To show courier how to use brass door knocker?

[Crazy3]

So we have a courier who bangs on the door repeatedly with his fist. He does about 6 bangs, waits about three seconds and then does another, it normally takes me this long to get to the front door. So today I said don’t bang on my front door- there isn’t an emergency- just use the door knocker that’s what it’s there for. Two knocks is polite, banging with your fist isn’t. Then I closed the door. And wondered if my hormones are at me, or if people just don’t get front door etiquette anymore.

That would wind me up too. We moved closer to the DC's friend's (into the village from outside it) and found out that no one actually knocks any more, they just rattle the letterbox and it drives me potty. I never know if someone is actually wanting our attention, posting junk mail, it's the wind or even if it is the letterbox making a noise at all. I had to tell every child (and the odd adult in a friendly "oh I almost didn't answer the door because it sounded like the wind rattling the letterbox" ::tinkly laugh::) to knock properly. Two years on and everyone knocks so telling them works.

You were totally in the right. I’m in the unusual situation where I had to tell a weekly visitor to just let themselves in, instead of knocking the door and staring in at the room full of barking dogs! FFS he’s been visiting mine for over ten years. I’ve repeatedly said that, since he comes in the business end, he doesn’t need to knock.

YANBU

My neighbour's kid often comes around for his ball, and rings the bell, often coinciding with me just getting in or out of the shower. Since I don't like to open the door in this wholly nude state to retrieve a football, or anything else for that matter, I leave it.

On the rare occasions it's someone else... nothing.

This kid?

Ding dong ding dong.
Knock knock knock
Ding dong
HELLO?
Ding dong
Knock knock knock knock KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
Ding dong
Tap tap tap on window

Fuck off you little brat.

When people do this I answer the door with a worried look on my face, out of breath as if I’ve run for the door. “My god. Is everything ok?” They’re usually a bit sheepish when asking if I need my gutters cleaned.

I agree that a loud knock on the door would make me think there was an emergency and make me start to panic but if you look into the pay couriers receive and the conditions that they work under perhaps you would have a little sympathy for them. Many of them earn less than minimum wage, they just want you to answer the door as quickly as possible so they can move onto their next drop. I don't think front door etiquette will be something they are trained in or even care about.

They don’t knock on the door round here, they bang on the window or at least FIL does. Makes me shit myself every time.

Just knock on the door like a normal person ffs!

I'm afraid I've been known to comment to couriers who bang on the glass on my front door when there is a perfectly visible and working doorbell they could try first. I appreciate that door bells don't always work (I called at a house the other day which had 2 and neither seemed to illicit a response) but try the bell first BEFORE hammering the door down - and knock on the wood not the glass FFS.

Many doorbells don’t work, and you can’t usually tell from outside whether they do or not, so I imagine most people who have to knock on doors for a living just stick to a generic door knock/bang instead of bells or door knockers (I know knockers always work but when you’re doing it multiple times per hour it’s just easier to do the same thing every time, more efficient!).

So I’d cut them slack. They get paid next to nothing. They don’t give a shit.

They are paid by delivery, three faster try deliver the more they can earn, ringing a doorbell first which doesn't work literally costs them money. So better for them not to take the risk and knock the door.

The postman banged on my brothers window so hard he put his fist through it

Lesson learnt!

We have a door knocker which is part of our letterbox (if that makes sense?!) plus, now, a new doorbell which is very obviously marked outside (in the porch) and you can hear the bell ringing inside (I know, I've tried it)!

But what absolutely pisses me off that some people ignore both the bell and the door knocker and rap very loudly on the glass of the front door panels. It infuriates me. But, I've also discovered that the glass-panel-door-knockers (of our friends) were all people who were brought up rurally.

Perhaps the courier has arthritic fingers and can not manipulate the door knocker.

No one has door bells or knockers here (not in the UK). They sit outside your house in the car, engine running, and toot the horn until you come and open your door....

Undercover - if they couldn't manipulate the knocker, they wouldn't be able to do all the other functions of a courier, which requires a fair bit of manual dexterity

OlennasWimple - fair point. 😀

I wonder if you live near me crazy3. We have the same with a delivery driver, he bangs and then waits seconds and bangs again - as if the house is one fire. I also told him to use the doorbell (was pregnant at the time but now with a small baby it’s even more annoying). You did the right thing.

I'm always ready to forgive a courier/postie/meter reader/etc - although they all seem capable of using the knocker or bell anyway. It's the people that we know who bang on the glass who I want to throttle!!!

We have a doorbell (which can be heard from outside)and the last courier I had rang it and then battered on the door withing 2 seconds. He did get a mouthful.