Take that, Terminix
Keith has taught me many things... one is to be ASSERTIVE. And today, I was. The doorbell rang and it was a young, strongly accented young man (some kind of German or Dutch accent) from Terminix.Wait, must back up. I had posted a not so friendly No Soliciting sign on our door during the JW fest and only recently took it down when we noticed No Soliciting signs at the front of our neighborhood.
Anyway, so there's Mr. Terminix. He immediately begins his speech about wanting to sell me a package deal for pest control, telling me that he's seen roaches, ants, and spiders in our neighborhood. Uh, Mr. T? Duh, we live on a swamp in FLORIDA.
Not even addressing the No Soliciting sign at the front of the neighborhood, (and kicking myself for having taken my own one down) I try to explain that we are renting the home and are not at liberty to arrange for pest control because we don't own the house. He then tries to argue with me saying that this is not pest control for the home, it's for my own safety. That's a creative one.
I mentioned the accent before because this entire exchange is going slowly and painfully due to neither of us being able to understand each other.
I again tell him that I'm not interested in services and I go out on a limb for him and say if he wants to leave a card, I'll give it to my landlord next time I see him. Mr. Terminix says he forgot to bring his cards. Too bad for you, Mr. T.
Well, this keeps going on where he just keeps trying to argue with me so I will buy the pest control service and ends with me saying, "I'm done with this, I'm closing the door on you, please leave."
Now's when I get really assertive. I called 1800TERMINIX and got the local branch's phone number. Then I called and told them that I was just harrassed by one of their employees at my own home and I live in a neighborhood that does not accept soliciting, etc, etc.
And, I'm not a bitch or anything, I tell the woman I don't want this kid to be in trouble or anything, he's just doing a really bad job and someone needs to work with him. The woman knew who I was talking about right away and said she would be talking to her manager about it.
Will she actually do anything? Who knows. Will this kid go to a customer service training or get fired or something? Who knows. All I know is when I hung up the phone, only then did my blood pressure return back to a normal range.
Good for me.
posted by suebaby @ 3:33 PM
11 Comments:
Good job, Sue. But ever the worry-wart, I have to comment---don't answer the door to people you don't know! If you didn't call them, don't answer it. "Not answering the door for strangers; it's not just for kids anymore." (enter "The More You Know" rainbow)
I agree with Amy.
Solicitors can really kiss my ass. It is SO ANNOYING. And what neighborhood does NOT have a No Soliciting sign these days, you know? NO ONE WANTS PEOPLE COMING TO THEIR HOUSE UNANNOUNCED TRYING TO SELL THEM STUFF! It can't possibly ever be a good sales tactic, I don't know why people still do it. I don't mind if someone leaves a business card on my doorstep. Just don't try to engage me in conversation!!
I hear ya', my friend!!!
I have a strong dislike for solicitors too...I refuse to open the door for them even when the kids are screaming at the door "someone's here!!" and peeping out the window at them...eventually the unwelcome visitor leaves. Kev is a sappy guy at heart and opens the door for everyone and buys EVERYTHING, which also isn't cool in my book. We too have "no soliciting" signs posted at the front of our neighborhood, but no one pays any attention to them, so they may as well not be there. But, I agree...try not to answer the door (though sometimes it's easier to answer than having them knock and ring your doorbell til you're totally ticked off and all your napping kids are awake...and BTW...if I do answer the door I always have a phone in my hand and act like I am on the phone...a safety hazard :))....I feel your pain. It is an annoyance. Between that and "unavailable" phonecalls...I get pretty impatient. But, good for you for being forceful on the subject...I always feel bad for not buying stuff (thus why I just ignore them). Keep staying strong!
I agree with Amy also. I never answer the door for someone I don't know. There are just too many psychos out there these days. Also, like littlejeans said, who buys that stuff? ...other than Kevin. There's nothing I need so badly that I'd buy it from some stranger at my door. But good for you for being strong and for making the call to let the "higher ups" know. And I'm sure you've already done it, but I'd but the sign on the door back on.
OK, the reason I answered the door in the first place, was because I thought it was our next door neighbor who has invited us to go to MGM studios this weekend with his wife and daughter (for free!!!) because he's a manager there and he had said the other day, "I'll come knock on your door and we'll work out all the details". OK?!
Thanks for the across the board support. I hate solicitors, especially ones like that kid.
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!
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