Door to door...and a question

[Pamela H in Texas]

So we just had a young man come to our door. It was dark out already, but....

 

I tend to scare people right away (I have no issue telling people I'm busy, have a ton of kids, etc) and he was no different. Basically, I asked him what he was selling but the answer was probably no. He showed me the brochure, I said something, he proved me wrong. Go figure. Anyway, hubby shows up and buys a bottle after I said no. $40. At least I feel we helped a young man.

 

I do have a question. Why do these young people get shipped from other parts of the country? In the last two months, I've had two people come to the door. One was from up north. THe other from Louisiana. Wouldn't it be cheaper to let these young people sell either in their own communities or somewhere within driving range? I can see maybe not their own towns, but why not bus people from Dallas to Plano instead of getting people from Michigan to go to Dallas? This young man said he won't get to go home until February and that was only because of his increased sales. I can't imagine not seeing your girlfriend or child or mama for so long for a job knocking on doors at 7pm.

Edited November 5, 2011 by 2J5M9K

[Wendi]

I've wondered that myself. Once we had a young man come to our door selling something; he said he was from Chicago! And because he thought it would be warm here (AZ), he didn't bring a coat. The evening he came to our house, it was pretty chilly and windy out (it was winter), so my husband gave him a jacket. Poor guy.

 

Wendi

[Ginevra]

That sounds weird to me, but we mercifully get no door-to-doors because we live on a scattered lot back in the woods. My driveway has been enough to scare people away - people who actually had plans to come to my house!

 

But I've never heard of salespeople coming from another part of the country. I would be completely :confused: with that.

 

I scared a religious witnesser away once by getting into a cerebral conversation about truth and hell. I think once he left, he said, "Cross her off the list!!!" :D

[Veritaserum]

I don't know, but we get young adults shipped in who are selling cleaners or magazines. They are usually from Chicago. I've also gotten foreign young adults from northern Europe who sell educational books and software.

 

I think these kids are fed a line about making it rich somewhere else....

[Denisemomof4]

Add me to the list of I've never heard of such a thing.:confused:

[Veritaserum]

Found this:

 

http://www.parentwatch.org/generalinfo-history.html#top

 

Scary!

[Ipsey]

So we just had a young man come to our door. It was dark out already, but....

 

I tend to scare people right away (I have no issue telling people I'm busy, have a ton of kids, etc) and he was no different. Basically, I asked him what he was selling but the answer was probably no. He showed me the brochure, I said something, he proved me wrong. Go figure. Anyway, hubby shows up and buys a bottle after I said no. $40. At least I feel we helped a young man.

 

I do have a question. Why do these young people get shipped from other parts of the country? In the last two months, I've had two people come to the door. One was from up north. THe other from Louisiana. Wouldn't it be cheaper to let these young people sell either in their own communities or somewhere within driving range? I can see maybe not their own towns, but why not bus people from Dallas to Plano instead of getting people from Michigan to go to Dallas? This young man said he won't get to go home until February and that was only because of his increased sales. I can't imagine not seeing your girlfriend or child or mama for so long for a job knocking on doors at 7pm.

 

I heard a radio program on these types of outfits several years ago. I had always been curious myself.

 

Here's an interesting article for more info.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/21/us/21magcrew.html?pagewanted=all

[zaichiki]

Found this:

 

http://www.parentwatch.org/generalinfo-history.html#top

 

Scary!

 

I've heard the same thing.

I no longer purchase from traveling salespeople who fit the above description -- just in case. I don't want to support/enable any of these horrible situations.

[Stages]

Regarding the magazine sales: http://www.portlandonline.com/police/index.cfm?a=150437&c=41850 and http://www.magcrew.com/

 

It's a really bad situation that most of these kids can't get out of on their own, but I'd be too afraid to help much- most of them are desperate and often have addictions.

 

It's all around bad, so I don't answer my door for people unless I can see exterminator gear in their hands. (Renter- I never know when they're going to come.)

[elegantlion]

Well, I think we paid 40.00 for a bottle of cleaner in 1992 or something like that. A kid came to the door, gave dh the hard sell (he was good!) and we bought. We didn't cave, dh bought because he was in sales and wanted to support him. They stood around and talked for quite a while after the sale too. The cleaner lasted years and worked great. It made me laugh when I used it knowing we'd paid so much. This was back when we had more money and less bills.

 

Anyway, I generally don't buy anymore.

 

However, one of the rules of sales is get out of your neighborhood/area to sell. It's a psychological edge. Oh, this person came all the way from X, they must really believe in it, they must be good to be able to travel, or they must really be hungry (desperate).

 

In the case of these types of sales, they're using the pity angle. It's easy to tell someone from your city to get lost, I'm not interested. You're more likely to listen to someone from out of town, even if it's just out of sympathy. The longer you can get someone listening, the more opportunities your create for a sale. It's harder to tell someone from out of state, someone displaced, that you're not interested. (General you, of course)

[In the Rain]

 

Here's an interesting article for more info.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/21/us/21magcrew.html?pagewanted=all

 

Wow!:001_huh: I had no idea. :confused:

[Jean in Newcastle]

Part of it is to get us to pity them, part of it is to give the kids themselves no option but to keep working for them.

[Elinor Everywhere]

 

Here's an interesting article for more info.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/21/us/21magcrew.html?pagewanted=all

 

Wow, what an article. We get these mag crews fairly regularly, and reading about their lifestyle is sad. Perhaps I should keep that phone number and give it to them before turning them away.

[SweetPea]

About 2 months ago I had a young man selling magazines to help youth programs, etc. Anyway, started out polite and quickly changed. I was accused of not helping and being well off from the work of others :glare:. I call the local police who came to check them out since they were literally "dropped off" in our neighborhood. Complaints all around the valley about this organization.

[Pamela H in Texas]

I did want to say that the only reason I know more about this young man's background is because I opened the door to that part of the discussion. He didn't use it as part of his sales pitch or anything.

Edited November 5, 2011 by 2J5M9K

[thowell]

Ok, so I can give you a little first hand knowledge. I actually did door-to-door sales for a cleaner company for over 2 years. It was when I was in my late teens and early twenties. I can only speak for the company I worked for and what I know firsthand. You answered an employment ad in the paper that normally says, "Willing to travel, paid training, bonuses and like to have fun". The hiring process is pretty easy, I actually moved into the hiring position the last 6 months with the company. The company moves to different areas every 2-3 weeks. This company traveled according to weather. Obviously summer months spent up north and vice versa in winter. We stayed in pretty decent hotel rooms and were paid ok. We sold cleaner for $55.00 for a gallon concentrate and the sales person made $12.00 per gallon. I averaged 10 gallons a day. You are givin a draw through the month of whatever amount you want to take and then at the end of every month that amount is deducted from your total pay and you receive the rest. The company paid for the lodging and travel but of course you buy your own food, personal items, etc. It was a hard way to earn money. Walking the streets in the cold or heat and having doors slammed and being cussed out gets old. I was not high pressure so if someone wasn't interested I moved on. I made most of my money just seeing enough people. Now, there are alot of different companies out there and I was very lucky. I have met others who are treated horrible. I also know some who use their time at your door to commit crimes. Even though I did the work and know how hard it was, I wouldn't open my door. They do not work towards college, or to raise money for other groups or charity. These are all sales tricks. They are just trying to make money. The cleaner we sold did work very well and my mom still uses some. It is a judgement call I guess if you should trust the people at your door. Some are just young and need a way to earn money and others are not so nice people. I would be happy to answer any questions you might have.