Is this the number of times that...
A. Mitt Romney can put his foot in his mouth on an average day?
B. I daydream about our upcoming trip to Thailand and Hong Kong?
or
C. Jehovah's Witnesses knocked on the door Saturday morning around 9am?
If you picked C, you win a prize (although A and B are pretty darn close too). Remind me next time I see you =)
As a kid, I was always peddling something; whether it was wrapping paper for Christmas, hoagies (submarine sandwiches) for soccer or Bubba's nutrolls for marching band. But I at least knew nearly all of our neighbors, and they, in turn, knew me. However, I feel that door-to-door salesman and other solicitors are so much more frequent in San Diego. And they're not local kids or teenagers, but adults. Maybe it's the beautiful weather (beats the heck out of selling vacuums door-to-door in Bozeman, Montana), but it's become almost part of our weekend routine to deal with people selling something or other.And I'm always torn in how to respond to these solicitors. Should I just be blunt and let them know they're not going to make a sale and to save their time for other houses that might? Or should I at least give them the courtesy of listening to their speil before turning them away? Or should I give them feedback on their sales-pitch? One lady came to our door and gave the most monotonous, unenthusiastic pitch about her clean-all spray; to the point that I wasn't sure when she actually finished. It was a bit awkward when I asked if she was done.
Maybe that's why I more often actually entertain conversation with the proselytizers, they actually believe in their product! Not that I agree with them on most things, but at least it encourages discussion. I even feel bad when I recycle the teachings they give me...for a little.
Ah well...guess we need those blinds more than I thought!
6 comments:
We had the Mormons here routinely and then they got me in a riled-up mood and I attacked them on how much money the Mormon church put into passing Proposition 8 here in CA, which denied gays the right to marry. I haven't seen them back. We must be on their "don't dare visit" warning list. :)
Juan, you need to talk to Papi about Jehovah's witnesses--they come visit him regularly. I was there once when they came over--very nice family, though we really didn't get into anything. I wonder if they are just being friendly, or eventually think they will convert Papi...
I actually thought the answer was going to be: # of times the DNC calls you asking for money. I get so many calls from them I never answer an "unknown" number anymore. I actually blocked them on my phone. I used to answer and told them that I didn't want to be called--didn't work.
You should learn from me. Remember that I scared someone away with my uppermost unfriendly tone of "Not interested! Have a NICE day!" I think that works quite well.
Ah, Susan didn't tell the story of the time Mrs. Blodget came to visit us on a Sunday and Mother and the 3 of us kids hid in the bedroom, pretending we weren't home, thinking she was an evangelist...
On the other hand, I remember the Jehovah Witnesses in Medellin who came by and visited me because I was a newly arrived American. And I don't remember them trying to convert me. So I can't really complain too much about them. But it is the phone calls we get all the time that really annoy me. The weather in Pittsburgh isn't like San Diego so only the hardy (like the Jehovah Witnesses) visit the neighborhoods...
Oh I feel you! I hate saying no but now I just use the kids as an excuse - I just say I have crying babies and when they hear the screams they usually back away, lol!
Alternatively, peek from behind the blinds and don't answer the door unless it's that guy on TV telling you that you won the lottery.
I guess my biggest confusion was why two two separate pairs of Jehovah's Witnesses visit me in one morning. You'd think they'd have a map and coordinate!
Mandy has gotten quite good at it. We were on the phone talking about the plumbing and all I hear is a brief pause and "Not interested"...slam!
@Annie, but that means you always have to keep the blinds closed! And we love the natural light, it's why we moved back to california! Well...I guess we could always get skylights.
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