Door to Door Sales Man Season

It’s that time of year again…yep, that’s right, Door to Door Sales Man time.  Could I say that as much as I love spring, which is oodles and oodles I assure you, I hate door to door sales men just as much!  Now where we live in this little town in a little area or community of this town the houses have big back yards, long and skinny, which means that the houses side by side are fairly close.  Ideal for the door to door sales man, and the blocks in our area are on longer than normal blocks.  That’s right when you think trick or treating in Nephi you think our area, or door to door sales in this case. 

                Last year my sweet giggly, everything is always rosy, daughter Nan came running into my room in tears.  She had been outside when a door to door sales man had approached her and she had explained our no soliciting sign on our door and he wouldn’t go away and Nan, who was only thirteen at the time, gave up and ran made dash scarred to death to my bedroom to tell me.  And worse yet the man had the nerve to, after causing my daughter to cry, wait at the door for me and try to push his product on me.

                Well in the hours that followed that first encounter I put up a vinyl sign beside our door, hand made by me in our vinyl machine since I have easy access to it, that read…”No Soliciting at our house and we won’t go target shooting at yours.”  Not very nice I know and completely out of my character, but it was funny and cute and somewhat to the point.  My children should feel safe in their own yard. 

                Well two days ago a certain company, I won’t name names because I am sure they have no idea that their sale’s men are this rauncho and I don’t want to get sued for slander down the road, came to my door.  I opened it and pointed to the sign and he very politely apologized and left.  The very next day someone else from that same company came and I pointed to the sign.  He apologized and said he didn’t notice the sign until he had already rang the doorbell, but since I had already answered the door…I very politely said I wasn’t interested as I shut the door.  Annoying two days in a row but not the end of the world.

                But today was different.  Same company but this time two sales men.  Sam was sick and passed out cold with a fever on the coach and Suzy was in the chair reading a book or something.  I answered the door, pointed to the sign, and went to shut the door but he put himself in my door way.  I politely explained that we were not interested and this was the third time this week that someone had visited here.  He exclaimed, “Impossible.  Did he have the uniform and the orange symbol.”  I assured him that they both did and that I wasn’t interested.  He then said to me, “Why do you have a No Soliciting sign?  Do you hate people?  Don’t you like the world?”  At this point I was surprised and yes, a little angry.  I informed him that without it I can get 10 to 15 sales men a week.  “Impossible,” came again, “You must hate people.”  Then, this is where Suzy laughed later after I had shut the door but I was only angry, he made a crazy face rolling his eyes and putting his face into mine shaking his head he said, “DDDDDUUUUHHH,” in a perfect 12 year old manner(think tongue sticking out eyes rolling like he was having a seizure sort of way).  “Impossible,” was my thought.  Did I really see a grown man do and act in the very way that he did?

                Now in defense of the other guy who was standing behind him I could see the shock on his face and embarrassment and he most definitely wanted to run and hide because it was the most unreal thing that either of us was seeing.  I shut the door in his face and he walked off cussing me and the whole time I was thinking of how mad I was and how afraid at the same time that he was going to smash the glass on my door that I had just shut in his face in.  I called the police.  Yes this very determined Mommy stood her ground and refused to be intimidated.  The nice officer on the phone upon learning that I could no longer see them instructed me to call the company and if they came back to call the police immediately before the opposers left my doorstep.  He also informed me that his wife that very week was having problems with that very same company and was also frustrated that her No Soliciting sign was not working.

                The company upon my call was very polite and took down my information so that they could find out who the man was.  They also instructed me in the future to get the man’s badge number before the conversation started so that they could keep track when the complaint comes in.  They were wonderful on the phone and documented everything.

                Few…Moral of the story?  Don’t really know yet but I know that I will find one.  To the good side of all of this, Door to Door Sales Man weather also means bike weather and soon to be sprinkler weather and camping weather and neighborhood kids riding bikes and eating snowies  in our front yard and playing ball in our back yard all together weather and there isn’t anything better than that…well accept maybe all the beautiful things that are right now growing in my greenhouse weather just waiting for another few weeks to be planted.  Despite it all Spring really is the best time of the year even if it is Door to Door Sales Man season too!