Salesman's tactic startle area residents

The following article appeared in tonight's St. Albans Messenger

By LEEJ. KAHRS
Messenger Staff Writer
FAIRFAX — Franklin County residents should be aware of an aggressive salesman in the area.

Vermont State Police confirmed a report of an incident in Fairfax on Monday that left the homeowner very concerned. A similar incident took place in Fairfield last month.

Lt. Rob Evans of the St. Albans barracks said he believes a vacuum cleaner salesman known to be in the area is using aggressive, misleading sales techniques.

"It's the same type of technique used in other jurisdictions," he said. "It's not against the law. It's not anything we haven't seen before, but folks should be careful."

The situation goes as follows: an African-American man wearing street clothes comes to the door of a house in the middle of the day with a 12-pack of Coca-Cola. He says he is a Coca-Cola representative and is going house to house to advertise new products.

The man then hands the 12-pack of soda to the homeowner and asks if he/she would come to his car to sample some of the new products. When the homeowner declines, the man either takes back the soda and leaves, or leaves without it.

That is allegedly what happened in Fairfax. The story in Fairfield was similar, but with a twist. A man matching the same description came to the door with the 12-pack of soda, handed it to the homeowner, and asked if he could come in the house to show the homeowner some new products. The man never mentioned the company he worked for. He was rebuffed, asked for the soda back, and left.

Lt. Evans said the man is preying on human nature. He said it's easier to hang up on a telemarketer than to close the door in the face of a salesman.

"They use whatever tactics they can to get folks to have a conversation," Evans said. "Smart consumers are the best defense. If you don't recognize the person, you're not required to answer the door."