Yesterday I had a knock at our apartment door (bare in mind that it’s inside a building with a “do not enter unless you live here” sign). It was a salesperson selling Meiji milk to your door. Kind of like the old fashioned milk bottle service.
I gave the man the time to tell me what he wanted to, but ultimately said it would be up to my husband and he’s not in.
After he left, I gave it a google, and several posts on Yahoo and such were talking about very persistent and annoying salespeople that would come back, offer free samples and pressure you to sign their contract.
I wouldn’t say I feel ‘unsafe’ by any means, but I’m now worried that I didn’t say I wasn’t interested enough and the chance of him coming back to seal the deal is pretty high.
Just thought I’d put this out there so if anyone in the region is a bit more pre-armed and can decide for themselves what to do if the situation arises. It looks like they aren’t actually the official milk and drink manufacturer Meiji, but a subsidiary or something that’s contracted to sell the stock. I wouldn’t say it’s dodgy or anything, but it’s also not the type of thing I want someone knocking at my door several times a week to pressure me into paying for.
​
Hope this helps anyone reading, and let me know if you experienced similar / know more about this.
9 comments
You may also want to try asking in /r/Osaka.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/japanlife) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Yeah, it happened to me once. I got the free sample and the guy came back a week later and I just ignored him. I’m not sure if he ever came back again, but that was it.
It’s really not a big deal, nobody can force you into a contract.
Contact building management if you’re being harassed by them or just ignore. In the past I had in my home country sales people of electricity companies trying to sell me contracts by going from door to door in my apartment building which you could not enter unless someone opened the front door for you from the inside. I had no problem telling them that as long as you didn’t use the intercom system from outside to ask me if I’m interested in having a chat with you, I don’t appreciate you knocking my door suddenly and have me thinking it might be my elderly neighbor in need of help. That generally worked well to have them leave me alone because they knew very well what they do is against the building rules, which were made exactly to avoid this type of unwanted activity.
Ah, the male version of Yakult lady. You are not obligated to sign up and you don’t have to buy anything if you’re not interested.
I have Meiji milk service in Tokyo, but I signed up because I wanted it. I never felt pressured.
I tend do think of things from the sales-person’s perspective, though. I get to type on my PC in my air conditioned room all day while they brave the summer heat for probably much less pay. If you aren’t interested, just say as much.
as a rule, I turn away anyone but the milkman of human kindness
I just shut that shit down right away.
すみません、興味無いです
I never answer my door period, unless I know I am expecting an Amazon package. I don’t want to deal with the NHK guy, Jehovah, Mt. Fuji cult, etc.
I had meji and yukult both come by at different times. I respectively told them “no thanks” (in Japanese) and “I can’t have dairy products” in Japanese. Never a peep out of either company again.