To ask people to use the doorbell?

[blankee]

I'm the admin for a small organisation and am in the office 4 days out of 5. Manager has asked me to make sure the blinds are open in the office so people know we are open and doing business - no problem, I’d rather have them open anyway! My office is right next to the main door.

We also have a lone worker policy which includes keeping the front door locked. We do have a doorbell and there’s a sign on the door saying to ring it if the door is locked.

The number of people who don’t notice this sign is impressive! Three times this week I’ve been given a real jump by people knocking on my window to be let in. It freaks me out no end, I’m not sure why, but my colleague in the next office says she feels the same when people have knocked her window in the past - which is why she now keeps her blinds closed. But I don’t have that option (see manager comment above!)

I’m about to make a big sign with really big letters pointing to the doorbell to stick on the door, but (and this is the point of my super long screed!) WIBU to have a sign on my window as well, asking people not to knock on the window but please ring the doorbell instead? I can’t explain why I hate it so much but it really freaks me out whenever it happens! But I don’t want to be inhospitable to visitors (we are in a sensitive line of work with sometimes vulnerable people etc)

YABU - stick a big sign on the front door and have done
YANBU - make it 100% clear NOT to knock on the bloody window!

I think some people won't press a ring doorbell because they hate the idea of being filmed, not realising that their presence has triggered the recording anyway.

I would be one of them. Ghastly things. I have a lot more materially to lose than the average , but I swear I will never have one.

Yanbu.

I've noticed some delivery people don't use my ring doorbell. I don't think they realise its recorded them anyway.

Same!! We got it because we've had a garden room built and spend a lot of time in there, and can't hear the front door, so the doorbell goes straight to my phone/iPad/watch whatever's near me - which is great! But so often I get a notification saying there's motion at the door, of someone knocking and not bothering to use the bell. It's bizarre.

Mine did. His name is William. He stands on my front doorstep between me and the delivery drivers. I got my ring doorbell on Black Friday though, maybe it was part of the deal.

If you make it a polite “Please ring the doorbell” (with an arrow) not “do not knock” you can’t be accused of being hostile or offputting.
Some people love to hammer on doors and windows. I’m sure some of them think a doorbell is too quiet, and that they need to knock loudly to get your attention.

Can people actually hear the doorbell from outside when they press it? I often find if there’s a lot of traffic noise or other noise in the street I can’t hear if the doorbell has worked therefore I’d knock too.

I don’t actually know, but the people who've hammered on my window this week didn’t even try the bell, as they were all surprised and apologetic when I (very politely!) pointed it out on opening the door!

Anyway I’ve got a good solution now. As well as a Big Yellow Sign with Arrow pointing at bell, I’ve put two posters up in my window, one with the office opening hours and a note about ringing the doorbell, and the other with most of the regular session times on. Judicious movement of pot plants and slightly drawn blinds means nobody outside can see my desk and I can still see the trees and sky!

Same here - obviously doorbell, still people knock quietly and I can't hear them if I'm not in one of the front two rooms.

Ok, this explains the random dude that has been living on my doorstep for the last two years. I did wonder...

Coming back to this post with an update - I’ve had posters in my window (advertising service hours, office opening etc so they don’t look like I’m trying to hide!) and so far so good.

This morning, though, I didn’t even open the blinds as I need to focus and we have no outreach services in so it's literally just me all day getting admin done, and suddenly somebody was there bashing the glass again!

Apparently he missed the HUGE yellow "ring the doorbell" sign I’ve put on the front door 🤦‍♀️

People, eh?!

Don't the ring doorbells catch you even if you don't ring?

We have a doorbell, in the obvious place by the door. We also have a door knocker - a nice big chrome one in the middle of our very dark green door, so also very obvious. We got it because people didn't seem to see the doorbell and just knocked on the door, which we didn't always hear. A lot of our delivery people don't use either the doorbell or the knocker, they will knock on the door and then just leave the parcel on the doorstep when they don't get a response. Yes Amazon - I do mean you! The other evening I saw a message on my phone to say my Amazon parcel had been delivered and handed to me. No it hadn't.... I only knew it was sitting on my doorstep because of the email. It had been there hours! USE THE DOORBELL!!!!!

Further to my rant/post. No you would not be unreasonable to put a note up to ask people to use the doorbell - but it might be wise to ask your manager first.

Presumably people try the door before hanging on the window? Maybe somebody ought to invent a dual purpose handle/doorbell that rings every time somebody tries the handle 😁

Amazing how people never see the sign no matter how big or where it is placed.
Where I work we have a Sign 7 feet wide, and, still allegedly they never see it remarkable. It does say no entry too children And yet continue to take children past the sign just have to grin and bear it, selective reading I often wonder how they drive people like that

I'd probably tap on the window if I saw you there but only after I had tried the bell a couple of times and had no response.

Deliveroo drivers are the worst for this though - I live in a conversion flat and the amount of them who knock on the communal front door instead of ringing the buzzer has to be seen to be believed. Because someone in the third floor flat is going to hear that.

That’s the thing - I wasn’t even visible today! Someone tried the door, missed the big yellow note that says RING THE DOORBELL and hammered blindly on the nearest window 🤷‍♀️

I put a tiny, friendly sign saying please don’t knock on the glass, ring the doorbell instead, and ten minutes later someone else was knocking the bloody window. At which point I gave up! 😂

I understand the OPs position here. A lot of delivery drivers knock on my living room window instead of knocking/ringing door bell, I guess because they are next to each other.

If they see me inside (can see right to back of house) sometimes they just stand at the door not knocking/ringing assuming I've seen them. If my kids are in the living room they assume they've been seen and just stand there waiting. Once a guy just talked through the open window.

I hate it when they do this. It feels rude, invasive and sometimes threatening as it can be such a surprise. I always make a point when I go to the door to be surprised they are there and check that the doorbell is ringing. Sometimes I ignore them till they at least knock. Perhaps petty but I think it's polite to not gawp in at people's homes.

....which all reminds me we need to get some sheer blinds for our living room.

mum yes, a ring will pick up movement anyway.

How about a intercom/ video type doorbell.