to want Christmas sales staff to back off?

[MardyBra]

I was browsing for stocking fillers for the DC in Hawkins Bizarre (as I like to think of it) yesterday, and every time I so much as touched a product, one of the staff members came up and told me how much fun it was and how it was their favourite thing in the shop, in an attempt to get me to buy it. In the end, I had to request that they back off, because my peri-menopausal head couldn't cope with all their chatter when I was trying to work out what tat to buy.

The same thing happened in Body Shop last year. I was happily browsing the gift sets and I had 5 or 6 approaches in succession from staff members desperate to help me in my purchasing decision. I just wanted to look, compare and think ffs. I'm afraid I lost it and snapped at them to be left alone in the end.

I know sale staff are under instructions to be chatty and help. But if a customer has been approached once, surely that should be enough.

Enter lush at your peril.

I don't go into Lush. The smell makes me gag.

YY LUSH staff are all over you like a rash!

Internet shopping is my best friend as 'im a real grump when approached

And as for the fucking chocolate orange brigade in WH Smiths. I'm surprised the cashiers don't jump up from the tills and ram them down my throat sometimes.

Do they get bonuses or have targets or get bollocked if they aren't seen to be harrassing helping the customers?

I know what you mean though, I half expect to be rugby tackled to the floor in some places.

There will almost certainly be a bit campaign from the retail head office with targets, guidelines etc. I feel a bit sorry for the sales staff in some ways because they are told to sell in certain ways and there will be mystery shoppers who report back on them.

Maybe there could be some sort of badge scheme. I would quite happily go shopping with something pinned to my lapel stating "Mardy old cow would like to shop in peace and will let you know if I need any assistance".

Claire's Accessories staff are stalkers, the lot of them. Just sends me straight in the direction of the door.

YANBU

I hate Christmas shopping. I get hot and bothered and just want to go around the shops muttering to myself under my breath and generally being a grumpy old woman. That is my comfort zone.

And I don't like being patronised by teenagers !!

"Awwww, are you out doing your Christmas shopping todayyyyyy ?"

said to me by smily, shiny teenager in Schuh on Saturday

I will let the deli lady off in Morrisons yesterday who ran after me with a whole cooked chicken for £2 just before closing.

Other than that. Leave.Me.Alone. And don't ask if I found everything I was looking for. Obviously I did I am at the bloody paying you doofus!!

paying stage

YABU.

Cut them some slack, they're probably temps who are hoping against hope to get kept on after christmas and think that if they are seen by management to be 'helpful' that they may get to keep their shitty, thankless, NMW/close to NMW jobs after the festive period.

Just smile politely and say 'no, thank you', it really doesn't take that long to do, even if you say it five or six times.

Disclaimer- I do actually say 'Yes I did-thank you'. They are told to say it. Same with 'stamps or mobile phone top up?' in Wilkos.

Yes, Lakeland staff are always very worried that I haven't found everything in their shop. It's tempting to tell them that I'm only buying one item as that's all I need and the rest of their food preparation gadgets are superfluous to normal kitchen user requirements.

Pom - I do see what you are saying, but 5 or 6 times is way too many imo.

Haven't been in Gap recently. Do they still ask when you pay if a particular staff member helped you today?

Our Hawkins Bazaar is a nightmare too. I was approached by three different members of staff within the first five minutes of entering the shop. One of them kept asking me what I wanted and what it was for etc.

I do smile politely and say No Thanks.

But, at what point does it become harassment?

I find myself avoiding certain shops because of their over helpful staff. Surely that is bad for custom.

I didn't mind the Gap approach and usually tried to list everyone who even smiled at me in case it meant they got a bonus!

If you even happen to glance in the direction of a Benefit concession in a dept store you will be buried under a pile of assistants. It doesn't happen just at Christmas so they are not temps nor is it just confined to these times of economic downturn. I would really like to look at their products but you cannot get anywhere near!!

It's a marketing technique called upselling.
I bought some items from BHS costing about £50 and the cashier asked me if I wanted to buy a box of choclates and a cuddly toy! And take out a store card! I said no thanks, I'm spending enough already thanks very much!
And the people at the petrol station always ask me if I want to buy a creme egg for 50p or something.
I wish they would just put the sweets at the tills and leave us to it!

It's a marketing technique called upselling.
I bought some items from BHS costing about £50 and the cashier asked me if I wanted to buy a box of choclates and a cuddly toy! And take out a store card! I said no thanks, I'm spending enough already thanks very much!
And the people at the petrol station always ask me if I want to buy a creme egg for 50p or something.
I wish they would just put the sweets at the tills and leave us to it!

They can stick their upselling up their arse.

Mardy, it's worse than that - they're not only under instruction to be chatty and helpful, they are forced to be as horribly annoying as you state.
especially in the Body Shop, where they can face real trouble for not hitting their sales targets.
my friend works for a "well-known bookchain" and they have Mystery Shoppers that come round, so they have to pounce on every customer and ask interrogating questions etc and offer stupid "link-saves" just in case you're the Mystery Shopper.
they hate it, but That's customer services for you.