What would you do?

debodun

debodun

SF VIP
Location
way upstate in New York, USA
Your front doorbell rings. You are not dressed in a state to receive visitors and can't go to the door which has a glass window with a curtain over it, but you go to a place where you can peek to see who it is. It is a man you don't know and he has what looks like a manila folder in his hand. He doesn't wait very long. And leaves, but keeps looking back at the front door. He doesn't go to any other houses and walks around the corner to where you now assume he may have parked his car. 1) Who do you think this person is, and 2) what would you do if he returns?
 

I usually ask through the closed door what they want and explain that I can't open the door because of my dog. If they're just handing out fliers I tell them to leave it on the porch.

I never ever open my door unless I know who it is.

That answers question 2 because he won't return.

As for who he was? Have no clue...could be legit or a scammer type.
 
I'd throw on a robe and answer through the peep hole.....gosh it could be the lotto man with my winnings.....
 

Odd question.
We could speculate forever and still not come up with the correct answer. That's like saying I see a man parked in a car across the street...oh my...who might he be and what does he want?

There is no way we would know who the man was who came to your door or what he wanted, or even if he had the wrong address. If he has legitimate business with you, there are other ways to reach you....people don't just show up at the door unannounced...especially not the lottery. All that is handled at the lottery office and the bank.

Regardless of how I was dressed, if he comes back I'd ignore him.
 
This has happened to me before, because I'm not a morning person. :)

Truth? I would start getting dressed, but not in a mad rush, in case he was persistent. If he was still there I would open the door and find out what he wanted. Same if he came back.
If he didn't come back, I'd figure I lucked out, probably selling something.

My doorbell is outside of a screened front porch, so I guess that helps, but frankly I never think of all the awful things that can happen. Keeps you in a negative state of mind, imo. So far, so good. :)
 
NancyNGA said:
This has happened to me before, because I'm not a morning person. :)

Truth? I would start getting dressed, but not in a mad rush, in case he was persistent. If he was still there I would open the door and find out what he wanted. Same if he came back.
If he didn't come back, I'd figure I lucked out, probably selling something.

My doorbell is outside of a screened front porch, so I guess that helps, but frankly I never think of all the awful things that can happen. Keeps you in a negative state of mind, imo. So far, so good. :)
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I used to open my door until I read about an elderly couple in Fresno that opened their door and were pushed back inside by some thugs who tied them up, beat them and robbed them.

Its happened a few times, i don't take chances.
 
CeeCee said:
I used to open my door until I read about an elderly couple in Fresno that opened their door and were pushed back inside by some thugs who tied them up, beat them and robbed them.

Its happened a few times, i don't take chances.
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Me neither. I don’t take any chances and I don’t give a hoot if they think I’m being rude. We live in the country and most people don’t drop by unexpectedly. We don’t even get trick or treaters where we live.
 
Did he look like Ed McMahon? Maybe it's Publishers Clearing House. Were there balloons?

I have only had one experience with a process server and I talked to him through the window. He was trying to serve someone who definitely didn't live at my house and he wasn't taking NO for an answer. He wanted me to come to the door and I knew that if I did, he'd just thrust the summons at me and walk away......and claim it was properly served. I shut the window, but he kept ringing the bell. Finally, I yelled out the window that I had called the police and he left.
 
How was he dressed--in a suit, in casual clothing? He didn't seem determined to deliver that envelope or he would have been more persistent in ringing your doorbell and delivering it directly to whomever answered. (A lazy messenger?) I just would have called through the shut door who are you? Who are you looking for..........? If the manila folder had your name on it according to him, I'd tell him to just leave it at your door, you'd pick it up later, goodbye.
 
I would not open the door to anyone I do not know, unless they can show me identification that they are a police officer or a fire dept. person. I have decorative wrought iron (burglar bars) enclosing my front porch, so I can open the inside door and ask them what they want. Most people back up quickly when Bonnie (my big black dog) goes out ahead of me. But I would NEVER in any circumstance open my actual front door to anyone I did not know unless they showed me official identification. In my work, I saw way too many autopsy photographs of people who let a seemingly innocent-looking person in their house.

Besides which, it was probably a political person or other solicitor or somebody wanting to do yard work or something. They can holler at me through the wrought iron or screen. If it's a process server they can call or write and you can arrange to accept service somewhere.
 
I'd ignore it. Just as I don't pick up the phone when I don't recognize the name of the caller. We are under no obligation to open our door to anyone who just happens to show up.
 
Elsie said:
How was he dressed--in a suit, in casual clothing?
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A was a very non-descript man - medium height and build with kind of a ferret-face dressed in a dark blue windbreaker (why the jacket on such a warm evening?) and a tan cloth pork pie hat.

BTW - he didn't come back last evening. I told someone at it in Bible study about the incident and she said it was probably someone going around to solicit voters because the town had an election on Tuesday.
 
Butterfly said:
I would not open the door to anyone I do not know, unless they can show me identification that they are a police officer or a fire dept. person. I have decorative wrought iron (burglar bars) enclosing my front porch, so I can open the inside door and ask them what they want. Most people back up quickly when Bonnie (my big black dog) goes out ahead of me. But I would NEVER in any circumstance open my actual front door to anyone I did not know unless they showed me official identification.
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We seem to have similar opinions about security. For almost 30 years I've also had a front door area iron gated off with a double key dead lock and a release buzzer inside the house. Sadly, my big dog died a couple of years ago, but when she was still alive I'd open that front door and she'd lunge at the gate. Despite those iron bars between them and our dog, strangers instinctively backed up halfway to the sidewalk. (FedEx, UPS and USPS regulars would greet her by name and laugh at her shenanigans because they came to know that she was all bark and no bite!)

Even with the locked six foot buffer zone we don't always answer the doorbell. I'm very security conscious because I was brought up that way. Even though I grew up in a very small town where few locked their doors, my parents always did. They taught their children to be alert and wary.

I'd guess the person was a process server or someone casing your house.
 
debodun said:
A was a very non-descript man - medium height and build with kind of a ferret-face dressed in a dark blue windbreaker (why the jacket on such a warm evening?) and a tan cloth pork pie hat.

BTW - he didn't come back last evening. I told someone at it in Bible study about the incident and she said it was probably someone going around to solicit voters because the town had an election on Tuesday.
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Deb, I don't know why you are so worried about this. Just because somebody comes to your door doesn't mean you have an obligation to open it or interact with them in any way. You live alone, you've said, so IMHO it would be foolish to open the door to a person you do not know. Just don't do it, and quit worrying about it.
 
We get people coming to the door all the time, even though we have a no solicitors sign. I can talk through my front security door without opening it to someone, the top half is screen. I don't rush to get to it, usually they'll leave a card or pamphlet stuck in the door if I don't get there in time. If they're just selling something they get the bum's rush. I like the way you described him Deb :D, can't say I pay that much attention to detail. Yes, it could be political during certain times of year.
 
On Halloween I put an old scissors child gate across the steps of the porch then a heavy piece of furniture in back of it. Most people get the idea, but one year my doorbell rang and it was a woman with three kids in tow demanding treats for them. I asked her if she noticed the gate which she apparently threw to the side and moved the table behind it to get through. She said "Yeah. What's that all about?" I replied that I don't give out treats and put those deterrents there for that reason. She became agitated and that it was Halloween and everyone was obligated to give treats. I reminded her that there was no law
in regard to that and if she didn't leave, I would call the police. She grudgingly left after making a rude hand gesture. Nice example for those kids!

gate.jpg
 
By me, the people who don't want to give out candy just keep their front porch light off and the kids don't bother to go up to the door. The welcoming houses keep their lights on.
 
debodun said:
what would you do if he returns?
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What I would do no doubt isn't what you would do
but if I were you
and he returns I would answer the door
with it closed and still locked
and a phone in your hand ready to call 911

in my case of course it would be a firearm in my hand.
 
debodun said:
On Halloween I put an old scissors child gate across the steps of the porch then a heavy piece of furniture in back of it. Most people get the idea, but one year my doorbell rang and it was a woman with three kids in tow demanding treats for them. I asked her if she noticed the gate which she apparently threw to the side and moved the table behind it to get through. She said "Yeah. What's that all about?" I replied that I don't give out treats and put those deterrents there for that reason. She became agitated and that it was Halloween and everyone was obligated to give treats. I reminded her that there was no law
in regard to that and if she didn't leave, I would call the police. She grudgingly left after making a rude hand gesture. Nice example for those kids!

View attachment 52208
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I would not have interacted with that woman at all. Simple fix -- just don't answer the door. People go away if you don't answer the door. If they don't, call the cops.
 

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