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Apartment-dwellers: How do you get someone to stop ringing your bell if they're not coming up to see you?

Asked by drdoombot (8145points) November 9th, 2009

Since my aunt lives in the same building as I do, we frequently have relatives stopping by both apartments. One cousin of mine has the habit of ringing both apartment bells when she is going to visit her mother.

I called her out on it once and she blamed it on her kids. To be fair, they were doing it also because they had learned it from her. After talking to the kids about it, they stopped. The mother, however, keeps doing it. I’ve mentioned it to her more than once, and I’ve received the following responses:

“I was in a hurry; I needed to be let in fast.”
“What’s the big deal? The movement will help you lose weight.”
And the most frequent one:
“I thought I would visit your place first, but changed my mind in the elevator.”

Out of frustration, I just don’t buzz her in anymore. She doesn’t even notice because her mother is buzzing her in.

It seems like a silly thing to be annoyed by, but I can’t help it. She has a distinct way of ringing the bell (mashing the button several times quickly) which sounds urgent, which makes me angry because it’s not urgent. Plus, I value silence and that bell jerks me out of whatever solitary reverie I’m in the middle of.

At this point, after having brought it up many times, is there a way for me to stop this without making a big deal about it? My mother gets real upset with me when I clash with her relatives…

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