Door to Door sales person...Dont shoot-Dont shoot!

We don't get a lot of peddlers around here..I seriously want to know if screaming Don't shoot, is the first thing they are supposed to say when selling stuff door to door now? Inquiring minds want to know. Anybody????

hilarious

I had a cable sales lady come around here a month ago and she yelled is anyone home I just want to talk about cable with you and stood way back. So I guess that is what is happening today. GBU OP for being a good soul. It will come back around for ya~

i answer my door with a .45 in hand....is that normal?

Ha ha! Going back two years, before my town banned these creeps from selling bogus "magazines" or whatever door-to-door, we had two separate cretins say something about us shooting them.

The first instance occurred after the previous spring, when I actually DID confront a lowlife creep with my pistol as he was sneaking into my 3-season porch screen door after getting no answer at my front door (that's a whole other story- I got him arrested on outstanding warrants in GA & FLA). I figured the company marked me down as a gun owner or something. But your suggestion makes more sense- that they are instructed to say this in order to put the homeowner on the defensive.

The first creep who said that to me was trying my front (locked) screen door one day in early spring. I wasn't going to answer my door, plus I was waiting for the just-washed floor to dry, so I opened up a side window and asked what he wanted. He grabbed the screen frame and attempted to open it! I said "hey, please don't touch my window," and then he kept his hands on the ledge & asked for a cigarette. I told him I couldn't help him, and to remove his hands from the window. So he backed up and waved his hands and shouted "don't shoot me! Don't shoot me! Your neighbor Clara sent me because she thought you'd be interested in an offer I have for you!" Heh, okayyyy.

I got Clara on the phone in front of him and found out she told him to go away. Before I finished my conversation, he was flying out of my yard.
---

2 months later...
The second one was caught by my 8-year old who was doing homework at the dining room table. She said she felt weird, and turned around to catch a man bent over, peeking in under the mostly pulled down window shade. He hadn't seen her yet, but he was closely checking out the china cabinet. When he moved to another window, she got down and crawled out of the room and came upstairs to get me.

I armed myself (hip paddle holster), sent the kids into a safe area, and went down to the front door. He was still around the side near my driveway/dining room windows, so I went over to the side door and opened it, with a locked metal screen door between us. I called out "hello? Can I help you?" No way could he see my sidearm, as the metal part of the door comes up to my chest, but he backed up in the driveway and "Please don't shoot me! I'm just trying to finish up some orders and I'm getting picked up down the street. I thought I could just wait here, it seems so quiet and shady."

I could tell right off he was shifty, as if his behavior reported by my daughter wasn't enough. I dropped the cheerful home maker act and growled at him that he was on video and he should run. That was a fun one!

Well, after I and many other people in my town reported these cretins (and their fly-by-night, ever-changing companies, LLC, etc...) the "soliciting" laws are finally being enforced. Only so many break-ins, arsons, property damage, burglaries will be tolerated. I realize some of these young people are trying to earn money, but if you check out these enterprises which hire them- the majority are drug abusers, most have criminal background, some even outstanding warrants.

A few have been stupid enough to show me a bogus ID when asked, and some of the names are real. Doesn't take too long to search criminal/jail/sex offender databases for those names & photos & call the local police to pick them up while they're still walking up your street.

I think that might be the new normal!!!!

Thank you soooo much for sharing your story. I guess I need to not be so trusting anymore.

After I read what you wrote, I phoned my next door neighbor to see if the woman had been at his house too. Interestingly he said, when he opened the door...she backed up with her hands in the air and hollered, "Don't Shoot!" She gave him the same story, she didn't feel well so he gave he a bottle of water too! LOL

Maybe they are wandering through the neighborhood making a list of people who will hand out food and water and a separate list of who's gonna shoot at them. Then they will know what houses to come back to and try to rob.

Next time I guess I'll open the door with a gun and some water and tell them, "Here's some water for you because you're gonna get thirsty running away from me!" Ready, set GO.......

Yell right back at them, "DON'T YELL! DON'T YELL!".

Cowgirl, be careful. When I was up your way 2 years ago, one of the guys selling magazines came to my daughter's front door. He didn't do the "don't shoot me" thing, but he sure did try to see everything that was in the house. I told him I was just visiting and didn't want any, but he kept saying stuff like, my kids would give me money to buy them. When I told him, no again, he started asking me for cash for his kid!

Last Edited by Texan Buckeye on 03/04/2013 04:55 PM

We had a guy that came around a couple nights ago selling candy for something or another. When we opened the door he said don't shoot I'm a good guy. It kind of tripped me out cuz my son likes to pretend he's shooting, and I always tell him not to shoot us cuz we are the good guys. Then I say, we only shoot bad guys. It was a little weird.

biden says shoot thru the door.

Maybe that's why!

ida shot her

One night... after a ring at the door bell, I spot a man, hand on hip, through the frosted door glass. I get on the speaker and tell him that I have a .40 pointed at his head and to place his hands over his head. I then instruct him to turn around and lie face down on the ground. He complies..

I then open the door and to my horror instantly realize I have a police officer prone on my doorstep.

Anywho... I then scold him for standing at my door with his hand on his pistol.

He apologizes for the "habit" and explains that he was investigating a fireworks disturbance. (it was the 4th of July)


Also, a neighbor was shot days earlier during a honest to god mob hit point blank as she opened her front door.


Anyway, funny story I guess.

Thanks for all the advice everyone. Now y'all got me thinking about opening up the front door. Where I live is very safe, except for the escaped Miami guy they killed at the end of the street by the lake the other night..LOL

Really, I live in a nice Texas neighborhood where people do not lock their doors and sleep with their windows open when its nice outside. I guess no one is safe from crime these days.

Considering a man and woman followed me home from Kroger in Southlake Friday night, I should probably be more careful. The man stopped in front of my driveway so I got walked up to his vehicle and asked him what he wanted. He said he wanted to buy my SUV??? Really? It's not for sale and it's 12 years old. My vehicle looks brand new and they don't make them any more, so I guess his story might have been legit. He gave me his number and said to call if I wanted to sell. I searched him out and got freaked out by his web page. He was a big time communications guy, who had lived and worked all over the world including Chicago and Aurora Colorado. I don't know if Im getting GLP paranoid or what...all I know is I think I better start being more careful.

I don't want to live a in fear but being a little less trusting might be a good thing.

Do it, LOL! But be sure to tell them that they are being video & audio recorded first. Heck, just point to a window and tell them to "smile for the camera" and watch them flip out.

My family & close friends howl when re-watching the video of that scumbag high-tailing it off my property after I totally changed demeanor and growled at him. It looks like it's in fast-motion, but it's not!

To be sure, many of the people selling door-to-door ARE criminals. Not all, not most, but many. (Perhaps lately, it IS most.) They get these jobs by answering shifty newspaper/online ads promising excitement and travel, or by being recruited. Most of them are really in a Fagin/Oliver Twist-type situation, where they are basically held hostage in motel rooms with up to 6 others, and their supposed "pay" is held back from them. They are fed with crap pizza and McD's, and aren't allowed to contact parents. They are promised money/"points" for recruiting more teens to sell the scam. This is a carrot which is seldom caught.

Some are even runaways whose parents are looking for them. They travel state-to-state, peddling the company's "wares" (magazines, coupon books, children's books, etc...) and claiming they are trying to get "points" for a trip, or to earn money for college...

Around here, they are usually wearing polo shirts or oxford shirt & khakis that don't fit them well (i.e. NOT their own clothing. Sometimes, they are clearly drug addicts (meth-face, bad teeth, jittery dt's), obviously not from your area (southern accent don't fly in NH), they sometimes ask for directions to the closest "restaurant X" which is not in your area ("Y'all have Krystal up heah?")

Here in NH we don't see black faces- just meth-head white or latino/mixed. But friends near Boston report lots of black/latino scammers and hardly any white ones. So they obviously know the demographics of each area, and don't send out cretins who would raise red flags right away, you know? The guy peeking in my window was what I would have described as a polynesian/latino mix looking guy, with a wide face, long braid and a neck tat. That helped the cops find him at a local motel- he was a 33-year old sex offender from Hawaii pretending to be a 19-year old college student from Arizona!

Ask them where they're staying with their group- as if you know all about their employment situation. It will be some seedy motel within 30 miles. If it's real close, drive by and check out the situation; really sad for some of those kids, and calling the police might save some of them.

But don't ever think they're down on their luck so much that they wouldn't call in their compatriots to rob you blind- or worse- when you turn your head. At the very least, assume they are casing your house for future crimes. Period.

Please do a composite search using terms like "door-to-door magazine sales" WITH words like: criminals, warrants, sex offenders, drug addicts, runaways, crime, burglary, etc...

Be vigilant, because times are getting tougher and this kind of scamming and crime will only escalate.

That's exactly it; listen to that "little voice" and don't let your guard down. We have lived in a beautiful, picturesque, quaint NH town for 15 years. It's off the beaten path so it's not even a "tourist" town for leaf peeping or skiing.

Only since around 2008 have these cretins come crawling around our neighborhoods. And by neighborhoods- I mean 10 to 300-acre lots. So they are really branching out searching for "trusting country people" to rob.

That's why I have my closest neighbors on speed dial, and always have the phone in my hand when an unexpected visitor comes around. Oh, and Mr. Walt PPS. :)

The Shepherd is there, running loose as he wants. He doesn't bark ;) I'm going to get him a brother from the same breeder/trainer when I have a few K to spare.

i'm stuck on "moving my lawn"

How do you do that?

I probably should but I really like my front door and would hate to have to replace it! How about if I open an upstairs window and shoot from there? That would give me the element of surprise!

What was she selling? I didn't know they still had door to door salespeople. How sad is it that she yelled "Don't shoot!" Sign of the times.

Wow. You're brave going up to someone who had followed you home. I'd have been scared out of my mind. Probably would have driven to the police station. Those are a couple of strange things, imo, but then again, I'm a paranoid freak so...But being followed home AND this woman...Ohno, I just saw "Aurora" Colorado.

WOW...great story! I like the camera idea a lot. I actually have an intercom system in my house and at the front door too but I keep it turned off. Same thing with the burglar alarm. When we bought the house it had all those bells and whistles but I never thought I needed any of it. I figured a couple of dogs with a total weight close to 250 lbs, a house full of fire arms and a family of skillful marksmen, should be plenty of protection. Especially in a neighborhood/small town like mine. I keep an Aluminum base ball bat and a great big Bertha golf club by the door too..in case of a sports emergency. LOL Honestly over the years I've become too lax and trusting. I really need to start thinking about how the world has changed and begin to view strangers as potential threats. It all makes me sad but I guess its better to be sad than dead. Thanks for educating me about those door to door peddlers!

I never did find out what she was peddling. She had a spray bottle of unmarked green stuff that I would assume was some kind of cleaning stuff. She also had a black duffel bag. Once she saw the dogs, I think she was frightened. And if she wasn't .... she should have been.

I'm not kidding... on his web page bio it says:

>>>COMMAND COMMUNICATIONS CORP, / AURORA, CO
Director / Product Development / Overseas Product Procurement – 5 Years

Products: Commercial Line Sharing Switches, Wireless Paging Systems, CID devices, Retail Consumer & SOHO Electronics, Wireless Security Products<<<

And

>>>ELECTONE U.S. / WARDS OVERSEAS LTD. / CHICAGO, IL
Vice President / Sales & Marketing / North America / OEM Sales

Products: Basic / Designer / Feature phones, RBOC Private Label
CPE Products, TADs and Integrated Phone Products<<<

And that's just a FEW of the places he has worked.

Think I should be frightened? I must admit, I am a little freaked out. Too many strange things going on around me in the past few days.

Hey Cowgirl---I live in Frisco, so I know what you're talking about. Definitely be on your guard. There are some mean people out there. It is highly likely that this woman was casing both you and your house.

You should get a CHL. That guy following you home is a big red flag!

Jay and Chip...I love you guys!!!

I thought Biden told me to poke them with a number 2 pencil???

I was thinking about getting my CHL...but as you know in Texas we can carry a gun in the glove compartment of our vehicles without a permit.

My son just took the CHL class and now he's thinking twice about getting it. That whole zero alcohol and giving up search and seizure rights has him wondering if he really wants to do it.

I think I will just put a little something in glove box and hope I never have to use it.

Well, I don't want to scare you, but I would be. The guy follows you home at night (!)and says he wants to buy your vehicle? What kind of decent man would do that? Wouldn't someone know that that would scare a person? I don't know of any man that would think that'd be a good idea. Plus, he was with a female...and she didn't tell him that was a creepy idea? It's just weird considering your vehicle isn't even for sale, and had no for sale sign on it. That'd be a big red flag to me. And the woman who went to your house...what kind of company is going to hire a woman like that? Not to be rude or anything, but full of tattoos to go door to door? And then for her to rest, and not even tell you what she was selling? I am kind of the paranoid type, so maybe I'm just reading too much into everything...