No Soliciting Signs and People Who Ignore Them

[Abraham]

Perhaps, the wording is a bit too intellectual?

After all, "No Soliciting" sounds a bit ambiguous...

Maybe, "No Sales Begging" or "Stay The Heck Off My Property" would have more impact.

I now live in the country and this sort of bother is no longer. When I lived in the suburbs I had a peephole installed in the front door. When the occasional knock occurred I'd look through it and if I didn't recognize the person I simply didn't answer the door. Pretty quickly whoever they were would wander off...no muss, no fuss. Beautiful!

Initially, my wife thought me callous. How rude of me not to answer the door - to strangers. When I pointed out we're not obligated to open the door of our home to the world, she slowly accepted the idea. Eventually, she too not only approved of this method of handling those who insist (sometimes belligerent in their behavior once greeted) they be granted an audience, she too delighted in simply not responding to a whole herd of continual unknowns.

[jimlongley]

There's an idea. Make the door 'bell' sound, a prerecorded shotgun pump!

I'm working on getting my "winning" stage at an IDPA match recorded into my phone as a ring tone. Two Mozambiques in almost perfect tempo.

My spelling error was because the first time I typed it I used "Persecuted" and I ran out of 'e's trying to correct it.

[tfrazier]

... and I ran out of 'e's trying to correct it.

Sympathy for Jim. He's too poor to buy a vowel!

I love the shotgun pump sound effect for the doorbell. Bet someone already has that on the market.

[USA1]

Perhaps, the wording is a bit too intellectual?

After all, "No Soliciting" sounds a bit ambiguous...

how about GO AWAY

[Purplehood]

Has it occurred to anyone that a significant portion of the population thinks the word soliciting or solicitation refers only to the world's oldest profession and doesn't apply to what they are doing/attempting to do?

If that were the case I wouldn't have the sign up in the first place.

[bryang]

Yep, someone has already done it...Two Shotgun Blasts and Shotgun Pump

Here is where you can find all kinds of Doorbell sound effects.

I like the pump sound followed with two blast!

-geo

[dicion]

Those Audio files are pretty poor quality. The Pump is Very Muffled, and if your shotgun sounds like that when you shoot it, you've got problems.

Sounds more like a .22LR to me

I'll have to call my friend with a recording studio in his house, and take my shotgun over there someday.

[stevie_d_64]

My sign doesn't even impact in two languages...English and Spanish...The yard care folks are the worst...

They wedge their business cards in between the sign and the wall it is stuck to...

Still trying to figure that out...And it happens all the time from separate solicitors and businesses...

I'm all for folks wanting to make an honest living...And even the folks leaving cards is kinda ok...But when you see the sign(s)...You might get more business if you catch me outside in the yard, or posting your services where I will go and look for them when I am ready for that...

Common courtesy and respect of privacy is certainly erroding away everyday it seems...

[C-dub]

My older and wiser German Shepherd has figured out that "ding-dong" sound is a signal for him to spring into action. He seems to take great pleasure in scaring people at the front door. Sometimes we just leave the front door open with the screen door locked. One particularly funny day, a couple of kids were coming through the neighborhood selling magazines to help them stay off drugs. It was a very nice day, weather wise, and the front door was open with the screen door locked. Dog was not near the door. Door bell rings and the dog comes running from another room barking and slobbering. By the time I get to the door I see the two kids running for their lives on the other side of the street three houses away. I just couldn’t help laughing.

Good boy!

[jimlongley]

My older and wiser German Shepherd has figured out that "ding-dong" sound is a signal for him to spring into action. He seems to take great pleasure in scaring people at the front door. Sometimes we just leave the front door open with the screen door locked. One particularly funny day, a couple of kids were coming through the neighborhood selling magazines to help them stay off drugs. It was a very nice day, weather wise, and the front door was open with the screen door locked. Dog was not near the door. Door bell rings and the dog comes running from another room barking and slobbering. By the time I get to the door I see the two kids running for their lives on the other side of the street three houses away. I just couldn’t help laughing.

Good boy!

My lab does the same kind of thing, and she sets the other dogs off, and the cacaphony sounds pretty threatening to me anyway, and I'm already inside with them.

My lab sounds like the "Hound of the Baskervilles" when she really goes off, she has several "threat levels" and I have learned to respond to them appropriately. The top level is reserved for someone actually touching the house, not just ringing the bell, and that one gets a drawn gun, all the rest get holstered, and she ALWAYS gets a treat.

She also goes out to get the paper for me every morning.

[KD5NRH]

One particularly funny day, a couple of kids were coming through the neighborhood selling magazines to help them stay off drugs.

How is this supposed to work? I've never felt more like I needed some serious drugs than when I was doing outside sales, and I didn't even do cold calls.

[C-dub]

Exactly! I have yet to purchase any from them.

Now, I must also say that when my dog is lying near the door he does seem to be descriminating when it comes to who to bark at. He doesn't bark at small kids and many women and even few men. But, that's when he sees them before the doorbell is rung.

[tfrazier]

One particularly funny day, a couple of kids were coming through the neighborhood selling magazines to help them stay off drugs.

How is this supposed to work? I've never felt more like I needed some serious drugs than when I was doing outside sales, and I didn't even do cold calls.

Ever see the spoof of the "selling magazines to st5ay off drugs" pitch in the movie "Office Space"? Hilarious.

Regarding dogs, you outta hear my American Mastiff when she sounds off. Might as well be a lion roaring. Between her bark, and my Pit Bull slobbering in the bay window (his favorite perch seven feet from the front door where he can see the person knocking and vice-versa) I'm sure quite a few sales people have decided to go elsewhere...but we still get plenty opf "brave" ones.

[hi-power]

Tim,

Just yesterday I ran home for lunch. When it was time to get back to work, my wife jumped in her car to run some errands. I got out of the driveway first and after a block or so I saw she was still parked in the driveway, so I whipped out my cell and called her to find out what was wrong. She said she spotted a couple of those "meat from a truck" salesmen with their clipboards out about to start canvassing our neighborhood. (No city permit or ID badge in sight).

I kept on going to work and she called the police department non-emergency number to report it. Afterwards she called to say she was on her way to Office Depot to get a "No Soliciting" sign for our doorway. After reading all the comments so far, I figure that may cut down on doorbell rings during the day, but there are still going to be those that have no idea what soliciting means. I may have to go an extra step and put up another sign like yours or some of the other good suggestions in this thread.

[USA1]

when they tried to sell me a newspaper subscription..i said - i cant read

when they tried to sell me meat...i said - im a vegetarian

when they tried to sell me girl scout cookies... i said - two boxes of thin mints please !