[from tikamar via the Petworth listserv]
I wanted to pass along my experience with an obnoxious, aggressive sales rep that was knocking on doors in Petworth today hoping to get new customers for Pinnacle Security.
This afternoon, I answered a knock at our door. A young sales rep was standing on the porch, holding open our security door. I greeted him, and asked how I could help him. I explained that I was on a call, and that if he was making sales, I was not interested. He cut me off and began to tell me that one of my neighbors had just signed on to their home security company. I said again, "Are you here to make a sale? If so, I'm not interested." He pushed back, "No. I'm telling you we just helped out your neighbor." I told him again that I was not interested, and asked him to let go of my door so I could close it. He forcefully said "No," and then went off on me, telling me that I was rude. I reminded him that he was standing on my porch and holding open my door. He continued to disrespect me and insult me, going so far as to
call me a "horrible mother," "a basketcase," and "crazy." I ordered him off my property, at which point he taunted me and told me, "Go ahead and call the police." He then retreated to the sidewalk, continued to shout at me. I began to speak louder so that our neighbors would hear what was going on.
The sales rep headed down the street, then turned back around and approached the house again, this time telling me I was lucky I was a lady, or… I told him not to threaten me and he yelled at me to shut up. He crossed the street just as my husband came outside to see what was going on. When he saw my husband, he began to walk faster. Then he stopped next to a group of neighbors and began talking, pointing at our house. My husband said he was going to go talk to the man, and began walking up the street. The sales rep took off running. By now, many of our neighbors had gathered to see what was going on, and I'm sure the man was scared. He took off so fast that by the time everyone reached the corner, he was out of sight.
I went online to research Pinnacle Security, and found a number of complaints about the company's sales tactics, described as unethical, aggressive, relentless and pushy. Funny, those are the same words that came to my mind after my experience. Apparently they tend to target elderly homeowners and lock people into contracts. The company is based out of Utah. I can't say that this experience was much different than recent door-to-door sales attempts by Honeywell and GE. In all three instances, young men, in their early 20's, were all disrespectful and unnecessarily forceful in their communications. Each time, the young men showed no regard for the fact that they were on someone's private property. I have heard similar stories from other neighbors. If you're happy with your current home security system, do yourself a favor, and don't answer the door if they come knocking.
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