to not want to be subjected to the hard sell when I just want to withdraw some cash?

[MissPenteuth]

Went into a branch of my bank today to withdraw some money, as you do. Woman at counter brings up my account details and sees that I'm eligible for a new credit card, so asks if I want it. I say no thankyou, I already have one and I don't use it much. But she persists, telling me the benefits of the card. I politely decline again, saying my current credit limit is more than enough. She says 'but you must have to pay interest', I say no , because I pay off the full balance every month. She still persists and I tell her I'm really not interested, thanks. She finally relents.

But bloody hell, can people not take no for an answer? I expect such cold-blooded hard selling from telemarketers, but when all I want is some cash out at the bank, AIBU to be a bit pissed off?

I agree it's a pain. I was at the post office the other day returning some online shopping and was asked if I wanted to top up my mobile or buy life insurance.
I just say no thanks, very breezily. Never get drawn into conversation.

Our post office tries to sell you stuff as well. Last time I'd queued for nearly half an hour and said that if they stopped trying to sell me travel insurance etc the queue would move a damn sight faster.

I hate our post office.

Play deaf; what? WHAT? WHAAAAAAT?
I SAIIIIIIIID..
alrite dear, no need to shout :)

perks of getting older

I started a very similar thread a couple of weeks ago

The bank, the post office, the mortgage company, the ISA people

All...hard sell

I hate it

I've had it before, I told her to continue with transaction please because im not bloody well interested...it soon shut her up!!

All bank teller staff get given targets and bonused on how many customers they refer on to revenue generating products or other sales teams.

Its not their fault. A lot of quite low paid bank staff are under constant redundancy pressure. Lloyds are making 15,000 staff redundant.

I imagine they're trying to make it "worth it" for them to pay someone to serve you at a counter rather than through an ATM.

Yes but they should still cut it out when asked/told that you aren't interested :)

This is why I stopped using one of my bank accounts, I only ever use it online these days as I was so sick of trying to be sold stuff every time I entered the branch.

Yes, I don't mind being offered but I should be able to say 'no, thankyou' without having to explain my reasons several times.

It' like being offered a "review" of your account. They called me yesterday for me to come in and review my account with some shark. I cowardly said that it was not the right time (there is nothing to review anyway) but next time I'll tell them that if they call me one more time, I'll change bank. They do that every so often and it's doing my head in.

Of course they should stop, but they are counting on our being so used to being hassled in this way that we start to believe we don't have the right to not be hassled like this.

They don't have to have explicit instructions to hassle customers; targets to "cross-sell" products will do the trick, while giving the company the ability to make completely disingenuous claims that they don't tell counter staff to hassle customers.

Everywhere seems to have 'targets' these days for products they have to sell. My husband works in customer services for a company, but he still has to try and sell extra products when people phone him, isn't meant to take no for an answer, has his calls monitored and if he wasn't 'pushing' enough he would be fired. I think that's the same for all call centres.

I once had a job in a toy shop and was quite surprised at all the things you 'had' to do. I like to think that I am naturally pleasant and polite, and enjoy speaking to people, but I hated it there because you couldn't just be yourself. You had to greet people within 30 seconds of them walking into a shop and ask them if they needed help - this is a personal bugbear of mine. Yes, smile at me and approach me if you think I'm floundering or trying to decide on a product, but don't accost me as soon as I walk in the door! Therefore I hated having to do this to other people. Then, there were certain products that we had to push. This shop had lots of nice toys that I was happy to recommend to people, but no, if someone was buying for a 2 year old I had to push a piece of tat that lit up, made a noise and had no educational value at all. Then, at the till there were certain things I had to say. I couldn't be natural, I had to remember a list of things to say/flog/sign them up to. I thought I would love the job, and think I could have done if there weren't all these targets but I hated it and was glad when I found something else.

There are right and wring ways of doing it and that is the wrong way, shell never hit her target like that.

When I rang with a query about cashing in some shares from an ISA, I got the third degree

What was the problem, why did I need the money, had I considered all avenues, did I not understand how well it is doing (it isn't) etc etc and quite imperiously too (from a bint about 20 years younger than me )

I told her she was making me uncomfortable with the conversation, that I had made my mind up and was only asking how to go about it. After quite a bit of huffin' 'n' puffin' she eventually told me the procedure

If you make it clear the advice they are trying to push on you is unwelcome and un-asked for, they should back off

but they put you on the spot

I reckon less assertive people find it really difficult, and it's just not fair

YANBU. The worst ones are those who appear to take offence when all you said was "no thank you, I don't need one of those".

plupervert - you make an excellent point. So many firms now put intense pressure employees with targets that 'miselling' is almost baked into the employment contract although firms can deny they tell staff to do it.

Many firms make it impossible to reach a bonus target without staff employing dishonest or at least unethical selling tactics.

oh yes, SL, they pretend to take it personally so you will feel sorry for them (I understand they have a job to do of course) but no, I won't be guilt-tripped, thank you very much

It is annoying. I had to phone my bank the other day as I got locked out of online banking - they dealt with my problem fine, no complaints about that, but then started asking me lots of questions about my credit card, what I use it for, whether I often travel etc, it emerged they were trying to 'sell' me some new type of credit card.

I rarely use my credit card, and when I do, like the OP I pay it off in full at the end of the month. So am really not interested in a 'better deal', and honestly just wanted my online banking issue fixed, and not to have my time wasted. If I wanted a new credit card I would have said so!

I know someone 'vulnerable' who went to the bank the other day to see if they could extend their overdraft, which was refused. Then they sold them expensive house insurance. I was absolutely furious!

Sounds like you might use the same bank as me Ephiny, they mentioned travel to me as well (no charge for using it abroad or somesuch). And I agree, if I want/need a new credit card I'll ask them, thanks!

I can't see that Miss P would have a problem being assertive. Drives me mad when people try to sell me stuff I don't want. Fuck off. (I don't say that to them of course, I'm not that mean)

My friend works for Nationwide on the counter, they are made to ask people all these annoying questions and if they don't they get into trouble.
She knows that on a busy Saturday morning everyone just wants to do their thing and go but she is pressured into asking them if they want things!

Nationwide recently introduced a £100 minimum for taking cash out over the counter.

Yes that's part of the problem, gallifrey - those who invent these silly rules aren't the ones sitting behind the counter annoying customers and getting the flack!