I don’t know when it happened, but doorbells died. So did knockers. There’s a dirty joke there somewhere, but that’s not where I’m going. What I learned recently is that people don’t use doorbells any more, nor do they use door knockers. They call. At least, that’s what they do when they arrive in response to a craigslist ad. Maybe craigslist is the killer.

After my remodel I had several items to dispose of, so I ran a few craigslist ads. Without exception everyone who came to see the advertised items called me when they arrived in front of my house. This is true even though they were expecting to come inside. So I had to go outside and escort them in. Two of them didn’t even get out of the car until they saw me come out the front door. Why didn’t they just come to the front door and knock or ring? There must be some generational thing going on. Maybe it has to do with smart phones, but I don’t see why that would make a difference. I found this behavior rude, although I’m guessing these people thought they were being polite somehow. Perhaps where these people live, for security reasons no one comes to the door unless they know who it is, so calling is necessary.

Of course, this can only happen if the visitor has my phone number. We still get doorbell ringers soliciting donations, trying to get our house listed with them, or even selling girl scout cookies. When we invite personal friends over, they come to the front door and ring. So my observation only applies to “casual visitors” for want of a better word.

If you are among those who call instead of knocking, I’d like to hear from you. What is your reasoning? I’m attaching a contact form so I can get some responses.