Answering the front door

Feisar

Zorya wrote: »

Generally I answer any knock to the door. It's a pain when it's Jehovah's Witnesses or farmers selling GAA tickets.

Having said that, I do feel somewhat trepidatious by times. I am 5 foot and a few inches, female and live alone during the week in a very very isolated place. So, if it is dark and I do not recognise the person, I answer the door with my unseen hand holding a baseball bat. Hopefully I will never have to use it. Horrible to have to feel even that bit of fear. I would love a lady-sized pistol for concealed-carry and to come back as a tall strong man in my next life.

There's always someone taller/bigger/stronger so being male isn't much of a plus.

my3cents

Feisar wrote: »

There's always someone taller/bigger/stronger so being male isn't much of a plus.

Just offer to sell the caller some GAA raffle tickets or offer them a bible tract and you'll be safe enough

seamus

Meh. If it's in the morning, it's probably the postman. If it's during the day, it's probably one of the kids' friends. If it's after 6pm it's always a salesperson, so I might answer that around 50% of the time. If I happen to be walking past the door, I'll get it, but if I'm in the middle of something I won't bother. I'm going to tell them to go away anyway, so I'm saving us both time by not answering.

freshpopcorn

We don't answer the door when a certain relative calls but apart from that we do.
I like to know who's at the door sometimes before I answer so I might leave them walk away from the door.

LollipopJimmy

artanevilla wrote: »

It's as ignorant to knock on someone's door uninvited/unexpected as it is to not answer it.

That has to be one of the most ridiculous statements I've ever read on here.


Anyway, I don't mind door to door sellers, it's rare they will get me to switch anything because I'm fairly on top of switching utilities as contracts run out and still get the aul staff discount on the leccy even though I'm 2 years gone. The guys selling door to door don't want to be doing it either but it keeps them off the dole and over 60% of people who switch utilities do it on the doorstep. So door to door sales keeps people in work and keeps the market on its toes

Garibaldi?

You do need to be polite. A neighbour of mine many years ago was in the habit of ignoring everybody. If a child knocked to retrieve a ball she would not answer. She left the windows of her car open in the driveway and and didn't respond when a man on the road attempted to inform her of the fact as there was a downpour. He did not persist in his efforts. She had a nasty surprise next morning

Boom_Bap

I never answer the front door, I don't know how Mrs. Bap keeps getting back in!

Pawwed Rig

I see who it is before deciding whether to open up or not. The sales guys are accomodating in that they often have a hi vis with company logo on it. They do not get answered.
If I know the person I will answer it.
If I don't know the person and cannot see a logo I make a judgement call.
Uniform I will answer too.

Under His Eye

Invest in a spyhole.

bertsmom

I usually look out and see. I have a large glass oval on my front door so I can see when it's the MANY various 'salesmen' we get around here. If it's one of them I just shout out 'no thanks without opening it and the set the house alarm so they can hear it activate quiet clearly through the door.
I have been sitting on my sofa when some cheeky arsehole looks through the window after not getting a response at the door. They are met with an altogether less pleasant response from both myself and the dog.
Generally never answer until I have checked to see if courier or postman.
Just on nodding and quick hello terms with my neighbours which is the way I'd like to keep it so we wouldn't be calling into each other at a time of need anyway.
If I am down home at my parents house I'd ALWAYS answer the door as it's a rural farming community and the neighbours are all good friends and decent people who you would want to help.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

I don’t answer because it’s usually just sales or kids looking for sponsorship or selling tickets. If I’ve worked all day and made no plans with anyone the evening is mine and that doesn’t include answering the door to people I don’t want to engage with

facehugger99

Always answer but often regret it.

Usually it a sales person, God-botherer or someone collecting money for something.

I'd be temped to invest in a smart doorbell or something that would allow be to tell them to PFO from the comfort of my sofa.

Wexfman

I always answer the door. Mostly it’s lads selling tickets or something. My wife would bring one of the dogs with her when answering it while I’m not there as we live in the country and she’d be nervous on her own

Thatnastyboy

Unsolicited callers seem to have a penchant for calling when I'm working in the garden or on a mechanical project in the yard/shed,


Holding an implement of destruction & looking like Trevor Phillips from GTA clears off most folk on it's own.



Shame, I love to chat

facehugger99

I actually answered it the other day to one of those salespeople. Before he even started his patter I was in straight away with a "Sorry, I'm not interested".

He came back with a "You're not interested in saving money?"


"Yep, you heard correctly"

*Door slam.

Cheeky Fcuker.

monkeybutter

Feisar wrote: »

There's always someone taller/bigger/stronger so being male isn't much of a plus.

Just no

Wibbs

I have a "NO sales types" sign up and 99% of the time they abide by that. If the bell goes after 9 at night I'd be somewhat more cautious, but otherwise I answer the door. AKA normal human being behaviour.

TerrorFirmer

I always answer the door because you just never know, but pretty much it's always sales pitches of some kind. I instantly just tell them I'm not interested in wasting their time or mine and let them on their way.

What a dreadful way to earn a living though, knocking door to door trying to flog tat/sign people up for charities/et al. The ones trying to get you to switch energy provider are probably a little better off.

Alun

facehugger99 wrote: »

I actually answered it the other day to one of those salespeople. Before he even started his patter I was in straight away with a "Sorry, I'm not interested".

He came back with a "You're not interested in saving money?"


"Yep, you heard correctly"

*Door slam.

I'm surprised it took that long. My usual sequence is ...

- Open door
- See clipboard / name tag / smiley face
- Close door

LollipopJimmy

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

I always answer the door because you just never know, but pretty much it's always sales pitches of some kind. I instantly just tell them I'm not interested in wasting their time or mine and let them on their way.

What a dreadful way to earn a living though, knocking door to door trying to flog tat/sign people up for charities/et al. The ones trying to get you to switch energy provider are probably a little better off.

You'd be surprised to learn what some of these people earn. It's not unheard of for door to door salespeople to earn €40k+, with flexible hours. This is higher than the average industrial wage.

AllForIt

It really depends on where you live.

Alun

Alun wrote: »

I'm surprised it took that long. My usual sequence is ...

- Open door
- See clipboard / name tag / smiley face
- Close door

"I'm just in the middle of something, but if you give me your home address I can call out this evening and discuss it then?................What?.....You don't want anyone calling to your door unannounced?"

*close door slowly while maintaining eye contact*

JustMe,K

I live in an apartment so thankfully dont get many people knocking at the door, if the buzzer rings and theres no answer when I speak into it, I am not opening the main door. If its past about 930pm and there is someone coming to my door they better have a good reason for it. Last few times theres been random kids in the building looking for '10 cents for my birthday'.
Although one day the door was being banged at while I was doing something and 3 firemen were trying to get in because there was a small child apparently hanging out of either my window or the neighbours.....defo was not my window but the neighbours werent opening the door to them so they were hanging out my window trying to get the attention of the neighbours.

Wexfman

I answered it early one morning last year. It was a young girl on her way to work and she’d come across a man on the road having some kind of a breakdown. She was too nervous to approach him on her own so my house was the first one she came to. We got him off the road and got a doctor and ambulance to get him the help he needed. Glad I answered it that day. He came by one night a couple of months later with a lovely card thanking us for our help and a box of chocolates

BIGT4464

I must get a camera, hate when its a salesman or a chugger. Had MSF last week, no way am I giving them my DD details, or anyone for that matter.

.......

In my last place it was a ground floor apartment and I had an intercom so I could see who it was out the window and decide whether or not to tell them to feck off via intercom or answer the door. Once I went into the kitchen at 2am to get a drink of water and seconds after I put the light on the doorbell rang. I answered the intercom and it was a neighbour I knew, her car had just been stolen and her phone died and she was looking to borrow a charger. But if I hadnt had the intercom there is no way I would have answered.

Then I moved and installing an intercom was a step too expensive at the time and I cant see who is at the door from the front window. But, I now have a porch, which I keep locked, so I can answer and talk to them through the porch door. A couple of cheeky feckers have tried to open the porch door.

Id never open the door myself. I had someone try to force past before and another time a girl who told me she was a neighbour and needed money for babies nappies or something like that, I later found out she got herself invited in by other sympathetic neighbours and then robbed stuff in their houses. I twigged it was a scam and told her Id no money and closed the door.

What a ring doorbell?

Jurgen Klopp

I'm so nervous of people knocking on my door, I had to get a shotgun and all

I'll tell you now, if any man knocked on my door and attempted to steal any of the whistles I have here....

I'd blow his feckin head off his shoulders!

I have it cocked and all, so I'll get the jump on him.

MonkieSocks

Knock knock,

I opened the door.

A Six Foot Beatle gave me a kick in the nuts







Apparently there's a nasty bug going around

El Tarangu

OP - if you receive a call from a private number, do you answer it as a matter of course? It's kind of the same thing.


I live in a small apartment building; I have all my parcels delivered to work, so 90% of calls to my door are for someone else, or people soliciting for something, or some other fruitless exercise. At best, an unsolicited ring will disturb me from my comfortable spot on the couch and waste a minute of my time in a pointless discussion; at worst, it will involve a minor argument with someone insisting that they are speaking to who they mistakenly think is living there.


It is never, ever someone delivering a telegram with loads of money, or a former flame looking for one last fling. My neighbours would knock on the door, so unless I am expecting someone, if the doorbell rings, I just ignore it.

Feisar

El Tarangu wrote: »

OP - if you receive a call from a private number, do you answer it as a matter of course? It's kind of the same thing.


I live in a small apartment building; I have all my parcels delivered to work, so 90% of calls to my door are for someone else, or people soliciting for something, or some other fruitless exercise. At best, an unsolicited ring will disturb me from my comfortable spot on the couch and waste a minute of my time in a pointless discussion; at worst, it will involve a minor argument with someone insisting that they are speaking to who they mistakenly think is living there.


It is never, ever someone delivering a telegram with loads of money, or a former flame looking for one last fling. My neighbours would knock on the door, so unless I am expecting someone, if the doorbell rings, I just ignore it.

This actually happened me.