Answering a knock at the door

puddy

zaxdog wrote: »

I am wondering if some of you live in quite high crime areas?

I always answer the door but if I don't get to it in time the caller will just open the door and shout a hello! Same with the postie, he just opens the door and sticks the post on the kitchen table (no letterbox).

Car also sits outside with keys in it in case we lose them and we are in a hurry to go out :rotfl:

personally, i live in a very low crime area but that doesnt influence my decision about answering the door, i see it as a real intrusion into my day and my property. fine if i've invited you, not fine if i havent

gwhizz75

I don't see why it is rude not to answer the door when you aren't expecting anyone? It's your house... surely you can choose whether or not you want to see/speak to someone while you are in it?

As others have said, friends and family always let me know if they are popping around (it would be RUDE of them not to) so the only people that come to my door are selling something. I do generally have a little look out of the window in case it's a neighbour/postman but if it isn't, I'll leave it (especially if they are carrying a clipboard). I really don't understand what is rude about this?

balletshoes

puddy wrote: »

personally, i live in a very low crime area but that doesnt influence my decision about answering the door, i see it as a real intrusion into my day and my property. fine if i've invited you, not fine if i havent

thats generally the way i feel too.

HeatherintheHills

puddy wrote: »

personally, i live in a very low crime area but that doesnt influence my decision about answering the door, i see it as a real intrusion into my day and my property. fine if i've invited you, not fine if i havent

I think the same way. My time, my choices.

I work from home so the time I spend chasing away cold callers is earning time lost. Family, friends and neighbours know how to get hold of me if it is really important, anyone else can leave a message/note and I'll get back to them at a more convenient time.

Amaretti_2

zaxdog wrote: »

I am wondering if some of you live in quite high crime areas?

Not me, I'm in the best part of London, very low crime. But that doesn't mean nefarious characters won't come into my area and try it on.

I generally don't answer my door because I'm a private person and resent the intrusion. I will not get out of bed, the bath, stop eating or plucking my eyebrows to answer the door. If I'm twiddling my thumbs.... I might think about it.

DKLS

If its an uninvited and unexpected knock, I would never answer. If you haven't been invited you are not welcome on my property.

Likewise if I don't recognise a number ringing it goes to ansaphone.

Amaretti_2

polki wrote: »

I am just leaving home to collect in electoral roll registration forms from people who have not responded to postal requests.

Wish me luck!

Hahahaha you would need it coming to my address, I operate on a no contact rule. The census lot were fun, tenacious little blighters, so glad I wasted so much of their time.

LameWolf

I've had a video entry phone installed, so if there's an unexpected knock I can see who is there without going anywhere near the door. If I don't like the look of them, I don't answer; if it's the postie with something too big for the letter box, I lift the receiver and tell him I'll be there in a few moments - I'm disabled, and it takes me several minutes to get to the door.

I don't answer the landline - I let the answering machine do that (again, it takes me several minutes to reach the phone only to find it's a sales call) and if it's a call to my mobile, I only answer it if it's someone I can cope with talking to. All others get red-buttoned. If it's that important, they can talk to the voice mail!

I regard sales calls and such-like as an intrusion, and as such I do not think it's rude not to answer.

zaxdog

Amaretti wrote: »

Hahahaha you would need it coming to my address, I operate on a no contact rule. The census lot were fun, tenacious little blighters, so glad I wasted so much of their time.

So you enjoyed wasting the time of someone who was just trying to make some extra cash? Seems awfully petty and not very MSE!

Tropez

zaxdog wrote: »

I am wondering if some of you live in quite high crime areas?

The greater area in which I live has above average crime levels although that is mostly attributed to drunken crime. The specific area in which I live has very little crime.

The reason I don't answer the door is simply because I don't wish to be bothered. I do most of my work from home and due to the nature of that work often I stay up until the early hours of the morning and wake up later than most. I put the sign up politely informing people peddling something to go elsewhere primarily for the reason that they would often knock on at 10am and wake me up and some still do - particularly religious folk and people trying to get me to listen to their ridiculous political opinions who assume that the sign does not apply to them, even though it clearly states that it does (should anyone be working for a political organisation engaged in door to door canvassing, please be aware that I am not about to vote for somebody who employs people that cannot read).

Those who knock on after that time may still be a disturbance to any work I am trying to do, or may simply be a disturbance to me trying to enjoy my non-working hours. I don't want to have to pause whatever I'm doing for somebody else whom I don't know so that they can bore me with some drivel I'm not interested in. Why waste any of my time going to the door (which is on the other side of the house to where I usually am) to tell them I'm not interested when I can just flick on the camera, see it isn't someone I wish to converse with and ignore them?