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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

WIBU to this door to door sales person?

75 replies

valkilly · 19/04/2012 23:48

DH thinks I was rude, I disagree - need the MN jury to reassure me I am right deliver a verdict.

I was pulling into the driveway, coming home from work when I noticed a young man with clipboard calling to the neighbours'. He saw me pull up in the driveway, take 2 DCs out of the car and hurry into the house as it was raining again.
Obviously not an ideal time to cold call to someone's house but undeterred, 2 seconds after I closed the front door, the doorbell rang.

I answered against my better judgement as I knew he knew I was home. I still had my coat on and was holding 8mo DD. This is how the conversation went:

Me: "Hello?"
Him: "Good evening Madame, how are you today?"
Me: "it's not really a good time to be honest."
Him: " Ok well this will only take 2 mins of your time."
Me: "I don't have 2 minutes, sorry."
Him: "Well can I just ask who your current Electricity provider is?"
Me: (clearly able to see his company's logo on his jacket) "Look, we were with your company and we switched so I am not interested"
Him: "Oh you switched away from us? Can I ask who to?"
Me: " I don't want to go into it. Bye now".

DH was home before me so he was inside and heard the full exchange. He said I was very abrupt and rude (he was slightly envious though as he always gets stuck at the door with these people). I think I wasn't overly rude and if I was a bit abrupt, it was the sales person's fault for calling to the door at that time!

So over to you - AIBU in thinking its ok to deal with cold callers in this way?

OP posts:

scarletforya · 20/04/2012 07:33

Sales people are thick skinned and if they aren't able for being run off someones doorstep then they are in the wrong job.

I think door to door selling should be banned anyway so I've no sympathy for any of them. No one makes them do the job.

I don't answer the door to them and my doorbell doesn't work. Life is too short to waste time on these unwanted and uninvited invaders.

So no you were not rude, he got what he deserved.

Lawrene8 · 20/04/2012 07:40

I don't think you were rude either. I give short shrift to cold callers as it gets on my nerves. One bloom once tricked my mum into letting him into her place by saying he was there to read the meter. When he got to the cupboard he started the sales talk about switching. He was mist surprised when mum got our rolling pin and poked him in the stomach with it! All the way back to the front door while threatening to call the police. She didn't get any other energy suppliers for a long while after that.

LurcioLovesFrankie · 20/04/2012 07:46

I had an exchange like the one you describe, except towards the end the bloke made the mistake of saying I was stupid if i didn't "save moneY" by switchibg to his company - I ended up bellowing at his retreating back that I didn't think insulting prospective customers was a very good sales technique. (I put "save money" in scare quotes 'cos according to consumer surveys, most people who buy on the door end up with more expensive contracts than they could have got on line).

HateBeingCantDoUpMyJeans · 20/04/2012 07:47

Not rude you said no lots of times.

My rule is polite no twice then just get rid of them

I used to be in telesales so feel tgat I have a fair understanding. If I really want to give them a chance I tell them I have said no a number if times and am trying to remain polite about it

HateBeingCantDoUpMyJeans · 20/04/2012 07:48

Yep you gotta love those questions about how would you feel if we could save you money?

DinahMoHum · 20/04/2012 07:48

you had no choice but to be rude. HE was rude.

I will never buy anything from anyone that cold calls me or stops me in the street.

diddl · 20/04/2012 07:52

I don´t think it was rude.

I wouldn´t have answered the door tbh-even if he did know I was there.

You do not have to answer your door to strangers or engage in conversation with them!

WaitingForMe · 20/04/2012 08:22

You were polite!

RevoltingPeasant · 20/04/2012 09:06

lawrene that is hilarious.

OP yanbu - you apologised ('sorry, no time') and made a reasonable excuse. He just gave his company a whole lot of bad publicity.

Who was it??

DeWe · 20/04/2012 09:54

I'd have thought that you're "always switching" would be a red rag to a bull. If you're always switching then you might be persuadable.

I say we've been with ours for 10+ years and are very happy and nothing will persuad us to switch.

whatsallthefuss · 20/04/2012 10:31

if your DH doesnt like the way you speak to people (rationally in my opinion),
he can answer the door and speak to anyone he likes any way he likes.

Problem solved

You were not rude. the caller was by not taking the hint and leaving it at that.

HexagonalQueenOfTheSummer · 20/04/2012 10:35

Tell your DH that next time a cold caller calls at your door you will say 'Let me just get my husband, he deals with this kind of thing', and then let him get rid of them

Noqontrol · 20/04/2012 11:15

YANBU. I don't think you were rude, he was rude.

AutumnSummers · 20/04/2012 11:19

You politely but firmly declined to engage in a pointless conversation. You were niether rude nor U.

madmouse · 20/04/2012 11:20

You were assertive and far more patient than I would have been.

kickingKcurlyC · 20/04/2012 11:34

You weren't rude!

NoMoreInsomnia12 · 20/04/2012 12:07

I don't think you were rude at all, you were direct. I'd do the same, and in fact did the same with someone enquiring about solar panels the other day, but perhaps with a few more pleases and thank yous. I think it's much more rude and wasting their time to let them go into a spiel for five minutes then say no afterwards. If I were doing that job, that would irritate me far more.

maddening · 20/04/2012 12:17

I think both door to door sales and tele sales are rude and intrusive

WorraLiberty · 20/04/2012 12:20

No you weren't rude OP...just very firm.

I don't enter into any conversation with them other than to say "No thank you we're fine"....then I smile and do a half wave while closing the door.

DucketyDuckDuck · 20/04/2012 12:28

I had a charity one last night. I find it really really hard not to be rude. My heckles are up before I even answer the door to be honest.

I am usually direct, and interrupt the sales talk with a "no thank-you" "I haven't got any money to spare" "do not want to change suppliers"

Get really cross, when you open the door, and their hand is held out for you to shake - ignore that.

Also find it hard to be polite with comments like I got last night "do you know someone who has had cancer" "what, you can't even afford the price of a sandwich per month" and "would it make a difference if you could wait 4/6 weeks would you have some money then"

I ended up just closing the door.

I am happy to donate to charity, I do it all the time, just not like this.

YusMilady · 20/04/2012 12:28

You weren't even slightly rude. It's the poor saps who think 'oooh, it costs nothing to be polite' who end up being ripped off by these scum- missold all kinds of crap on the doorstep.

YusMilady · 20/04/2012 12:30

AND anyone who's had their elderly parents targeted by doorstep sellers, phone shysters, chuggers and similar assorted panhandling bastards will have less than no patience with the 'ooh, it's a dreadful job, poor them' bullcrap.

WhyAlwaysBoris · 20/04/2012 12:36

My friend taught me this technique and it always works
(thanks lindsey!)

salesman: Hello i'm from wherever
me: Oh hello, I'm morally opposed to door to door selling, so i won't waste your time when you could be talking to someone who might be interested. Good luck in finding someone
salemsan: (silence)

You say it in an extremely polite way and make sure the good luck bit is very jaunty like you are rooting for them to get that sale :)

CrispyCod · 20/04/2012 12:41

energy companies are notoriously bad for switching you without your consent as all they need is your address & your current supplier.

I can vouch for that, as can several people in our village who all got swapped without knowledge.

That's appalling, how on earth can they get away with doing it without consent or a signature.

cheekybarsteward · 20/04/2012 12:50

You can get the 'No Cold Callers' sign on the Martin Lewis website.
Have to say though I pointed the sign out to yet another cold caller at the door and his reply was "Oh, it's OK Madam, I am not a cold caller".
At this point I had to shut the door in his face, there is no arguing with stupid.

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