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Thursday, December 17, 2009

News It's a Hard Time for Newspapers

Posted by Unpaid Intern on Thu, Dec 17, 2009 at 11:05 AM

Posted by news intern Jon Brock

On the evening of December 3, an employee of the Seattle Times Company had been attempting to sell subscriptions to residents inside a "lock out apartment complex with no visible no soliciting signs," a Seattle police report says. After the solicitor finished making her rounds—and getting one check from a resident—she proceeded towards the building's main exit, only to be confronted by an obese woman who "stood in the way of the exit and asked what she was doing there and how she got into the apartment," the report continues. The solicitor didn't have an ID badge because it was her second day on the job. The woman proceeded to question the Times employee, inquiring as to how she got into the building, what she was doing there, and if she had received any money. Seemingly unsatisfied with the solicitor's answers, the woman told the solicitor that she "wasn't leaving until the police arrived." As the solicitor again tried to leave, the report says that "the female pushed her back and into a wall, causing a bruise on her right hand." She then "pinned [the solicitor] in the door."

Although the woman managed to escape and call police, the report says, the solicitor "stated that she quit her job after the incident."

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Comments (15) RSS

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You know, the same thing happens every day to PI solicitors in virtual worlds.

They put on their butterfly wings, fly in thru an open window of someone's castle, and the grumpy troll guards throw virtual tomatoes at them.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on December 17, 2009 at 11:06 AM

Hmmm. Sounds like an arrest and a charge of simple assault is in order.

Posted by Citizen R on December 17, 2009 at 11:09 AM

It's sad this happened, but why is this news on Slog?

Posted by michael strangeways

on December 17, 2009 at 11:10 AM

Don't mess with Big Momma, honey...

Posted by Big Momma on December 17, 2009 at 11:11 AM

Boy, that's gotta be one of the worst jobs you can have. That and canvassing for WASHPIRG.

Posted by TVDinner

on December 17, 2009 at 11:13 AM

Isn't being held by someone against your will, technically, kidnapping.

Posted by Senor Guy on December 17, 2009 at 11:14 AM

i love that they description of the woman was "obese" instead of "irate" or "angry".

Posted by Max Solomon on December 17, 2009 at 11:15 AM

@6: "Kidnapping" is actually a federal charge with a different meaning. However, it certainly is false arrest. Assault too. She should definitely file charges, and probably has a civil case as well.

Posted by Fifty-Two-Eighty

on December 17, 2009 at 11:36 AM

Door to door subscriptions? Having the paper online for free isn't door-to-door enough for the Times?

Posted by Jason Josephes

on December 17, 2009 at 11:57 AM

I know times are hard, and people are desperate for jobs, but my first reaction to this story was that anybody trying to peddle that rag SHOULD be assaulted.

Posted by johnyawl on December 17, 2009 at 1:05 PM

I'm not saying the resident was right to start shoving people around, but I actually think the major fault lies with the Times.

They shouldn't have sent an employee around to solicit people for money without legitimate ID, and they shouldn't ask/allow employees to enter a building they don't have legal access to, even if there isn't a visible "no soliciting" sign. That should flat out be against the rules.

If I saw someone wandering the halls of my building collecting money from people, and they couldn't show ID or explain how they got into the building - I'd probably call the police too.

Like I said, the resident was excessive to try to hold what she considered "a suspect" in the building until police showed up, but I don't think her suspicion is totally out of left field or anything.

Posted by Karla

on December 17, 2009 at 1:15 PM

The same thing happened in my building, where two Times peddlers sneaked in and one rang my doorbell. We don't allow solicitors so I opened it thinking it was a neighbor I didn't recognize, and the guy launched into a really hard sell. I told him the Times was crap and I wasn't interested but that I'd take his card in case I changed his mind and—no joke—he literally asked me for money for his time spent trying to sell me the Times. I said no, and he said he wouldn't keep my money himself but give it to the hard-working newspaper delivery people who are suffering the most. I told him I delivered newspapers for years and that's not how it works, and he left, backing away from my door and still pleading with me for a subscription. It was sad, and pathetic. My building manager rounded them up and called the Times to complain.

Posted by mitten on December 17, 2009 at 2:08 PM

What kind of douche salesperson goes door to door in a secure building?

Posted by w7ngman

on December 17, 2009 at 3:01 PM

I think the question is more "what kind of a douche sells the suburban Times door to door in Seattle".

Posted by Will in Seattle

on December 17, 2009 at 4:24 PM

@7 I know, right? She was probably touching both sides of the hallway just by standing there, no wonder the poor woman had a hard time getting out.

If those rolls pinned me to the wall and bruised me I'd feel pretty violated if anything.

Posted by Michael from Washington on December 17, 2009 at 9:36 PM