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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to walk out of the shop

126 replies

loveareadingthanks · 06/03/2015 14:04

Popped into Savers, cheap chemist/toiletries chain shop, in my lunchhour to buy a tube of toothpaste. queue at till (one queue, 2 servers). One server took ages with the person they were serving - picked up perfume pack and tried to sell it to her for mothers day 'this is on special offer, wouldn't it be a lovely present for mothers day' when the customer said no she kept on about it being a good mothers day present. Then she gave up, picked up another gift pack and tried to sell her that. Eventually just processed the items the customer had brought to the till. The other server wasn't doing any of this stuff, just ringing up the customers purchases.

So...I end up getting her as well. She started. She picked up item one, started talking and I interrupted her politely with 'no thank you'. She picked up item 2, started talking, I interrupted her politely with 'no thank you'. and thought ok, now she'll serve me. Well, she then picked up a third item and got as far as 'would you be interested in...' and I just walked off. As I got to the door she sort of shouted in a cross way at me 'Excuse Me! and waved my toothpaste at me 'Your toothpaste'. So I said I hadn't come in to be told to buy this that and the other, I'd just wanted toothpaste, and now I was going somewhere else. She looked like this Angry. The other customers in the queue looked like this Shock.

YABU or YANBU?

OP posts:
ToastyFingers · 06/03/2015 14:43

To the previous poster who mentions co-op staff not opening a new till,
The co-op impose quite strict quotas on their floor staff, if they're stacking the shelves they have to keep on Target and stack as many cases as possible for fear of disciplinary action,
If there needs to be another till opened, try asking at the kiosk and someone appropriate will probably be called to help you.

EmpressOfJurisfiction · 06/03/2015 14:43

I used to do mystery shopping and the criteria would nearly always involve upselling something or other. I felt really sorry for the poor sods who were having to do it.

Original poster
loveareadingthanks · 06/03/2015 14:47

I don't mind normal polite upselling but this lady seemed to think she was presenting on the shopping channel!

OP posts:
ifdaryldiesweriot · 06/03/2015 14:49

Smiths is even worse now. They have people trying to sign you up to donate to charity at the exit.

I told one man, "no I'm really sorry but I'm on my way to meet someone". He replied - "yeah you're on you way to see me Wink"

Oh puh-lease Hmm

I don't think YWBU. Third time trying to sell you something is rather taking the piss.

ifdaryldiesweriot · 06/03/2015 14:49

The co-op impose quite strict quotas on their floor staff, if they're stacking the shelves they have to keep on Target and stack as many cases as possible for fear of disciplinary action

Do you work there?

Because I did and that was never the policy.

Rollonpayday · 06/03/2015 14:50

How annoying! Good for you! Not unreasonable at all.

TruJay · 06/03/2015 14:53

I used to work in Superdrug "can I get you any top up or stamps?" was the phrase I used the most in my day to day life for the 3 years I worked there.
It is bloody annoying being asked but not half as annoying as doing the asking and getting the looks and abuse from customers for just doing your job. We had to ask as our quota was monitored and we would get a huge bollocking if we didn't do enough.
Some days I could sell upwards of £600 over days only £10!
I loved it when I no longer had to use that sentence!
I don't think YWBU though as you politely said "no thank you" several times and the cashier should have just accepted that.

26Point2Miles · 06/03/2015 14:58

you hung around long enough to check out everyones reactions to your little drama?

ImperialBlether · 06/03/2015 14:59

I did the same in PC World and complained to the manager about the guy, too. "Oh so you don't care if you get a virus on your laptop?" etc - I found it really infuriating I couldn't just buy the bloody thing.

perpetua72 · 06/03/2015 15:00

"Poor lady" my arse - if they don't like having to upsell, get another job!

You were right to walk out. Voting with your feet and denting their profits is the only way to stop this kind of crap.

LadySybilLikesSloeGin · 06/03/2015 15:02

"Poor lady" my arse - if they don't like having to upsell, get another job!

Seriously? Maybe this was the only job they could get. I doubt anyone works in a shop for minimum wage through choice.

ifdaryldiesweriot · 06/03/2015 15:05

you hung around long enough to check out everyones reactions to your little drama?

I'm assuming the OP saw the reaction when she turned around after the woman shouted after her?

I don't think she was stood at the entrance eating popcorn.

seaoflove · 06/03/2015 15:07

I hate this trend of pushy upselling. It would have really pissed me off too, but honestly, it's not the cashier's fault because they're just acting on orders (and may well have targets to meet and supervisors hassling them constantly - Clarks did this to my teenage brother at his Saturday job). I wouldn't have flounced out and made a scene either.

fredfredgeorgejnr · 06/03/2015 15:13

It doesn't matter if it's not the cashiers fault, the only way to change the behaviour is to punish it - punshing the store is losing the sale, nothing else is a punishment.

If you waste some more management time aswell by complaining then yes you get a bonus too, although that costs even more of yours.

sebsmummy1 · 06/03/2015 15:17

I love the fact you walked out. I nearly marched out of B&Q the other day because the woman was intent on telling me the ways I couldn't leave the shop with my bulky goods, ie you cannot use the basket and you cannot use the trolley and then said she did have 'small' bags at 5p each. You wouldn't think 5p bags would give me the irrational rage but somehow the way she said it made me see red. I did however manage to still purchase the goods and get then to the car precariously balanced on top of each other, in my handbag, in my
pockets etc etc.

So I feel your pain and YANBU.

spudlikeschips · 06/03/2015 15:19

I work in retail (not for this particular company) and although I dont think YABU, I think you were a little unfair to walk out on this women. Most retail stores give the staff upselling targets, for some of us these targets can determine whether we remain employed each year, so with this in mind it can become understandable that staff can be a bit pushy.
Its hard to work out whether someone is open to upsell, personally I avoid anyone I believe to be on lunch breaks, but it can go against you for not trying (as can a complaint from a customer for trying!) It's a bit of a damned if you do and a damned if you don't situation.
This women was a bit over the top and I would have been annoyed in your shoes hence the YANBU but I think a bit of understanding would have made both your days a bit better. As for the voting with your feet, I'm not sure that would work as most of the upselling requests come from managment who do not work within the stores, so they don't see the results. Lower sales tend to force more upselling in my experience.

Original poster
loveareadingthanks · 06/03/2015 15:24

People are reading a lot into this. No drama, no flouncing, no big thing. I just calmly turned round and walked to the exit instead of listening to sales spiel no. 3.

If this is drama, the server caused it by shouting after me.

OP posts:
rinabean · 06/03/2015 15:26

ofc yanbu. You don't owe anything to that woman or that shop. They don't DESERVE your custom. They were wasting your time, why reward them for that?

Notso · 06/03/2015 15:29

I don't know about toastyfingers but Mum works in the co-op ifdaryldiesweriot and has been told by her manager that if she's on shelf stacking that's where she stays even if the queue is out of the door.

ragged · 06/03/2015 15:33

I walked out of a Smiths the other day...
Self service encouraged me to buy some chocolate eggs, but eggs would not scan. So I wandered to real-person till with 2 people in queue.
I was waiting for Dd to finish shopping, no hurry.

Customer 1 finished purchasing quick enough.

Customer 2 looked like a drug user (my brothers are druggies) and was buying scratch cards & lottery tickets which she proceeded to scratch off slowly & fill in at the till. I opened my (already purchased) soda & drank about half. After a long while I asked if I could just leave a quid for my 2 chockie eggs while she kept scratching... but no. Had to wait until they could put thru till and that was sometime after the scratcher finished scratching.

Decided my teeth didn't need any more sugar, put eggs back & wandered off.

fridgepants · 06/03/2015 15:36

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the user's request.

Brandysnapper · 06/03/2015 15:40

I think it is awful to sell something "for Mother's Day", to people who haven't asked for it, and may not have a mother. The displays in shops can be upsetting enough for the bereaved!

Original poster
loveareadingthanks · 06/03/2015 15:40

I just make something up when they do that.

OP posts:
CunningCat · 06/03/2015 15:41

I sometimes do this especially when I've got pmtSmile

Original poster
loveareadingthanks · 06/03/2015 15:41

Brandysnapper, that's a good point.

OP posts: