俄亥俄州斯特朗斯维尔——克利夫兰的一个郊区——多年来一直在打击上门律师。据 Cleveland.com 报道，该市自 1990 年代以来就颁布了一项法令，要求律师在该市注册并通过背景调查。这些要求已经比国内其他地方的律师更加严格，但根据 Cleveland.com 的同一份报告，要求只会变得更加严格。展望未来，所有律师都将面临更深入的背景调查，有些甚至需要支付少量费用才能在城市工作。

上门销售人员经常被怀疑、烦恼甚至恐惧看待——无论地点或情况如何。全国无数的企业和家庭都贴上了“禁止招揽”的标志。在Strongsville，上门律师的大部分问题似乎都发生在住宅区，而不是商业企业。据报道，该市在 1990 年代首次对律师实施了规定，因为当地房主抱怨销售人员深夜出现在他们家门口。

根据 Cleveland.com 的报告，1990 年代的法令并没有完全阻止 Strongsville 地区的律师。相反，在几年前冰雹使该地区的许多房屋受损后，律师们在Strongsville 的住宅区挨家挨户，与居民制定维修计划。大多数维修工作从未完成。居民投诉还表明，尽管有 Strongsville 的规定，但律师最近变得更加咄咄逼人。通常，拨打电话的公司会教他们的销售人员“永远不要拒绝回答”。因此，仅仅试图完成他或她的工作的律师可能会被视为含糊其辞的威胁——尤其是对于那些有“不招揽”迹象或与销售人员的先前经验不佳的房主。

新规定旨在防止律师骚扰显然对他们所出售的东西不感兴趣的房主。多年来，Strongsville 一直要求律师在该市注册并提供一系列个人和专业信息。律师必须在其城市申请中提供的信息包括社会安全号码、车牌、有关他们工作的公司的信息以及有关他们将要征集的内容和地点的详细信息。

此前，该市只对这些律师进行当地背景调查。展望未来，Strongsville 将扩大该流程，包括通过俄亥俄州刑事鉴定局和 FBI 进行检查。申请人必须提供指纹。

一些律师如果希望在 Strongsville 合法经营，则需要支付 25 美元的少量费用。此要求不适用于所有销售人员。相反，25 美元的费用专供要求捐款以促进特定事业的上门律师。推销产品或服务的销售人员无需支付费用。

最终，这种类型的计划是其他城镇可能会考虑实施的明智计划。如上所述，上门律师通常没有恶意，只是努力做好自己的工作。然而，这些类型的销售人员也经常采用可能让他们的潜在客户感到恼火、骚扰或彻头彻尾的威胁的策略。斯特朗斯维尔的最新法令应有助于营造一种氛围，让律师知道要更加尊重对其产品、服务或事业不感兴趣的人。

Door-to-door salespeople are frequently looked upon with skepticism, annoyance, or even fear—no matter the location or situation. Countless businesses and homes nationwide bedeck their doors with "No Soliciting" signs. In Strongsville, it sounds like the bulk of the trouble with door-to-door solicitors has occurred in residential areas rather than in relation to commercial businesses. The city reportedly first imposed regulations on solicitors in the 1990s after local homeowners complained about having salespeople show up at their doors late into the evening.

Per the Cleveland.com report, that 1990s ordinance hasn't exactly deterred solicitors in the Strongsville area. On the contrary, after a hailstorm left many homes in the area with damage a few years ago, solicitors went door-to-door in Strongsville's residential areas, setting up repair plans with residents. Most of those repairs were never completed. Resident complaints also indicate that, despite Strongsville's regulations, solicitors are becoming more aggressive lately. Typically, companies that perform cold calls teach their salespeople to "never take no for an answer." As a result, a solicitor just trying to do his or her job can come across as vaguely threatening—particularly to homeowners who have “No Soliciting" signs or poor prior experiences with salespeople.

New regulations are meant to keep solicitors from harassing homeowners who are clearly not interested in what they are selling. For years, Strongsville has required solicitors to register with the city and provide an array of personal and professional information. Among the pieces of information that solicitors have to provide on their city applications are Social Security numbers, vehicle license plates, information about the companies they work for, and details about what they will be soliciting and where.

Previously, the city only ran local background checks on these solicitors. Going forward, Strongsville will expand the process to include checks through the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and the FBI. Applicants will have to provide fingerprints.

Some solicitors will need to pay a small fee of $25 if they wish to operate legally in Strongsville. This requirement will not apply to all salespeople. Rather, the $25 fee is exclusive to door-to-door solicitors who are asking for donations to promoting a specific cause. Salespeople promoting a product or service will not have to pay the fee.

Ultimately, this type of program is a smart one that other cities and towns might consider implementing. As mentioned above, door-to-door solicitors often mean no harm and are just trying to do their jobs. However, these types of salespeople also often employ tactics that can make their prospective customers feel annoyed, harassed, or downright threatened. The updated ordinances in Strongsville should help to create an atmosphere in which solicitors know to be more respectful of people who are not interested in their products, services, or causes.