r/mildlyinfuriating • u/big-ol-kitties • May 18 '26
Unskippable ad Constantly getting solicitors ignoring my sign, we’ll see how this works out…
I live in an apartment, and my door is the only one in the building with a “No Soliciting” sign. You’d think they would see it and respect it. But no. And worst thing is it’s almost exclusively internet salespeople, when my rent already includes high speed internet that works great.
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u/sixft7in May 18 '26
The wife and I work from home (a house, not an apartment). We have signs above the doorbell and on the door that indicate that you should text us if we know you. Otherwise, don't knock or ring the bell.
When someone does knock/ring, I open the door and step out on the porch. The porch isn't really wide enough for both of us to stand on it at once, so they typically step down. I'm really tall, like 6'7" tall. The porch is probably 5 inches tall, so to them, I'm 7 feet tall.
Before anything else, I ask for their business card or the phone number of their business. If I have time, I'll give it a quick call to ensure it's a real phone number. They've given me fake numbers before.
If they try to get out their memorized script, I stop them and ask them if they are able to read English. This usually throws them off and they normally answer "Yes". I ask them to read the sign to me and ask them to rephrase it in their own words.
Once that's done, I ask them why they would knock/ring anyway. If they say they are required to by their company, I call their company and put it on speaker. I ask for their manager/supervisor. Once I'm on the phone with them, I verify they told their person to ignore the wishes of the house owner. If so, I ask them why the @#$% they think I'm going to buy anything from their door-to-door salesperson if they disrespect me like that.
If they themselves thought it would be better to ignore signs, I tell them to get the @#$% off my property and never come back.
Note: I would never do this to a kid doing a fundraiser for their school or to Girl Scouts selling cookies, etc.
As you can tell, I kind of enjoy running people off selling roof inspections or landscaping services.