The nice weather has brought out one of the unfortunate side effects of city living, the door-to-door solicitor. Neighbor Shelby reports,
This individual was an African American female in her early 20’s, maybe younger, who was talking about a program for teen mothers. She had been to my neighbor’s houses and knew their children’s ages. I told her nicely that I didn’t have time to talk with her and she said “Well, the great thing about that is that everyone else does.” and walked quickly away, talking on her cell phone, obviously extremely angry. She was a fast-talker and it was hard to understand what she was selling or promoting. We have had other solicitors with a similar method (mentioning other kids on the block) in the past.
The Seattle Police Department reminds you it is a good idea not to OPEN your door, and recommend that you answer your door without opening it. Just talk through the door. If you ask the person to leave, and he/she does not leave, please call 911. And it is illegal for a solicitor to come to your door if you have a No Solicitors sign posted. Please call 911 if the person does not leave immediately once you tell them this. See the complete document from the SPD on dealing with solicitors.
Let us know if a solicitor comes to your house in the comments section. If someone could get a photo of them, we could also post it and discourage them and others from working our neighborhood.