I am clearly on the GenX side of this because I bought a cheap wireless doorbell for my dorm room in college just for fun!
...but... I do not answer the outside bell if it rings in my building unless I'm expecting someone. I hate talking to strangers on the phone, and I don't trust my language skills enough to recognize if someone is trying to sneak in. I accept that this sucks if someone is locked out, but it works both ways. When I was locked out, I just sat in the cold until a neighbor came out and spoke to them in person, because I was completely phobic about having the conversation over the intercom. I'd have no problems pushing a doorbell if a person showed up in person or if it was someone I knew. Doorbell fine. Phone call with stranger terrifying.
I have a Ring doorbell which has a camera and a microphone. It rings my phone as well as the door and it allows me to see and speak to whoever's at the door, even if I'm not at home. I like it because my door doesn't have a peephole and without it, I'd have no idea who was on the other side of the door.
Related - People won't ring a bell at work that tells me that they're at my counter. It drives me INSANE, particularly if they complain that it took a while for someone to notice that they're there.
I almost never ring a bell unless I've already been waiting several minutes because I feel like it communicates to people that I'm impatient and demand to be served immediately, and I'm not! I feel like there should be some universal bell etiquette!
"This prick is asking for someone here to bring him to task Somebody give me some dirt on this vacuous mass so we can at last unmask him I'll pull the trigger on it, someone load the gun and cock it While we were all watching, he got Washington in his pocket."
I know it's been hotly debated before, but my friends and family just walk in my house. They never ring the bell. So if my doorbell does ring it's an oddity. If DH is home I make him get it; I'm an introvert. If he's not, I peek out a neighboring window first. If I'm not dressed for the day, I hide. It's very situational.
I have no problem ringing other people's doorbells, though I rarely have to do it.
Yeah, I keep saying this in these posts - I was locked out of my house with no shoes on, no phone, and a dog in severe distress. I knew several of my neighbors were home, but none answered the door. Only the jr. high aged neighbor kid answered his door and let me use the phone. This was after wandering around for ~15-20 min knocking on doors. ANSWER YOUR GODDAMN DOOR!
Oops, just yelled at people. *shrug*
OMG I had a similar situation. Except it was at my mother in law's house and we were swimming in her pool while she was on vacation. My H and I got locked out in our swimsuits with no shoes available. It was 110 that day in the middle of July. Thank god someone answered and let us use their phone. We were screwed.
Also my 3 and 6 year old play "delivery guy" by taking turns at the door ringing the doorbell and delivering packages. No comment on how they are so familiar with this process lol.
They also ring the doorbell on purpose to make our dog go bonkers. Never fails. Even when she knows it's them.
We tapped cardboard over our doorbell last Halloween (when DS was 5 months old) and never took it down. It's glorious; no one ever wakes him via the doorbell. So we've left it up. I'll take it off when we move or DS out grows naps. Whichever happens first. I answer knocks though. It's usually FedEx, UPS or Jehovah Witnesses/Mormons. A few times it's been our neighbors.
It's my damn house and I'll answer if I feel like it, or I won't. I also have big mirrored windows in my front room so I generally see people head up the walk, even though they can't see me. They hear the dogs, though!
i wish people would ring the doorbell instead of knocking. I realize that most people don't know that our front door leads to an interior porch/courtyard, and not into our house, but we definitely can't hear anyone knock from the house, the office or the studio. At least the house and studio have receivers for the doorbell. One of my neighbors knocks on the living room window instead of ringing the bell. That startles me more than the bell would.
Most of our delivery people and repair people seem to knock, so if we are expecting something/someone, we turn on the driveway bell. We get a lot of false rings from the squirrels (I swear one has figured it out and does it on purpose, over and over) so we don't leave it on all of the time.
I guess we lucked out with our kids sleeping through noise. Our first baby came home trained from nicu noise, and slept through a barking dog, the doorbell, the phone ringing and the vacuum cleaner noise all at once, so we made sure to keep things noisy for our youngest. She could fall asleep anywhere, and sleep through anything...I think she still can at 35. lol
I hate the doorbell because it makes the dogs go INSANE. But I answer it. So bizarre that people do not. Who texts from outside to say, "I'm here"? That's fucking weird.
I do it when I go pick up my BIL from MIL's house, but that's because I don't want to set foot in her disgusting, animal-filled house.
I'm happy to use the doorbell or knock everywhere else.
I hate the doorbell because it makes the dogs go INSANE. But I answer it. So bizarre that people do not. Who texts from outside to say, "I'm here"? That's fucking weird.
All my freaking food delivery drivers. It's annoying. Ring the dang bell.
Post by mrsukyankee on Sept 1, 2017 2:42:07 GMT -5
My dog goes nuts regardless of a doorbell, knock or just standing there (he's by the door half the time anyway). I'm an old. I want the doorbell to ring and I'll answer it every time.
I never get the people who don't answer if they're not expecting someone. Do they seriously think an axe murderer is dropping in? Surely you're more at risk of getting burgled by not answering the door!
I never get the people who don't answer if they're not expecting someone. Do they seriously think an axe murderer is dropping in? Surely you're more at risk of getting burgled by not answering the door!
I think more people probably just don't want to interact with a stranger.
ETA- or an unexpected non stranger I guess. No bra and such.
I still think this is bullshit. Get locked out of your house once and see how you feel about it...
Our doorbell is wired wrong, so that whenever the power goes out and comes back on the doorbell rings. Scares the shit out of you at 2am on a dark and stormy night.
I hate that there's a new article about this. It's now on my Facebook and there are tons of people I otherwise like who I'm now irrationally angry at because they freely admit that they never answer their door.
Am I just unlucky that I've needed help more than once and had to knock on a door to get it? It's a shitty feeling, standing at a persons door basically begging for help. Even if that help is just the use of a phone. It would be humiliating if I knew they were just ignoring me.
I dunno man. People are very breezy about this and I get all up in my feelings about it.
How are friends and family just walking into your house? Don't you lock your doors?
Nope. Not if I'm home and awake.
Growing up in the sticks we didn't even have house keys. If someone wanted to break in there were 4 French doors they could break and the cops were a solid half hour drive away. Mama figured that our tv cost less than a big pane of glass and we didn't have much else valuable in the house. She's not a jewelry wearer, no fancy electronics etc.
We did get lost hunters at our door. Mama would usually dive them to their truck because often if they made it to our place they'd been wandering lost for a while. Lucky for them we answered the door I guess.
Growing up in the sticks we didn't even have house keys. If someone wanted to break in there were 4 French doors they could break and the cops were a solid half hour drive away. Mama figured that our tv cost less than a big pane of glass and we didn't have much else valuable in the house. She's not a jewelry wearer, no fancy electronics etc.
We did get lost hunters at our door. Mama would usually dive them to their truck because often if they made it to our place they'd been wandering lost for a while. Lucky for them we answered the door I guess.
I'm not concerned about my things, that's why I have insurance (though, will they cover a theft if the doors are unlocked?), I'm concerned about my person. Because someone who can just walk into my house may be a rapist or worse.
That is possible. But not probable. My personal risk comfort level doesn't require it, if yours does, then you do you.
ETA: I just made myself laugh at myself here - so I'll add this - I was thinking, "unlike the not answering your door thing, the idea that your house is locked doesn't cause me irrational anger." But I have to add the caveat that it does if you're my GODDAMN HUSBAND who if he gets home before me locks the door behind himself when he gets home, which means I have to unlock it to let myself in. SERIOUSLY HONEY. YOU KNOW I'M SHOWING UP 10 MINUTES LATER WITH TWO KIDS, A BAG OF KID CRAP, AND A LAPTOP BAG IN TOW. LEAVE THE FREAKIN' DOOR OPEN FOR ME. He unlocks it if he sees me coming, but usually he's still upstairs changing his clothes and having his 15 minute after work toilet sit. (I swear he doesn't have to crap. he's just sitting there avoiding dealing with kids and dinner and such.) It's just automatic though, so no matter how many times i ask him, he just locks it as he walks in without thinking.
I never get the people who don't answer if they're not expecting someone. Do they seriously think an axe murderer is dropping in? Surely you're more at risk of getting burgled by not answering the door!
Yes. See the white lady who called the cops on Jonathan Ferrell who had been involved in a car crash and asking for help, leading the police to kill the man.
Post by downtoearth on Sept 1, 2017 11:45:47 GMT -5
Team pixy0stix . Answer the door (even to religious peddlers), be kind to neighbors, and don't fret over ringing a bell to get someone's attention. Unless you're doing this sort of bell ringing, then I'd be annoyed and probably sneak out of the house and go see a movie...
It's just mental that the same people who don't answer the door just leave it open for anyone to walk in. How on earth do you justify feeling at threat by door ringing if you don't bother locking your door?
The worst thing that ever happened to me opening the door was religious nuts trying to recruit me. Know what I did? Interrupt their speech with "I'm not interested, thank you" and close the door again. Anyone selling anything I don't want gets "sorry, I don't keep cash on me".
IT IS NOT THAT HARD TO DEAL WITH YOUR FELLOW HUMAN!
People don't lock doors?! I was raised to lock immediately upon entering. People just walk in?!My gramma would still ring the doorbell though she had a key. That's just polite.
Post by mrsukyankee on Sept 2, 2017 5:10:53 GMT -5
Doors are locked (front door does so automatically) though side and back door aren't always if I'm here (behind fence and I have a big black dog who would go nuts if he heard anyone). We don't actually have a key to the front door as it's a keypad so can't get locked out. And I answer the door every single time. I'm okay with saying "no, not interested" if it's a salesperson - we get lots of people offering to clean things (powerwash) and sometimes religious people. It's fine.
Post by dorothyinAus on Sept 2, 2017 6:23:58 GMT -5
I had discussed this article with my husband when not half an hour later there was a knock on our door. It was a friend dropping by unexpectedly with a birthday present for my husband. I was in my bathrobe having just gotten out of the shower. My husband didn't hear the knock because he was under headphones transcribing a recording. Had I not answered, we would have missed seeing a friend we hadn't seen in ages.
We all laughed about the timing, and I'm sure "not answering the door" will become a joke with that friend.
My doorbell has been broken for ages. But the entire from of my house is windows, so unless im upstairs i can see if someone is coming. And if i dont, my dogs will hear it and bark. That said, i rarely get unexpected visitors, my house is sort of hard to find. Ups/fedex usually knocks.
Post by chittybangbang on Sept 2, 2017 7:51:01 GMT -5
My dog is the best doorbell. He spends his day staring out the front window and barks when people come into the front yard so I've usually got the door open before people even get there.
I don't get the non answering people though. Do you just pretend you aren't home? Hide out of sight of the doors and windows? Or yell through the door for the person to go away?
Between our Ring doorbell which alerts my phone as soon as someone approaches the house and my dogs who are just as effective, most people don't make it to the doorbell. The chaos level is just lower if I can step onto the porch before anyone rings the bell. I've also noticed that the resident dog knows the Ring notification on my phone, so if it goes off he runs to the door. We've also used it to talk to sales people who ring the bell while we are out of town so they don't know we're not home.