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.

The thing is, customers will avoid shops where they feel irritated by the service, and then they'll be less retail stores and jobs. So, it's not about customers putting up with something they don't like so they don't hurt retail assistants feelings.

Firstly I'm not just a temp nor a teenager, I've worked in retail for some years.

Where I work we all have to "approach every customer every time with an open question". When they come to the till we have to point out the current promotion and offer a product that is in keeping with the rest of their shopping. If we do not do this we face a disciplinary, and could eventually lose our job.

I've have customers berate me for this on a regular basis. I've had customers being rude even when I just simply say hello, which I do just to be polite when my boss isn't around making sure I do all the rest. I have had a manager give me a very public bollocking in front of customers because I didn't give a secondary approach to a woman who said "I'm fine, just looking thank you". We also have mystery customers who score us on our harassment customer service steps.

I do get lots of lovely customers and many regulars. When I don't follow the "7 steps of service" I get lots of compliments on my product knowledge , lots of genuine thanks and more importantly customers actually come back.

I have said that this is all very OTT and actually counter productive but senior management and head office don't listen to people on the shop floor. We don't want to harass you but have no choice. They do however listen to customers, especially complaints to head office. If in future you don't like the service you get then write to head office, but please do not blame the sales staff for doing our job.

I think that's what make it so bizarre dozy. We all know that we are being harassed because the management have told the staff to do it in order to make extra sales under the disguise of 'excellent customer service'!

We are 'in on the joke' so to speak.

My other bugbear is going into the building society to pay a bill or something and being asked to transfer my current account or mortgage. Because that's a decision you would make in a split second isn't it-without any notice or research? And in front of a queue of people.

I am not doing my job properly if i dont offer you a chocolate orange, if i dont do my job properly i get the sack. Then i cant feed my ds. If i got a pound for every time someone says they are diabetic (for which i then feel awful but how am i supposed to know), fat, got rotting teeth etc etc i could quit work after a week. So instead of making it awkward and worse than it already is, a quick 'No ta' to me, and then aim the rant at my head office would be very nice as it is not my fault.

So all you posters finding sales assistants annoying, do u when u are at work not do what your manager asks you to do or what is in your job description?
Shop workers are working they are not there out of pleasure or for u to be rude too. How would u feel
If any of this was happening to u?

I think we're all in agreement that it's the pressure from Head Office that forces staff to take these actions.

I am just amazed why the senior management at Head Office cannot see how irritating it must be to customers. Surely they go shopping sometimes and must have experienced it themselves

I find them annoying but I'm never rude to them because I know they have been told to do it. It's more awkward than anything freakazoidroid.

I am working in a very nice department store as a Xmas temp amd hoping to be kepton because I desperately need the job so I am working really really hard to do the job right however if we ever miss asking even one customer if they need amy help we get bollocked in the team meeting and managers are constantly watching to see if you are greeting customers .
I know it is annoying and I hate doing it but try to remember we are still human it completely sucks when you ask so
eone if they are ok and they shoot you down with a withering glare or are just plain rude especially when after seven hours of standing on a hard floor being constantly watched by managers it would he nice if people could bring themselves to nicely say no thanks.

And we ask if you have found everything in case there was something you wanted but couldn't find , I have had loads people say to me ooh actually I was looking for x , it a logical question to ask ,and the chat at the till is (on my part at least) trying to make your shopping a bit nicer and the day go a bit quicker.

But asking at the till about whether we have found everything? If we were to say no then the assistant would go off to find it causing lots of tutting in the queue, making everyone crosser.

Don't worry Mrswhiskerson we know that you have to ask.

To balance out any previous negative comments I have made I would just like to commend the staff on the tills at Boots who always remind me of any 3 for 2 offers I may have missed and who wait patiently for me to run around the store getting my "free" item.

I hate upselling but take advantage of staff when they ask if I need help.
Yes I do
Me to teenage boy at Toys R Us -if you 5 would you prefer 2 spiderman dolls or a transformer?
Toyshop teen- (quick as a whip) 2 spidermans. 2 is always better than 1.
Me- O.k which to?
Him- Spiderman and an enemy, so they can fight.
I wouldn't have thought of that.
Also talked the head off a salesgirl at the bodyshop about my 3 cousins (3 sisters) and what to get them all, needs to be the same but different, y'know.
Sales staff can be really helpful if you let them.

Sharney, thanks. We can. It's not always to get money out of you, we want to help and give advice. I enjoy helping my customers. Everyone always seems to hate us for it though.

Had excellent service in Boots last summer. Stood looking at sun cream stuff which seemed to come in 97 varieties, and was approached in just the right way and helped to choose. Then I needed some concealer, now I don't wear make up, and when directed to a very elaborately made up young woman, I feared she would want to upsell something. But clearly realised that concealer was all I would buy. Left feeling that I had actually enjoyed shopping and very impressed :)

in terms of approaching every customer...

'mystery shoppers' come into the store with covert cameras and film us for approximately 20 minutes.

there is a little counter on the bottom of the screen that ticks up for each time the person with the camera is not approached

if we are on 1 video we get told off, the second one starts the diciplinary process -is there any wonder we are 'jumping' on customers

we are also told 'customers before task' but then we get told off for falling behind on task

we all had hours cut earlier this year yet workload and sales targets have gone up

the majority of shopfloor staff are on minimum wage and short time part time hours (8 hr contracts)

senior management (regional) can be on 80k plus but in store 'management' start at about 14k

retail is not a fun place to work at the moment

Workshy - God I thought I had it bad, poor you. In relation to what area managers get paid. My area manager was talking to me about the expense of child care and doing his best to sympathise that it would cost more than what I earn (minimum wage). I thought how nice of him until he complained about how much he had to pay his nanny. Totally agree with retail not being a fun place to work at the moment I used to really love my job.

Sharney - Lovely customers like you make our job bearable, thank you. Even better if your regular customers that we can have a quick natter with. I'm on Mat leave at the moment and really miss some of mine, especially the lovely ladies that gave me a card.

BeaOnSea and Sparklingbrook - In my experience most senior management don't care about much beyond making targets, regardless of how frustrating it is for the rest of us.

freakazoidroid, 2wwmadness, Fireryshy - well put!

As long as the economy is on it's arse this money grabbing customer service will only get worse. For all of you who find sales assistants annoying, don't worry we'll probably be a thing of the past soon, but those self scan things can't recommend a good a .

I used to hate the intrusive welcomes that we got in stores over here (moved to the States 5 years ago). Now though, I am accustomed to it. I was a bit freaked out that any local places like Starbucks and restaurants remember us - even places like Dollar Tree, I can go in there for the first time in months and they'll ask where the kids are... granted I probably stand out for the English accent, but it can be embarrassing. Like once, it was raining and someone pulled over and rolled down their window to offer me a ride - they said my name and everything, but I had absolutely no idea who she was... turned out to be the Barista in Starbucks, where I hadn't been for a drink in weeks!

Can you imagine that in England - getting offered a ride by a Tescos assistant, or having the assistant in a department store you visit maybe twice a year remembering you and telling you not to buy today as there's a special sale next week, I can put it on hold out back till then...

It can be nice...

In terms of up selling, in my case anyway, it's not that I'm up-selling as such. I'm giving people what they asked for but they don't want to pay it.
Me:that product does x,y and z. Is that what your looking for.
Customer:oh, I want it to do a,b And c though.
Me: ok, this one does that
Customer: well you would say thy as its £50 more.
No I say it coz that's what you asked for it to do. If you buy the cheaper one it is a total waste of your money coz it cannot possibly do what you want. There for you come back saying its crap. Lower your expectations or your budget

Oh no dozyrosie don't get me started on self-scan tills! That's a whole other thread

Bit put out at Debenhams - when paying for goods being asked if I wanted to donate to charity as well. Bloody cheeky.

....AND Debenhams are asking me if I want a store card. And I'm thinking yes right - the big queue behind me wouldn't be too pleased if I did.

I usually say to a customer "do you need any help?" and if they say no, I say "oh, that's fine, I just didn't want you to think I was ignoring you!" - then it looks like i'm here if they need me, but i'm not badgering them.

At the moment, getting people through the door seems to be the main obstacle.

The staff in Game tend to pounce when I go in with DS . I must look like a clue-less mum. DS has a detailed, indepth conversation with them about the merits of Halo v Assasins Creed. (He's 12)

My brain slow---ly leaks out of my brain...

Do you know what, I get annoyed with pushy sales assistants and I'm always polite but im sure my "just browsing thanks" does get a bit huffy sometimes, but from now on I will try to remember that it might cost you your job and not be grumpy. It's soo bloody ridiculous that people are forced to do this when they know people hate it! Fricken managers should be shot. And don't get me started on self service tills... Grrr.

Have to praise the staff in both the Fareham and Winchester branches of Waterstones for being helpful, especially the lovely man in Winchester who walked me to the door and gave me directions for where I needed to go next.

I have a Lush technique, in the form of my 5 year old DD. I take her into Lush, sales assistants flock to her, she readily joins in and they take her away to smell 500 bath bombs, I get to look around in peace, 5 year old comes back covered in glitter with a big smile on her face after being shown for the millionth time how the bath bombs work (it makes me smile, because the staff all know her by name at yet they still show her every time!) and I usually buy her the cheapest bath bomb if she has been good looking around the rest of the shops. Everybody is happy!