Today, some of my staff and I walked door-to-door in our local neighborhoods and dropped off flyers that said, “Help us to help those in need this holiday season. Leave a bag of non-perishable food on your porch and we’ll pick it up on Sunday by noon.”
During my walk, I had four encounters.
One was with a neighbor who swung the main door open not even two seconds after I closed the flyer into the screen door. He looked at me as if assessing the threat level, saw the flyer in the door, read it, nodded, and then just as quickly closed the door.
The second was with a Ring doorbell. After I closed the flyer into the door, it announced over its speaker, “YOU ARE ACTIVELY BEING RECORDED.” Kind of creepy… but I guess it wasn’t news.
The third was with two gentlemen who were sawing wood in their backyard. I walked up, smile on my face, and told them about the food drive. One didn’t acknowledge my existence at all. The other said “Okay” and pressed sharply on the buzz saw into the wood. I didn’t give them a flyer.
The final was at a house that had a car in front with two of its doors open. Just as I turned the corner of the house after leaving a flyer, I heard a voice yell, “HEY! HEY!! OYE!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” To which I calmly turned around, smiled, and told him. He was quite relieved.
I share this because, sheesh, maybe we need to go door-to-door MORE… for non-political/religious/salesy/sketchy reasons… and change the perception. Seeing a neighbor should lead to warmth… not closed fisted cold.