As I went to get my wallet, I thought of a few other people who had told me about similar experiences, where a teenager comes to their door at dinnertime with something to sell or a charity to support. Typically the message is, 'this is a scam - do not give them money.' For some reason, I ignored that thought and handed over $20, thinking it was better than giving him a personal check with our information on it. He then asked me for my mailing address so he could write it on the order form, so I gave it to him, and got a little nervous, wondering if I should even do that. But then, I realized, all he has to do is look at our address on our house - he's standing on my front porch, after all - to get that information. He was really polite, very appreciative and smiled and waved at Eamon. He handed me the receipt and walked off down the block to the next house. I looked down at the receipt as I shut the door and noticed that it had no information on it regarding a scholarship - it just had the Chicago Tribune logo, no indication that it was for a charity of any kind. I mumbled to myself, "idiot." And left the receipt on the table.
When my husband got home, he too agreed it was probably a scam because the receipt looked shady. Then he suggested I not answer the door when I'm home by myself at night, because anyone could just burst through the door. I thought of how big the kid was - he was built like a linebacker - and eventually lost about three hours of sleep that night thinking about how stupid I was for even opening the door and putting Eamon and myself in harm's way. I am a naive suburbanite, I thought, wondering where and when I'd lost my street smarts. I very rarely if ever give to panhandlers. I used to always deny those kids selling M&Ms on the street corners who say they're raising money for their basketball teams. Why would I give twenty bucks to a teenager on my front porch? I should have just turned the porch light off and ignored him.
Today in the mail I got a letter from the Chicago Tribune and a check for $20 from an organization called Starr E. Sales Inc. The message on the form letter said they apologized, but their records show I already have a subscription and therefore cannot subscribe through that charity. So, the kid was trustworthy, he just didn't have his information straight -- donations weren't allowed, only new subscriptions were accepted. I was glad I initially went with my gut and trusted him, and embarrassed that I thought he might have been a threat, and wonder now how many kids I've turned down who were honestly trying to raise money for something worthwhile. I'm a little sorry I wasn't able to support him in the end.
But I am still looking for my misplaced street smarts.
Those same young men have been to our door as well, twice. Their stories are so vague and shaky, I can never tell what's going on. Why does the Trib allow kids to do door-to-door sales, especially in the age of the internet, when anyone who wants the paper can either read it for free or subscribe online? It makes me mad.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your experience turned out well, though. I always like to have faith in teenagers.
Scott and I never answer the door unless we are expecting someone. It's terrible on one hand, but on the other, our neighborhood gets hit with a lot of these requests, legit or otherwise. In my previous life, I once made a donation to a Special Olympics kid who was raising money so he could go to state. Since I know their CFO here in Oregon (he plays drums in Scott's band!) and I know of Molly's experience, that was an easy donation to hand over. But it really is hard to know sometimes. I am glad it turned out well for you, too.
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