

i used to get people at my door asking if i spoke spanish or if i knew of anyone in my building that did. always on saturday morning. they havent been by in awhile…or if they have, i havent heard them.

carraig na splinkeen September 24, 2008 (1:03 pm)

A long-time friend’s dad, who was a huge beer-drinking kind of guy, used to answer the door nekkid when grown-up solicitors would knock. He spared the school kids, but his method was about as effective as it gets for the adult intruders.

Goes to Bed Early September 24, 2008 (1:11 pm)

I agree with many people above. Haven’t we moved past the door to door thing being an effective sales method? They came by our house two nights ago at 9:05… I was already getting ready for bed (early bird). At what point when its pitch black out and inside lights are out, do you call it a day as a door to door magazine sales person?

Diane September 24, 2008 (1:15 pm)

re “We should have the right to not be accosted by uninvited strangers at our homes” and “Why is door-to-door soliciting even allowed?”
~
door to door selling in neighborhoods has been around for centuries, and was a wonderful tradition as recently as past decades; I have wonderful memories of the bakery truck, milk truck, fuller brush and avon sales, and many more coming to homes to sell their goods, interacting in a friendly manner with families, making a living, and often even making new friends; one of my earliest memories is running to the door as a baby to greet the bakery man (and no, I’m not 100 yrs old; this was very common in the 50’s and 60’s); our whole family looked forward to these visits and welcomed them into our home
~
it seems our culture has become so overly paranoid that this tradition has been lost for honest sales folks because most people no longer want to be bothered in their homes, or don’t want any “strangers” approaching their private domains; how about the prospect that every person is a potential new friend?
~
of course common sense and reasonable caution is appropriate, but to deem every “new” person as probable evil criminals and “accosting”, seems a bit much; very sad commentary on our community culture

B September 24, 2008 (1:30 pm)

We had one at our house (Rose st) last night. While I was more than polite with the guy, he returned the favor with rude and insulting ‘rhetoric’, refused to take “no” for an answer and left visibly angry.

WSratsinacage September 24, 2008 (1:51 pm)

I hear ya Diane. I wish we lived in an era where there were not home breakins. I feel it is a case of too many bad apples spoiling the bunch. I quit answering my door and phone years ago. I just don’t want to deal with pushy people who wont take no for an answer.

WSratsinacage September 24, 2008 (2:05 pm)

Does anyone remember seeing stories on dateline, 20/20, etc about loads of kids getting dropped off in neighborhoods to sell magazines and they only get food money if they sell x amount. They get burned behind the ears, etc and have to switch drivers while on the highway, with most drivers/”workers” being under age. It’s sad that these guys and gals get prayed upon. One show, showed these guys smokin’ doobies before going out for the day. I don’t smoke but I guess if I had that job I’d be smokin’ everyday!!

fauntleroy September 24, 2008 (4:48 pm)

The ACLU would fight a city ordinance against solicitors. It has been done in other cities and I know of at least one that lost the claim.

john September 24, 2008 (5:07 pm)

Diane,

I understand your sentiment about how some people are just trying to make a living and door-to-door used to be respectable. Sorry, though, I will not buy anything at the door – in fact, the last time I can think of somebody coming to the door who was both respectable and not a school kids was…. I’m thinking 16-18 years ago.

Ok, although I’m not converting I guess the Mormons were respectful and respectable but technically they weren’t selling anything.

I have the same impatience (and even less tolerance) with telemarketing – talk about a massively fraudulent group although I know there are some legit ones out there. But even they are so rude that probably 2/3rds of the time they keep talking even after I politely but firmly say “I’m not interested, good bye” and so I wind up hanging up on many of them. I’d rather not but they’re so obnoxious, and in this era of fraud I’d rather initiate and/or know for sure whom I’m working with.

Of course, I turned against the Better Business Bureau when they cold called and lied to my wife twice (and me once when I intervened) and their defense for aggressive telemarketing – “We’re the BBB”. Right….

epl September 24, 2008 (8:53 pm)

I answer the door with my 95lb dog, whom I get riled up before I open; that changes everything. I had a very similar situation and the guy got angry with me, etc., etc. I told him to get the hell of my property and if I saw him again anywhere near (here) I’d call the police each and every time. DO NOT let these people think or believe for a moment that you are afraid or intimidated, or they will be back…

PSPS September 24, 2008 (9:33 pm)

MMMMMMMM! Bakery!
.
I rememebr that too, Diane. As a very young tyke, I remember the bakery guy going door to door carrying a rack of freshly baked pastries. Everyone loved him! I mean, what’s not to like? You open your door and the bakery is … right there in front of you!

WSB September 24, 2008 (9:41 pm)

the world of deliveries and door to door was so different in my childhood … quiet San Fernando Valley street with family-filled apartment buildings and small homes, ice cream trucks (bright company-owned rigs, Carnation and Good Humor, nothing like the scrappy little ones of today) came by every afternoon, Helms Bakery in the morning, milkman in the early am too … Oh boo, I try so hard not to wallow in nostalgia – TR

datamuse September 24, 2008 (9:50 pm)

Diane, from the impression I’m getting here, these folks might get a better response today if they were more polite.

The last time I got a door-to-door solicitor was three or four years ago, and that was the Mormons. They’re cute and all but we’re fine with the religion we have, thank you.

Brandon September 24, 2008 (10:08 pm)

Imagine the mood you would be in after getting the door slammed in your face time after time after time after time…..

datamuse September 24, 2008 (10:13 pm)

So swearing at your next potential customer is a reasonable response? Come on.

Buddsmom September 25, 2008 (2:12 pm)

I seldom have a problem with the door to door types
since my pitbull answers the window before they even get close to the door. I also have a sign stating there is a pit on the property. Might work for others too!

Kathy November 14, 2008 (1:01 pm)

Someone should up at my door at around 6pm yesterday claiming to be from World Vision. I spoke to him through the window upstairs because I didn’t want to open up the door. What is World Vision thinking allowing this??? In this day and age where we need to worrow about home invasions I think they should be banning this!

Sorry, comment time is over.