My multiple run ins with the local Jehovas Witnesses and Latter Day Saints had lead me to put up a "No Solicitors" sign, despite the fact that our apartment complex has banned solicitation, because there are no signs posted to that effect and so they keep doing it anyway.
The other day, the apartment manager stopped by to fix a light fixture and informed me that we're not allowed to post signs, as there are rules to prevent us from needing them. That's nice, Alex, but how are they supposed to know unless there's a sign? There's no sign in the office window, there's no sign on the front of the complex, there's no sign out by the address post, nor are then signs on the fences, stairs, lawns, or anywhere else. How are they supposed to know that solicitation has been banned? Really, I want to know.
The way this system is set up, the only way they can possibly know, is if they solicit, and someone answers the door and tries to plow through their pitch to inform them of the rules. It defeats the point.
Why can't I avoid the whole thing by putting up a little sign? The complex having rules that only tennants and repeat offenders know about is almost as bad as not having those rules at all. If we don't communicate, how do we expect people to cooperate?
As for the sales people that visit me, if they look like normal people I tend to answer - for all I know it could be a neighbor needing help with something or a friend of my room mates, right?
And so just now someone knocked, and when I looked through the peephole it was this cute guy in casual clothes, so I assumed it was a neighbor and I answered. He introduced himself, made jokes, said he just wanted to get to know all the nighbors, then asked me if I'd vote for him... I'm thinking he's running for student councel (college town) or city councle, so I agree to listen.
Turns out he's just in a contest where he has to sell $45 magazine subscriptions and get calls from his customers praising him to win $1000 and some stupid cruise...
The cherry on top is that as part of his sales pitch he told me there's 50 other people in the contest who will likely drop by after him and if I bought a subscription I'd get a magnet to put on my door to let them know he'd already got me and they aren't allowed to bother me. Since I didn't buy one, every god damn one of them is gonna try to pull this song and dance, apparently.
It's almost like a war tactic...
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