police problems

[eric 14]

Hello folks,

I was leaving flyers in a medium priced residential community. There was a police car filming me. He wait for me to walk by and then flagged me down. I am due to appear in COURT in 2 weeks.

As Mcgruff the crime dog says, apprehend all the powerwashers and woof , take a bite out of crime!!

In this particular town, it is a violation of city ordinance to hand out leaflets. When you guys do a job, do you ever leave a flyer on their neighbors lawn?

your thoughts please

[RyanH 14]

While in court, plead ignorance to local ordinances, then offer your services cleaning government property at a discount!

I usually give the customer a few business cards to pass around to neighbors they know. I've thought about putting a flyer on the neighboring houses saying something to the effect of "Hey buddy, your neighbor has a nice clean house and your messy place just takes away from it.....here's an offer you can't refuse!" but have never actually done it.

The business cards work, though. Word of mouth is free and is better than any flyer (from my experience).

[One Tough Pressure 580]

I am surrounded by cities that have a ordinance about flyers. Never heard of anyone actually getting in trouble though. Good luck in court.

I do not leave flyers at all. I always have cards available, & offer my customer a discount if they recruit a neighbor.

[Jon 533]

Don't know what city and state your in but you need to do some fast research on those laws. Hopefully you will find a loophole but if not find out if all types of businesses are included or of any are exempt from that law.

Find out who, why and when this law went into effect, find out if a city permit would exempt you from being cited.

Another thing, does not the police have better things to do then film a pressure washer trying to make a buck?

I mean if you did commit a crime it is penny ante and not worth the cost of the cop wasting his time following you around.

Like he had nothing better to do with his time.

Call your local city rep. and ask for their help in changing this out dated law.

Good luck.

[John T 744]

Maybe the Cop was videotaping because there might have been a rash of Burglaries recently in that area. Where I work Solicitation is illegal and yes you COULD be summons for it. Ignorance won't help. In the future find out what the local laws are so you won't have to fight the law. It's like the Clash Song went.."I fought the law and the law won".

One fast thing also where I work there is no parking anywhere in the streets and if a homeowner wants to have a party and they want people to park in street they will have to get a permit. SO another easy target for people who are soliciting is to summons there car that maybe parked in the street.....and it could also be impounded. These are the laws and the people make them. So find out what you can and can not do when going to differnet towns to conduct business.

[TNTPW 14]

Hey Eric you from San Antonio? If so was that place Alamo Heights?

[EmpirePW 14]

In my area we have no soliciting neighborhoods that I have passed out flyers in. I got 2 calls from 2 old ladies and I figured they were jobs but they were really just old ladies telling me their neighborhoods are no soliciting and if I did it again they would call the cops. I just told them I didn't get any calls from their neighborhood so they didn't have to worry about me returning there. Also remember never to put flyers into mailboxes. An old friend of mine did that for his lawn service and found out the hard way that if you put something into a mailbox it is a federal offense and you can be fined up to $10,000 for each violation.

[Henry B. 4]

Flyers usually don't work all that well in my opinion. Get an ad in a local newspaper or give out business cards... do some charity work and get it publicized.. I may be able to think of some other ideas also.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Running an ad may be expensive, but its incontestable. Once someone calls you to the residence, your in.

We did flyers at first, but the time and effort it took and the response rate was terrible.

I think we could have done better with a pizza picture in the ad! lol

Anyway, the ad paid for itself quickly and there was no hassle when you went to propose the work.

I sympathize with anyone who has to deal with the "No Solicitation" areas. Its not worth the gas just to get you there now-a-days.

Rod~

[Rick G 14]

I put out flyers for about three hours one day just to have an old man call and tell me he picked them all up on his walk and threw them in the trash! Thats the last time I put any out. I agree with Henry, cards, cards, cards to everyone and a small ad here or there.

[One Tough Pressure 580]

Give me a call if you like... I may be able to think of some other ideas also.

Henry,

Why not post them here so everyone can learn from your ideas?

Call your local city rep. and ask for their help in changing this out dated law.

Jon,

Those are not the outdated laws, those are the new ones. Out here, you need a solicitors permit from the City to do any type of selling where the customer did not call you first. It has a large picture of you, and it needs to be worn where it can be seen. They issue these after the PD does a background check on you.

May seem overkill, but it is just another tool for them to cut down on scam artists. Hardly ever have people come to the door trying to sell stuff anymore, and the ones that do come are just kids doing fundraisers.

One ordinance here is no passing of handbills without the property owners consent. That means that you can not pass them out in front of stores because no property owner will give permission, and you can't put them on cars as you need the property owners permission to be there, and the vehicle owners permission to place it on the car.

Why did they draft this ordinance you may ask. To cut down on the trash left evrywhere by those that just throw the darn things on the ground, or drive down the street and let it fly off the windshield.

Never cared for flyers, so I like the ordinance.

And in this thread alone we have heard of three pesky old timers who were not happy and took action on flyers.

[Aplus 525]

It seems as though California is the king of all legislation! Maybe their is just so much balony in that state that the lawmakers had to create laws to regulate everything.

I'm glad it's not that way in Michigan! I guess all California really has to offer is sunshine, and not much else.....except over legislation, droughts, wild fires, earthquakes, blackouts, mudslides, and crime! Is there anything I missed Alan...:)

[Rick G 14]

Fake *****. But we have those down here as well. We went to see Senfield when he came here. His opening line was "West Palm Beach, are boob jobs here on special or what? What is it? Buy one get one free?" Everyone was rolling, except the bleech heads with their fake ballons, not that theres anything wrong with that! ;)

[John T 744]

Rick G,

That was to funny.

Seinfeld grow up around 45 minutes from me and his sense of humor reminds me of my home boys. He cracks me up.....as does Ray Ramano (Everybody loves Raymond).

Not only are the balloons running rampant here they are also now doing butt implants if you can believe it. They need to put some helium in them so we can get some more parade floats:)

[One Tough Pressure 580]

I guess all California really has to offer is sunshine, and not much else.....except over legislation, droughts, wild fires, earthquakes, blackouts, mudslides, and crime! Is there anything I missed Alan...:)

I think the above applies to all States with maybe an exception on the Earthquakes. Crime just depends on where you go here, as with any State. Some places are just safer than others. We have been ranked as one of the Safest Cities in the Nation for a City with a population of over 100,000 for many years. Maybe those ordinaces have helped get us there.

[Paul B. 523]

Mail flyers and post cards - you are not really saving a lot (if any) by driving or walking around and placing them on peoples property.

Sometimes flyers and post cards work, while other times they do not.

My experience has been that with flyers and postcards you need to mail several times (3, 4 or as many as 6 to 7) before you get decent results. Sometimes they don't pay attention and pitch it, while other times their need is not there until later. At times they may not need the service but their friends and relatives will. The key is to have your name branded in their minds. I've gotten results 2-3 years after mailing flyers with business cards inserted. When mailing flyers, I place them in envelopes and place a business card inside. You can also mail the very thin magnetic business cards and stay at $0.37.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Heres an inexpensive way to do it.

We always leave a flyer at the neighboring houses of the job we are working on. The rule is 1-2 houses on each side and 4-6 across the street. We dont put out flyers on homes with a 'no soliciting' sign. And we dont blanket flyer a neighborhood. Takes 5 minutes to do this and makes the most out of the costs it took to get you into the neighborhood to do the work you have been contracted to do. You are there for legitimate reasons to begin with.

BUT...If you are aware of any ordinances disallowing flyer distribution, or neighborhoods that have this type of solicitation forbidden, dont do it. It just adds to the stigma that many of us are tying to change about contractors.

Rod~

[Bob Gates 14]

I agree with the price fo gasoline being what it is...riding around "passing" out flyers is way to expensive when you consider the return on investment...a few flyers/cards next door to a job site is one thing...Good luck in court..probably want amount to much....mostly just the hassle.

[PATZPW 14]

Maybe Seinfeld Can Go To Court With You! Pick Your Battles, Fight The Good Fight Etc.....