With the stereotypical view that they interrupt television shows and family meals to pitch their hard-sell message, door-to-door salesmen don’t always enjoy the best public image.
Some Kimball, Tenn., residents say that groups of salesmen knocking on their doors at night are making the peddlers’ case for acceptance a lot worse.
Last month, Hart Realty broker Louise Powell was working with two agents in Kimball when a woman entered the business, demanding to administer a survey.
“She never said why she was canvassing, and when I kept asking, she finally got flustered and left,” Ms. Powell said. “Now they come by here and go into neighborhoods and sell junk.”
Among the items being sold are magazines, alarm systems and driveway paving.