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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To be pissed off at all the upselling instructions obviously being given out to staff to try to get us to spend more than we need to

76 replies

WorriedBetty · 20/10/2012 04:34

So much 'is that a large one' (Wetherspoons) or 'would you like a drink with your meal' (everywhere) or 'curly fries for an extra 50p yes?' or 'any cakes or pastries?' ) nero's/starbucks etc.

I espcially hate the pretend mishearing:
'A small coffee please' 'Large coffee?' No small one please 'is that a large coffee today' 'NO ITS A FUCKING SMALL COFFEE AND IN A MINUTE I AM WALKING OUT' 'mug or a cup for your small coffee madam?' 'If its in mug is it a large coffee?' 'Yes..any cakes or pastries today?' 'No, just a small coffee.. in a cup please'.

OP posts:

zombieplanmum · 20/10/2012 10:34

You would have received a whole lot more sympathy here OP, if you had not described the person doing their job as the "fuck behind the till". You sound like a bit of an idiot tbh.

I get irritated by upselling because sometimes i fall for it - any cake? errr, well i wasn't going to but oh well, they do look nice, ok then. Double up for a pound, well i wasn't going to because i drink too much as it is but well, its only a pound isnt it. But its not the PERSON behind the tills fault, its their FUCK of an employers greed.

McKayz · 20/10/2012 10:37

I don't think it is the person behind the tills fault or the companies fault. If you don't want cake say "No thank you" or "Oh yes I will have some cake please"

Not rocket science.

EmpressOfTheSevenScreams · 20/10/2012 10:42

I used to mystery shop and had to mark people down if they didn't try to upsell, so not their fault but yes, annoying. I just go into broken record mode. 'No thanks. No thanks. No thanks.'

zombieplanmum · 20/10/2012 10:46

No it isn't rocket science at all, its pyschology and i don't like mine messed with. I'm pretty indecisive, i may have decided not to have a cake that day (a RARE occurrence of course) because i don't think i should have one for whatever reason, i might be short of cash, i might be thinking i've troughed enough that day but i might actually quite fancy the cake but decided to not have it. Without the upselling i wouldnt have the cake, but the upselling tips me over the edge. If i definately don't want the cake, then i simply say no thankyou but its the times im indecisive that the upselling "helps" me with my decision, i believe this is wrong.

A place it particularly annoys me is Nandos, this is a new phenomenon. I like nandos, its cheap (ish). I have a meal platter and olives, but now up to four times during a meal i will be asked if i want garlic bread, more chicken any sides? Errr, i go to nandos because I want to pay when i order and get the fuck out of there as soon as i've eaten, i then have to wait for a bill if any of my party decides that they really did want the garlic bread that inevitably ends up being desert as it never comes before you finish your meal.

StuntGirl · 20/10/2012 10:47

I wouldn't say ice has a taste betty

I have never come across the situations you have described. Staff pushing the offer, yes. But I've never had the problems you seem to and if I did I'd vote with my feet.

Incidentally not all retail staff get bonuses/etc for pushing this shite. I used to work for a high street retailer where you will be bombarded with questions when you get to the till. Loyalty schemes, offers, add ons and pre ordering products as a minimum. It's 'the job' and you must follow the script or face disciplinary action. The staff receive no bonus/reward or any kind no matter how successful they are. The company are of the feeling a job and minimum wage are reward enough!

zombieplanmum · 20/10/2012 10:53

Oh and don't get me started on insurance companies - im skint right, i need the CHEAPEST insurance i can possibly get. So i go compare the confused fucking meerkat (because im sucked in by their free meerkat toy promotion and my dd is constantly nagging me for them and im a weak consumer!) So i do the online thing, i say no to the extra super barrister should i need legal assistance (why does this not come as standard?) I say no i dont want insurance against bird shit on my car etc etc. Think, hmm, ok thats reasonable - click to buy. Then I get to the company website - its like, £100 more than what the meerkat told me it would be! Why is this, because they have just assumed i want the anti bird shit insurance and super barrister legal assistance, so no thankyou ticked again. No problem. BUT then you get a phone call from the company - are you absolutely sure you can live without this insurance, what if you cause death by dangerous driving, you will be sued for millions of pounds, err no i wont because i drive sensibly thankyou very much, and really, if a bird shits on my car i'll be pised off but i'll take my chances ok. But these people are trained to push and push and push - its a nightmare, they are just doing their job, one that puts them under extreme pressure, i am never (almost never) rude to them and just resort to telling them i want the minimum cover for the car to drive legally because im so rich that these things are mere triffle to me and i'd quite fancy the idea of representing myself in court, it would be like judge judy or summit. Usually works :)

GoSakuramachi · 20/10/2012 10:54

If you can't say no when someone offers you something, thats your fault, not theirs.

zombieplanmum · 20/10/2012 10:58

There was a fantastic sketch about this on "smack the pony" the poor waitress was being trained to ask the customers if they "want a lil dessert" but it had to be said in a particular sultry manner, made her sound either demented or like she had just had a tooth out, it was very funny.

MoreBeta · 20/10/2012 10:58

WorriedBetty - "Would you like some cosmetic surgery with your angioplasty madam?"

That actually did happen to a friend of mine. She was in a private hospital for a ceasarian and the consulatant asked her if she wanted liposuction included in teh operation 'to get the baby weight off'. She was livid and he then went on to explain that it was quite normal for 'stars and TV personalities' to have this done. That surely is upselling getting close to an unethical level if I ever I saw it.

The whole 'upselling' business in shops just gets my wick. It really is not necessary and am sick of it. I know what I want to buy and I know when I am being upsold. I know staff are forced to do it but it is the whole cynicism at the top of business that annoys me.

I know how business works, I use to lecture in various business schools and I now invest in businesses for a living and really the best businesses do NOT annoy their customers. If a business is overbearing and pushy in its upselling it is usually in trouble and gouging customers for short term gain. It is not a good long term strategy to annoy your loyal customers.

lubeybooby · 20/10/2012 11:01

I must be a retail upsellers dream. I tend to want the large version with the curly fries and the pastry and the cheap chocolate etc etc. If I ever don't all it takes is a no thank you.

The only place they can't ever upsell me anything is in the bank. They hate me.

MoreBeta · 20/10/2012 11:05

If anyone tries to push chocolate, snack products, sweets at you when you are at the till my advice is say the following.

"Oh no, I have a serious allergy and may need an ambulance if I eat the wrong thing."

That shuts them up instantly as the potential law suit that would follow is certainly a lot more costly than the profit on a bag of sweets.

Alisvolatpropiis · 20/10/2012 11:11

YABU - it's always gone on. It's really nothing to get so angry about.

Original poster

WorriedBetty · 20/10/2012 18:56

It was not happening as much 6 months ago, that's what's added to my annoyance. Business is in trouble.. who can we screw the most?

I think that making staff feel uncomfortable for doing it is fine. good employees will leave and the co will be left with the bad workers who steal and are lazy who make sensible economic decisions. To mirror what some people say here about businesses - staff are there to make money out of the business. So good luck to the ones who steal from businesses - especially ones that steal from us - the ones who don't pay tax or who try to con us into paying them for services they aren't delievering or didn't say they would deliver.

If they want to be adversarial and their attitude is 'you are a fool if you let us get away with it' then surely ours should be the same towards them. You should get the customers and staff you deserve.

OP posts:

alexbuxton2 · 13/12/2012 11:19

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by Mumsnet for breaking our Talk Guidelines. Replies may also be deleted.

JockTamsonsBairns · 13/12/2012 11:38

"Some fuck at the till" - have you really just said that? Jeez, what an awful way to describe someone who's doing their job in the way their employer insists it is done. I have the utmost respect for retail staff and those working in the service industries, usually on minimum wage and working in pretty shoddy conditions. Save your ire for the company bosses, and don't be so insulting to those on the shop floor.

Gillyweed001 · 13/12/2012 12:15

YANBU. I was in sports direct the other day, and bought some shoes. At the till was asked did I want a big bag. I said sure. She then scanned it, and tried to charge me .69p for it! I know its not a lot, but you can't offer something, but not tell you its going to cost you. When I asked her to take it off, she then begged me to leave it on, as she had a target to reach! Sorry, not my problem!

5Foot5 · 13/12/2012 13:29

YABU to get so worked up about this. A simple "No thank you" works every time for me.

samithesausage · 13/12/2012 14:57

Was at my phone store renewing my contract and they scanned something and dropped it in my bag. "We've just given you an extra sim with a free 3 month contract... Now let's take down your particulars blah blah blah". Then I ended up arguing with her that I didn't want another sim/contract and that I had a spare pay as you go phone...eventually she took it out and off the bill... (May of been because I was the size of a whale and really hormonal with ds3)

Pandemoniaa · 13/12/2012 15:10

some fuck at the till

That's where I lost any sympathy. Sure, constant up selling is irritating but guess what? You only have to say "no thanks" not get yourself into a blood-boiling, choleric and insulting rage. Because "some fuck" is probably no happier having to up sell than you are to be on the receiving end.

FunnysFuckingFreezing · 13/12/2012 15:14

what annoys me is when you buy something vaguely luxuryish and the sales assistant tells you how lovely what you are buying is. To start with I'd be quite flattered and then suddenly everyone was doing it and now I just feel patronised and irritated. Stop it. I am buying it anyway, I don't need extra bollocks with my purchase.

FivesGoldNorks · 13/12/2012 15:16

Old thread bumped by media person, people

complexnumber · 13/12/2012 15:19

Even theToby carvery are in on the act now

Bloomin' heck, lock up your daughters and close the curtains!

moondog · 13/12/2012 15:25

WorriedBetty.
You are me.
Love it.
God, we would get on soooo well.

FunnysFuckingFreezing · 13/12/2012 15:27

so it is Fives gets me every time!

moondog · 13/12/2012 15:27

On that note, have decided never to buy wine in Majestic again as they hassle you for your bloody address every time.

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