The other day I stopped by Target to pick up a power-strip/surge protector and a desk lamp.  While making my way through the store I was accosted by a store employee who wanted me to open a Target Visa account.  I got the same thing from the young woman at the checkout (who tried to dangle a 10% discount in front of me as an enticement).  Frankly, given that I’ve just bought a house, opening a new credit account is the last thing I need to be doing.  But in general I prefer to go about my business without being accosted by people pushing various things at me. 

At home I can put up a “No Solicitors” sign to tell people to leave me alone (and to not bother wasting their time and mine with a sales pitch that will just piss me off).  It occurred to me that it would be convenient if we had a button that was understood by convention to mean that this person isn’t interested in sales pitches.  It could be as simple as a button that says “No Thanks!”  That way, the customer isn’t bothered by sales pitches and the salespeople won’t waste their time on people who aren’t going to respond to the pitch.  Of course, this doesn’t apply to actual sales scenarios.  If someone is looking at a product, then it’s understood that they’re fair game for a salesperson to approach them.  The whole point here is to be able to deflect unwanted sales pitches and avoid irritating customers like me (who may choose to avoid a store if it does too much unsolicited marketing).