No soliciting - overkill?

[MOM21SON]

I'm just going to let a mod deal with you, MOM21SON.

ok.  That is fine. 

[Knitterly]

Back to the original question.

In your shoes, if you're getting a lot of doorbell ringers waking up your child, I would disconnect the doorbell until a few years from now when your child is no longer napping during the daytime. And I would just tell friends to knock or call from their cellphones (if they have one) as they pull in your driveway. And, like a PP said, leave a note for pizza delivery folks to knock.

We have a "no soliciting" sign and another "no handbills" sign on our door. Despite them, we get solicitors often. And in our county, they have to have a permit to solicit. I believe many of them don't and I could call the county police every time they show up.

But I work from home and don't want to be bothered stopping my work and walking all the way to the door every time it rings. My neighbors and friends know to call or email before they come over. They know that otherwise, I just ignore the doorbell completely. I also have a peephole. And for other reasons (toxic family and a weirdo neighbor), I installed a visible security camera above the front door. That seems to keep away some of the solicitors too.

I'm leaning heavily towards having Mr K disconnect the doorbell this weekend.  I may even get him to install a small camera inside the window so I can see who is at the door without having to check (unfortunately, we have a big window on our front door, so checking without being seen isn't an option).

[Danika]

I'm leaning heavily towards having Mr K disconnect the doorbell this weekend.  I may even get him to install a small camera inside the window so I can see who is at the door without having to check (unfortunately, we have a big window on our front door, so checking without being seen isn't an option).

I have a friend with a shiny steel spine. He'll sit near his big windows and ignore the person ringing the bell. I've never had that fortitude. At our last house, I installed what I called "anti-[insert specific religion] curtains." My FIL belongs to [specific religion] and we always coincidentally had folks from that religion on our doorstep trying to get us to come worship with them.

I finally wrote a letter to their local religious location and told them if they didn't knock it off, I was going to consider it trespassing and harassment. That might be what you have to do with the company you had a bad experience with that still sends solicitors.

[MOM21SON]

Back to the original question.

In your shoes, if you're getting a lot of doorbell ringers waking up your child, I would disconnect the doorbell until a few years from now when your child is no longer napping during the daytime. And I would just tell friends to knock or call from their cellphones (if they have one) as they pull in your driveway. And, like a PP said, leave a note for pizza delivery folks to knock.

We have a "no soliciting" sign and another "no handbills" sign on our door. Despite them, we get solicitors often. And in our county, they have to have a permit to solicit. I believe many of them don't and I could call the county police every time they show up.

But I work from home and don't want to be bothered stopping my work and walking all the way to the door every time it rings. My neighbors and friends know to call or email before they come over. They know that otherwise, I just ignore the doorbell completely. I also have a peephole. And for other reasons (toxic family and a weirdo neighbor), I installed a visible security camera above the front door. That seems to keep away some of the solicitors too.

I'm leaning heavily towards having Mr K disconnect the doorbell this weekend.  I may even get him to install a small camera inside the window so I can see who is at the door without having to check (unfortunately, we have a big window on our front door, so checking without being seen isn't an option).

I think that is a good move.  You and your kids are safe and you can see what is going on.  It will take the pressure off you to answer the door.

[Danika]

I liked the security camera so much that I bought a second one that I just set on furniture in various rooms. That way, I can watch the kids play upstairs while I'm cooking downstairs. And when one complains about the other, I know what truly started the spat.

[oceanus]

hehe.  slick.

[Scuba_Dog]

Back to the original question.

In your shoes, if you're getting a lot of doorbell ringers waking up your child, I would disconnect the doorbell until a few years from now when your child is no longer napping during the daytime. And I would just tell friends to knock or call from their cellphones (if they have one) as they pull in your driveway. And, like a PP said, leave a note for pizza delivery folks to knock.

We have a "no soliciting" sign and another "no handbills" sign on our door. Despite them, we get solicitors often. And in our county, they have to have a permit to solicit. I believe many of them don't and I could call the county police every time they show up.

But I work from home and don't want to be bothered stopping my work and walking all the way to the door every time it rings. My neighbors and friends know to call or email before they come over. They know that otherwise, I just ignore the doorbell completely. I also have a peephole. And for other reasons (toxic family and a weirdo neighbor), I installed a visible security camera above the front door. That seems to keep away some of the solicitors too.

I'm leaning heavily towards having Mr K disconnect the doorbell this weekend.  I may even get him to install a small camera inside the window so I can see who is at the door without having to check (unfortunately, we have a big window on our front door, so checking without being seen isn't an option).

I think that is a good move.  You and your kids are safe and you can see what is going on.  It will take the pressure off you to answer the door.

I think it's a good move also. 

[MOM21SON]

I liked the security camera so much that I bought a second one that I just set on furniture in various rooms. That way, I can watch the kids play upstairs while I'm cooking downstairs. And when one complains about the other, I know what truly started the spat.

Ha!  no more he said she said!  What do the kids do when caught?

[Softly Spoken]

OP I think your signs are hilarious and in no way rude. No one is entitled to shill on your doorstep, and you are more than entitled to express your feelings about solicitation.

You may not have to disconnect your door bell - maybe just put tape over it and a sign saying "Sorry broken / Out of Order"? Seems easier than having Mr. K fiddle with the wiring.

I don't know if this would be an ehell approved way to deal with some solicitors, but my exBFF had a huge dog that she would control only to the extent that she tolerated the person at the door. The racket the dogs put up when anyone knocked was often enough to deter some. If she answered and really didn't like what they were pushing, she acted like her dog (FWIW a very big Afghan with a very big bark...but the heart of a chicken ) was difficult to control and it was in their best interest to back away off the porch slowly.

I can't afford a video camera but I have the poor person's "visitor I.D." - my family has a secret knock. Anyone who doesn't give it is ignored. We and our neighbors also sometimes call each other and say things like "Heads up there's a kid coming your way with magazines" or "If you hear a knock in the next few minutes ignore it - there's some guy who wants his petition signed making the rounds" etc.

[nuit93]

I have two signs on the door.  They are a little snarky.  Mr K thinks the first one is absolutely hilarious.  I would have thought the second one was overkill if not for the fact that I STILL got my bell rung.

The first sign that is up all the time reads: "Absolutely no soliciting.  Ever!  We are not interested in your scam, scheme, or religion!  We are happy with our hot water tank and our hydro.  We do not want a quote for lawn care (go away, [SpecificCompany]).  We are happy with our church and do not need a new vacuum.  Thank you.  Have a nice day. (Girl Guides are always welcome)."

Mr K finds that one hilarious.  There's a reason SpecificCompany is called out by name.  They keep calling us and coming to our door repeatedly.  We had an awful experience with them once and will never EVER use them.

The second sign, which is written on bright pink paper and gets taped up when LK is napping or in bed for the night used to read: "Baby Sleeping! Please knock.  Don't ring the bell!" 
That sign was ignored.
The new one reads: "Baby sleeping!  If you don't have a LEGITIMATE reason to be here, please go away.  Otherwise, please KNOCK!  Don't ring the bell.  Thank you."

Just wondering... is that overkill?  Rude?

Here's what happened just now:
We've been getting a ridiculous amount of scammers coming through our neighbourhood.  It drives me crazy.  Really crazy.  The latest one is someone knocking asking if we've gotten our energy rebate yet.  She wouldn't tell me who she is with, even though I asked.  So I told her that she had no business ringing my bell.  She told me that she wasn't "soliciting" so my "very rude sign" doesn't apply to her.
If she wasn't soliciting, she would have started by telling me who she was representing - the correct answer is either my energy company or the government.  Any answer but those two means she's scamming.  She wasn't forthright with that info, so I know she was not legit.

I managed to keep myself composed long enough to close the door in her face and not actually say what I was thinking.  It wasn't polite.

Does anyone else have suggestions for signs that might actually work?
If not, coping techniques for door-to-door scammers (or ridiculous stories on the same) will suffice.

(edited because I forgot the subscript at the bottom of the first sign.)

My BIL has a welcome mat that says "Leave".

Solicitors get the idea.

[cass2591]

Whoa.

jpcher - the one who is "getting their gander up" is YOU.  I don't need a sermon/reprimand, I don't need you telling me how to treat a solicitor who appears uninvited at my residence, and I don't need you telling me that some people have to earn their living doing a job like that.  I obviously know that. and I still stand by everything I said.  No one is "shaming" anyone, so please simmer down.  Maybe you can also address the topic instead of me.

Simmer down? We're adults here and don't speak to each other like they're 10 year olds. I think you seriously need to rethink your posting style.

Thread locked.