Door to Door salespeople are notoriously obnoxious.

However, they’re also people… just like you and me.

This man took to Reddit to share his story of how he handled the annoyance in a bit of a heartless way.

My neighborhood often gets door-to-door salesmen.

Usually they read my no soliciting sign and leave, but sometimes they just can’t help themselves and knock on my door.

The man was approached by a young girl.

I answered one of these knocks (keeping the door concealing my house) and saw a kid barely out of high school standing there and holding a can of cheap air freshener.

She smiled at me.

“Can I help you?” I asked.

“We’re just going around the neighborhood giving out free air fresheners!”

She cheerily handed me the can.

I took it and looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

“Free” seems to come with a catch.

“And we have this spectacular new carpet cleaning liquid that we are also demoing if you wanted I could show you inside?” She said, gesturing in the general direction of where she assumed my living room was.

I smiled.

Malicious compliance time.

The young saleswoman wasn’t expecting what was to come.

“No thanks. Thanks for the air freshener though,” I said as I backed up and started to close the door.

“W-wait!” She blurted out, reaching for the door. “Um, can I get the air freshener back?”

“No.” I flatly said.

Her face fell. I laughed.

“You told me you were giving them away. You didn’t mention I HAD to listen to a spiel on carpet cleaner to get it.”

Getting somewhat desperate, the girl expressed her worry.

She leaned in. “But my boss will get mad if I don’t have it when I get back.”

“Then why were you giving them away?” I tilted my head and tried to look stupid.

It wasn’t hard. “If you wanted me to buy carpet cleaner to THEN get the air freshener you should have told me that and not handed it to me immediately.”

Taken over by shock, the young woman simply went quiet.

She kind of shook her head, as if the marble that powered her brain had fallen loose into the pinball machine below and she had to wait for it to come back into play, then wandered off in a daze.

I shut the door.

I just took a massive shit in my bathroom and needed that spray to cover it up. Thanks carpet cleaner girl for the “free” can of febreeze.

Readers were not as amused by this story as the writer was expecting them to be.

One person called it plain harassment.

Another reader called his response excessive.

This person suggested that the young saleswoman has likely been manipulated into a multi-level marketing scheme.

Hopefully the writer has learned to lighten up a little, and the young entrepreneur has learned to respect “No Soliciting” signs.

Still… come on man… have a heart!