Update 2: From Terrie Johnston at SPD:
Could you add that I feel adamant we should not be giving out any information on the names nor ages of our children.
Years ago, a registered sex offender went around door-to-door using the guise he was the Block Watch co-captain and he wanted the names of kids and their ages to add to the Block Watch map. The inclusion of children’s name on Block Maps, or distribution lists has not been a part of our recommendations. I think we can all agree that adults need to ask other adults if they have a question or are seeking information.
Teach kids that if an unknown adult asks them a question they can simply tell the stranger to ask another adult.
Updates: From our Facebook page:
Julianna wrote: “This guy calling himself ‘Martin’ came our house on 94th and 8th NE a couple of weeks ago. He asked if I was the mom. He said he was a student at Berkley and that he was talking to all the moms in the neighborhood. He was really really odd. He rode off on a bike when I shooed him off…..”
Annie wrote: “There is also a young white man with a hat and goatee who came by an apartment complex at 85th and 5th Ave NE, stating he has an appointment with someone in the building wanting to be let in….to sell you a set of knives. I have seen him twice in the neighborhood.”
Amy wrote: “that guy came to our house TWICE in one day…once speaking to my FIL and then later to my husband. he was an awkward, young Asian man making odd gestures and REALLY wanting to get invited in our house to sell us “supplemental educational material”. he dropped our neighbors first names several times throughout the pitch!!! I wish NOW that I had called 911…several neighbors of ours on 85th and 4th Ave NE have encountered him too in the last two weeks. ”
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Summer weather obviously hasn’t put a stop to door-to-door scammers here and nearby.
Nicole emails:
We wanted to let you and the neighborhood know about a very suspicious house call we had this afternoon. We live on 88th and 17th, and around 2:30pm today (Monday 7/4) a man rang our door and asked my husband, who answered, “Are you the Dad?” He introduced himself as “Martin” and proceeded to mumble and ramble about how he is going round visiting “all the Seattle parents” about ‘the new education for kids’, or something similarly vague. He carried no insignia, and seemed surprised when my husband said he had never heard of him. (It was a very weird interaction.)
She described the man as Asian, about 5-foot-9 and slightly built. We asked Terrie Johnston, of the Seattle Police Department, about this. She replied:
Have not heard about this particular spiel, but am getting emails about all sorts of pitches, from magazine sales, locksmith scam, opportunity to improve speaking skills, etc. Please encourage folks to post No Soliciting Signs and to call 9-1-1 if they are approached by anyone suspicious like that. Nothing dramatic is going to happen to any of the “solicitors”, either way. Remind folks too that there is a huge difference between opening the door and answering it! Always want to answer the door, by talking through the door, etc. Thanks.
Meanwhile, our sister site My Green Lake reported at the end of June about a neighbor who was “‘creeped out’ by two men who came to her door, and she wants to warn other Green Lake residents, particularly mothers, to be on the lookout for them. (You can read the full post here.)
Randi says that two Asian-American men in their 20s knocked on the door of her Green Lake home yesterday (Wednesday, June 29, 2011). They said they were “from Southwestern University” and that they wanted to talk to moms with babies in the neighborhood.
She says that several other moms reported similar encounters with men matching the description she gave. In some reports, the men said that they were selling children’s magazines and then aggressively tried to talk their way inside the women’s homes. One mom says that the men asked who else in the neighborhood has children.
Maybe it’s because I was a tired dad who had just spent two hours trying to put an unreasonable child to bed, or because I’m a brusque easterner or it could even be because I’m Jewish and have gotten good at getting rid of people who want to discuss my relationship with Jesus, but I dispatched Martin quickly. A neighbor told me Martin had visited him and that he was rather insistent, so when Martin knocked on my door, I told him I had just put my kids to bed, was too tired to talk and then closed the door. Martin stayed on my porch talking to my closed door until I re-opened the door and rather insistently said, “Martin, get off my porch.”
When I was driving my son to preschool yesterday, I saw him happy pedaling his bike south on 32 NE just south of NE 95th. So, he’s definitely working the neighborhood.
When I lived in Edmonds I bought some books from a Southwestern Company student going door to door. He was from the Netherlands and very polite. The books were great quality and he was working really hard. I feel sorry for anyone who attempts door to door sales now a days in our unfortunate culture of fear!
Martin came to our house in Maple Leaf (91st) the week of 6/27. He was pushy, wouldn’t leave when asked, etc. When I finally told him he could leave or I would call the police, he ran away. I still called the police and I saw them questioning him out front for 10-15 min. The dispatcher asked if I wanted to hear back from the officers after they checked him out and I said no, but now wish I had said yes. He actually had the nerve to come back that evening and my husband told him to scram.
Same thing as Lydia reported happened to me at 9am at the end of June. 115th ave NE His tactics were awful and did nothing but creep me out. And make me put up a No Soliciting sign.
Yup. Martin paid us a visit on the 8200 block of Latona Avenue last week. He looked more like a young kid selling magazines. He said he was from Berkeley and had a worn large notebook with him. He kept on asking about kids on the block. He saw a game in the neighbor’s yard and said “oh they have kids right??” I said no he’s an older teen boy and there are few kids on this block.
I immediately stepped outside the door when I was speaking with him. He seemed no more threatening than the Jehovah’s witnesses who stop by, and I was in the middle of something and didn’t have time to study his oddities or ask him why the hell he wanted to know about children. CREEPS.
He came to our house too at 8:15 in the morning last week on 106th Place. I told him I wasn’t interested..at least 6 times…then I told him to get off my porch while and that I was calling the cops. A young asian kid named MARTIN!!! CREEPY!
Martin visited me about 2 weeks ago (102nd off 15th NE). I let him talk longer than I should have, but wouldn’t buy anything. He asked about which neighbors have kids, and I started to tell him when my common sense came back from wherever it was and I stopped.
Would it be against the law to buy a real-looking toy gun & point it at him? As I tell him to get the eff off my property?? Just curious..
Martin came to my house on 90th last Thursday. He was very odd and pushy and said many of the things in prior posts. When I told him that he could not come in he got upset and tried to push past me into my house, then threw a book at me as I was shutting the door. He then sat on my front porch and refused to leave so I alarmed the house and called 911. They responded immediately, searched and questioned him, and told me they thought he was just very frustrated and would get him out of the neighborhood.
Martin came by my house too (near NE 106th St. and 11th Ave.). He was using many tried-and-true hard sell techniques, but clumsily.
He referred to a neighbor by name to suggest a referral or that “everyone” was into his spiel. (He knew I had kids by all the toys in the yard.) When I said I didn’t need any educational materials he puffed himself up and said “Don’t you know who I am?” and spouted his Berkeley credential. I saw this as a crude attempt to make me feel stupid or out-of-the-loop. When he got around to asking me “if I was one of the cool moms?” I said “goodbye, Martin” and shut the door. Then I put up a “no solicitation sign.”
He did seem to follow the usual procedures for an legitimate door-to-door salesmen. He stood well away from the front door and never approached me. He didn’t ask to come inside, but I didn’t let him get very far into his spiel.
But like any salesman doing a hard sell, he wasn’t going to let me get away politely. He made sure that if I closed the door on him I would have to end the conversation rudely. Fear of being rude is how they keep you on the hook.
Sad, that this kind of manipulation is what passes for standard sales techniques, not only in door-to-door sales but in so many other areas of life these days.
Martin came visiting to my house as well, wanted to know where the houses with kids were, extremely pushy after I told him at least 5 times “I’m not interested” and then told him it was none of his business where kids lived. Be it legit or not, he was not doing a good job of being a student intern from Berkely doing research about his books. Way too pushy, and like I’m going to tell him where kids live???? No badge that I saw, no offer to show me ID, didn’t understand the word “NO”……not okay….
That Martin guy came to my house, too. (92nd and 8th)He tried to engage my kids (I wouldn’t let him in, why do they think we will let them in?), so we were in the yard. When they finally told him they were both straight-A students, and that they didn’t find that homework took too long, he gave up and left. I didn’t get the feeling it was a scam, more like those magazine guys that come around once in a while. A lot of money to pay for a lot of nothing.
I think it is not fair to call these college sales folks scammers. From what I can tell it is legit and the guy that came to my door did have a badge around his neck. True he was pushy and annoying, sounding more desparate than weird. There is a real down side for these students if they can’t sell their wares.
For more info check this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwestern_Company
Last year sometime a young woman came by saying she was just polling people with regard to people with kids and education material they might use. She was very pleasant and I did let her in, discuss local schools, etc…didn’t buy anything. Don’t know if she was from the same outfit.
Came to our place on 91st too. Wouldn’t take no for an answer, asked if I knew any neighbors who had kids, pointing at each house one-by-one. I gave him lots of “I don’t knows” then closed the peek-door (didn’t open the door at all). He approached the door as I was closing it. I can’t remember the date, but dude was weird.
Oh yeah, I am on NE 94th St off of 15th.
This Asian man came to my house at 8 a.m. on the 4th of July. He asked me if I had a one year old and wanted to tell me about educational materials. I said I was not interested. He said he would come back later but never did. Creepy guy. Fortunately my dogs barked a lot so hopefully scared him off.
Yeah, this Asian guy Martin came by our house near 98th and 15th. He asked if I was the dad. I told him it was bedtime (it was) and shut the door in his face.
I believe Martin is legitimate but just not a good people person. He is a bit pushy! I saw his material and it is from a company called Southwestern that does provide college internships for selling their books. I have bought from them before. I just don’t provide any information about the kids.
You can always call the non-emergency police # in your area too. I have it on my cell phone for just these “just in case” moments. But I did call 911 on the supposed “Comcast” guy a week or 2 ago.. They didn’t tell me it was wrong to call & took all my info & said if there was a car in the area & they would check it out. Get a good description & my advice would be to ask GOOD questions.
Interrupt them if you have to. In my opinion, I should get all the info from them BEFORE I give them any info on me (not that I would give them any info.) A legit salesperson would have the correct info to give & not be hostile or sketchy about it.
I also had a similar encounter – Young asian man wanted me to point out the houses in our neighborhood with children. I told him that was none of his business. There was something that struck me as odd. I wish I had called police.
After reading the post on the Green Lake blog, I see that these kids are allegedly working for Southwestern Publishing, but despite Southwestern’s claims to Green Lake’s blog of “training,” the guy who came to our door:
– Ignored a prominent “No Solicitors” sign (illegal)
– Was going from house to house right during BBQ time on July 4 (not sure if it’s illegal to solicit on weekends or holidays)
– Was still visiting houses back up the other side of the street after 9pm (illegal)
He was also rude and persistent when he was firmly told I wasn’t interested. He also kept talking after I closed the door.
I would still call the police if he showed up again.
The Asian guy stopped by our house near 97th and 15th at 8:15pm on July 4 (same thing about educational materials). Didn’t call 911 because I couldn’t tell if it was 911-caliber or not, but I guess next time I will. I suppose he didn’t try to fnagle his way into our house because I’m a guy and outsized him considerably.
He came to my house too. I’m in Lake City near 133rd and 30th NE. Creepy!! He tried to get inside my house after I told him repeatedly that I was uninterested in his educational products. I closed the door on him and locked it. Just call the police. I wish had.
I hope they come to my door so I can take their picture & call the police on them. And then karate chop them.
I had an Asian man, 20 something, glasses, come to my door a couple weeks ago. It was some kid related speil as well. I promptly said no thanks and locked my screen door. He continued to talk, chastizing me for not hearing him out.
Good idea to get a no soliciting sign, I just find them annoying and sometimes rude.