What to Know
As the parent of a young child, is there anything more exasperating than the time when you’ve finally put them down to bed for the night or a good long nap that they desperately need only to have someone ring your doorbell and wake them up? It’s practically a code amongst parents that once it hits 8 p.m., we don’t even ring each other’s doorbells!
A woman has recently gone viral on TikTok after sharing doorbell video footage of her husband telling off a late-night salesperson who showed up at their door at 9:30 in the evening. Everything about this video perfectly encapsulates the lengths some parents will go to to protect their child’s sleep.
If there’s one thing you don’t do as a salesperson, it’s knock on a parent’s door at 9:30 at night.
@sbbrooks2911 As if I needed another reason to be attracted to this man. 😂 #solicitor #doorbell #doorbellcamera #fyp #myfavoriteanimal ♬ Tchaikovsky "Dance of the Reed Flutes"(1257471) – kzy
In a TikTok video that has amassed over 9 million views, a stay-at-home mom named Sarah Beth Brooks (who goes by the handle @sbbrooks2911) shared a video that’s quickly turned into a super relatable viral sensation.
Brooks shared doorbell cam footage of her husband having a little late-night chat with a door-to-door salesman who just so happened to ring the family’s doorbell at 9:30 at night. The text overlay says, “My favorite animal is my husband when solicitors are knocking on doors at 9:30 p.m.”
The footage shows Brooks’ husband heading out to the end of their front porch area and looking around for whoever the doorbell ringing culprit was. After that, you can hear someone ask him, “How’s it going?” to which her husband replies, “What are y’all doing?”
The salesperson replies, “I know it’s late.” Okay, duh. The dad then very firmly states, “Yeah, dude. That’s not an excuse. It’s 9:30 at night. My one and a half year old is asleep. For you to ring my doorbell? Brother, you had something coming. That’s ridiculous.”
Frustratingly, this interaction came after several late-night visits to the door.
According to People, who interviewed Brooks after her TikTok video was officially a viral sensation, this interaction happened after putting up with several days of late-night visits from salespeople in their neighborhood.
“That day, and for several days leading up to it, solicitors had been very active in our neighborhood. We live in an area where it’s pretty common to see door-to-door salespeople, so that wasn’t unusual. What was unusual was how late they were staying out,” Brooks shared.
There had been a notice in the community online group from their neighbors that solicitors had been knocking on people’s doors well into the late evening hours. Brooks shared that their best friends, who also happen to be their neighbors, gave them a heads up that someone had knocked on their door trying to sell home security.
Brooks also explained that since her husband didn’t want the doorbell or knock to wake up their toddler, he went outside to deal with things himself. “Not wanting them to wake our son, my husband went outside to meet them before they had a chance to knock. The video begins as he sees them walking through our front yard toward our door,” she shared.
Brooks shared with the magazine that their son was luckily not disturbed!
Plenty of people in the comments are on this couple’s side when it comes to late-night sales calls.
The comments section on this TikTok video is filled with people who completely relate to these parents and the route they took here.
One person shared, “Honestly the door knocking needs to stop already.” Another thought Brooks’ husband’s tone was actually a little too nice. They commented, “He’s nicer than I would’ve been.” Another shared, “That was a very polite threat, love it lol.”
Another person left their thoughts of what they find appropriate in this kind of situation. “My rule of thumb. If your companies customer service cannot be reached past 5, then you better not be on my porch after 5 either. 5pm is the latest “appropriate” time for solicitors,” they wrote.
There were a few people who felt badly for the salespeople who were put in this awkward position by their employers. One person shared, “I feel bad for these sales people because that’s their job but it’s 2026 – let’s stop the door to door soliciting.” Another wrote, “why are these companies making these poor workers work so late in these neighborhoods omg.”
How do you think you might handle a salesperson showing up on your doorstep at 9:30 at night with your kid sleeping inside? Would you keep things cordial or do you feel like your super protective parent mode might initiate? Hopefully you never have to find out!
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