Ollie Martens of Williams Lake has had enough.
After she responded to an air quality survey conducted by sales representatives from Healthtek Enterprises Ltd. who came to her door, the phone calls didn’t stop.
“When they did the survey they asked if I was concerned about air quality in town or in my home,” Martens said. “Of course I am, who isn’t?”
The most recent call came Monday night when her husband answered.
The caller started asking whether their children were in French Immersion, questions that had nothing to do with air quality, Martens said.
“Then they said we’d won a little prize and they could bring it tomorrow at one o’clock,” she said. “I told my husband they were trying to sell us something.”
Martens alleged the sales person was very aggressive and parked right in her driveway so she couldn’t get out.
“To me they’re dangerous because they’ll get some older person who is easily intimidated to buy whatever they are selling.”
Martens said she insisted she was not interested in buying air filters, and asked him to leave.
And she’s heard of other people with the same experience.
A co-worker was lucky because when she told the salesperson she didn’t own her home, they left her alone.
“The public needs to know,” Martens insisted.
Responding to Martens’ complaints, Healthtek Enterprises manager Derek Radloff confirmed the company presently has a “bunch of people” going door-to-door in Williams Lake.
“We fill in a short survey on air quality at the door because the products we make are for air quality, purifiers and things like that,” Radloff said.
From the surveys people’s names are put into a draw for daily giveaways.
“We select people who can select to receive a gift if they want to or say no if they want to and in exchange for a gift we ask them for their help with word-of-mouth advertising,” Radloff said.
Prizes include jumper cables, emergency kits for cars, barbecue sets, or auto cleaning kits.
“It’s a free gift for their time for taking a look at our products,” he said.
When asked about late phone calls to people’s homes Radloff said they could be as late as 8:30 p.m., it just depends when people have arranged an appointment.
It’s a pretty simple process, he added.
Community policing co-ordinator Dave Dickson said he had not received any formal complaints about Healthtek but knows they are in town.
“They came to my friend’s place and he didn’t earn any brownie points with his wife,” Dickson said.