B.A.L.L.S.: Knock knock peddling
Bitching about Life in London and Society
is a weekly column that attempts to delve into
the smaller irritations in our society.
Background:
The 1950s saw the birth of the door-to-door salesman: bibles, encyclopedias, house wares, insurance and blah blah blah. I wonder how these people were received back then? I would hazard they were a welcome addition to the day. It was a different time in the 50s. People were enthralled with new products, they weren't yet jaded with the over bombardment of media and ads. They didn't have the Internet and they were looking for new ways to suck dirt off of the floor, to store food, to carpet over their hardwood floors, to put up bright yellow flower patterned wallpaper in their kitchens and pink tiles in their washrooms.
Now in an age where we are continually flooded with advertisement, I find these “visits” quite irritating. We are literally exposed to hundreds of ads each day. Ads telling us how much we suck, and what we need to buy to make it better. The big difference between the exposure of advertisements and door-to-door salespeople is that with ads, we have a choice. I can look, avert, buy-in or sell-out, it is up to me. With the sales peddler one is confronted, bullied, irritated and pushed into situations often out of our control. Yes one is free to just close the door, but we have been confronted and the emotions involved with confrontation have been deployed.
As we speak a salesperson is knocking on my door. I saw her approaching and dashed into the house from my sunny perch on the porch with a feeling of dread. She saw me too, and is no doubt irritated that I refuse to answer the door. She is irritated, I am irritated, something is wrong here!
The Peddler:
A small part of me holds sympathy for people forced into thankless jobs like door-to-door sales, and telemarketing. Many people are scrambling to make ends meet. A larger part of me finds this sort of pressure sales irritating, rude and imposing! There is a commonality to the salesperson that reeks of effort: well-honed scripts, the ability to take advantage of fear and ignorance, and the ability to create need where none exists. This seems to cover most of our modern day peddlers: insurance sales, house repairs, real estate, and the most imposing (to me) the religion peddler. These people actually come to your door and tell you that your belief system is wrong. That you must follow their belief system, their way of thought, their dogma and their overbearing way of life. It is bad enough I have to listen to a canned speech about salvation and cheap suits; no, these religion peddlers actually think that they are doing me a favour!
Door-to-door peddlers are trained to sell; we are not trained to resist. We don't need a guilt trip to give money to a charity, or to buy a box of gross cookies. We don't have to get up from the couch while nursing a hangover and watching Judge Judy. We don't need new windows, or insurance, or our gutters cleaned, and maybe I want to burn in Hell! Maybe, just maybe, I want my home to be the only place in the entire world where I can control my environment!
The imposition of sales goes beyond the home in our society. Even in the halls of Fanshawe: walking down the sunny hall in front of the school store, there are often people selling one thing or another. That is fine, but do you have to stop me, confront me and pitch me as I go about my business?
My Take:
Some are just doing a job that they don't even want to do. Some are extremely passionate in a cause or belief. Some are raising money for a school or a club. What they all have in common as that they are setting out to confront. Their goal is to talk you into something on their terms. They initiate the confrontation and leave little room to escape.
I feel enough pressure with the busker in front of the liquor store, or the homeless guy asking for money on the street corner, or every time I open my mailbox (both snail and email), or walking the halls of Fanshawe, or downtown or Earth. Is a moment to our self too much to ask? Can one not find solace in a capitalist society?
Conclusion:
There is an ordinance in the United States called the Green River Ordinance that prohibits door-to-door solicitation. It roughly states it is illegal to sell products or services door-to-door without gaining permission beforehand.
This has yet to find footing in Canada, but I have a solution: we should take all the sales peddlers and give them a Dickey-Dee ice cream cart! Have them dingle and jingle up and down the streets to draw out the lonely, the windowless, and the sinners. They get into shape, and only those that are interested are involved, oh, and it would be hilarious.
As this is the last article of the school year I think it prudent to end it with something positive. Umm, I'll have to get back to you on that. See you in September.
Comments? Look for the group B.A.L.L.S. on Facebook.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
Background:
The 1950s saw the birth of the door-to-door salesman: bibles, encyclopedias, house wares, insurance and blah blah blah. I wonder how these people were received back then? I would hazard they were a welcome addition to the day. It was a different time in the 50s. People were enthralled with new products, they weren't yet jaded with the over bombardment of media and ads. They didn't have the Internet and they were looking for new ways to suck dirt off of the floor, to store food, to carpet over their hardwood floors, to put up bright yellow flower patterned wallpaper in their kitchens and pink tiles in their washrooms.
Now in an age where we are continually flooded with advertisement, I find these “visits” quite irritating. We are literally exposed to hundreds of ads each day. Ads telling us how much we suck, and what we need to buy to make it better. The big difference between the exposure of advertisements and door-to-door salespeople is that with ads, we have a choice. I can look, avert, buy-in or sell-out, it is up to me. With the sales peddler one is confronted, bullied, irritated and pushed into situations often out of our control. Yes one is free to just close the door, but we have been confronted and the emotions involved with confrontation have been deployed.
As we speak a salesperson is knocking on my door. I saw her approaching and dashed into the house from my sunny perch on the porch with a feeling of dread. She saw me too, and is no doubt irritated that I refuse to answer the door. She is irritated, I am irritated, something is wrong here!
The Peddler:
A small part of me holds sympathy for people forced into thankless jobs like door-to-door sales, and telemarketing. Many people are scrambling to make ends meet. A larger part of me finds this sort of pressure sales irritating, rude and imposing! There is a commonality to the salesperson that reeks of effort: well-honed scripts, the ability to take advantage of fear and ignorance, and the ability to create need where none exists. This seems to cover most of our modern day peddlers: insurance sales, house repairs, real estate, and the most imposing (to me) the religion peddler. These people actually come to your door and tell you that your belief system is wrong. That you must follow their belief system, their way of thought, their dogma and their overbearing way of life. It is bad enough I have to listen to a canned speech about salvation and cheap suits; no, these religion peddlers actually think that they are doing me a favour!
Door-to-door peddlers are trained to sell; we are not trained to resist. We don't need a guilt trip to give money to a charity, or to buy a box of gross cookies. We don't have to get up from the couch while nursing a hangover and watching Judge Judy. We don't need new windows, or insurance, or our gutters cleaned, and maybe I want to burn in Hell! Maybe, just maybe, I want my home to be the only place in the entire world where I can control my environment!
The imposition of sales goes beyond the home in our society. Even in the halls of Fanshawe: walking down the sunny hall in front of the school store, there are often people selling one thing or another. That is fine, but do you have to stop me, confront me and pitch me as I go about my business?
My Take:
Some are just doing a job that they don't even want to do. Some are extremely passionate in a cause or belief. Some are raising money for a school or a club. What they all have in common as that they are setting out to confront. Their goal is to talk you into something on their terms. They initiate the confrontation and leave little room to escape.
I feel enough pressure with the busker in front of the liquor store, or the homeless guy asking for money on the street corner, or every time I open my mailbox (both snail and email), or walking the halls of Fanshawe, or downtown or Earth. Is a moment to our self too much to ask? Can one not find solace in a capitalist society?
Conclusion:
There is an ordinance in the United States called the Green River Ordinance that prohibits door-to-door solicitation. It roughly states it is illegal to sell products or services door-to-door without gaining permission beforehand.
This has yet to find footing in Canada, but I have a solution: we should take all the sales peddlers and give them a Dickey-Dee ice cream cart! Have them dingle and jingle up and down the streets to draw out the lonely, the windowless, and the sinners. They get into shape, and only those that are interested are involved, oh, and it would be hilarious.
As this is the last article of the school year I think it prudent to end it with something positive. Umm, I'll have to get back to you on that. See you in September.
Comments? Look for the group B.A.L.L.S. on Facebook.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
