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Original poster

To have wanted to throttle this shop assistant?

105 replies

hyperhypermum · 18/12/2016 19:33

DD & I went to the toy department of a local department store to look for a gift for her cousin. We'd been there a couple of minutes and were happily browsing the shelves of possible gifts when an assistant came up & asked if we needed any help.

Me : No, thank you very much.
Her What are you looking for?
Me: A gift for my niece.
Her: How old is she?
Me: 8
Her: (holding up something quite unsuitable). What about this?
Me/DD: Er, no.
Her: What does she like doing?
Me: Lots of things, we'll know the right thing when we see it.
Her: Well, what about this? Or this? (following us and holding up more things that were not particularly enthralling)
Me: (a bit curt, but polite). Look, I think it's best if we just look ourselves.

We then moved swiftly to another aisle. She followed from a distance and continued to hover. It made me feel really uncomfortable. Thankfully, some young girls came along who seemed more grateful for her "help"so we were able to finish our shopping in peace.

I'm all for a bit of customer service and get that she was probably told to actively help customers and generate sales, but fgs?!? I think if she'd persisted any more I might have exploded!

OP posts:
DesolateWaist · 18/12/2016 23:33

I think if the customer has made it quite clear that they don't need any help, the assistant should stop.

They'd love to, but they aren't allowed to.

As for the idea that head office should come and work in a store........When I worked for Vision Express then used to do just that. As far as I remember they would pick a random store, send all the staff home for a week, and take it over.

pictish · 18/12/2016 23:41

I'm never rude. I know retail staff are made to do it.
Just hate it though. The hard sell. Like I'm being played every time I set foot in a shop.

ImNotDancing · 18/12/2016 23:44

the problem is, the less you buy the worse they'll be because they'll be told to amp it up and try harder

KingJoffreysRestingCuntface · 19/12/2016 00:51

David Attenborough could do a program on it.

About how retail staff stalk and hunt shoppers. Have a behavioural psychologist as his co-host.

Might be interesting. I'd watch it.

I was going to venture into town in the morning but have chickened out due to this thread and ordered the last bits online with express delivery.

haveacupoftea · 19/12/2016 01:04

I used to work in a little country shop that sold gifty and home things, think Emma Bridgewater and Cath Kidson. The owners actually had sales targets printed out and stuck on the wall Hmm and made the staff follow customers around, which was incredibly strange in a little shop like that, and a lot of people walked straight out when they realised they weren't going to be left alone.

kali110 · 19/12/2016 01:09

Yabvvvu.
Staff have no choice.
You can moan but it won't change anything( except the staff will get moaned at).
I guarantee the staff are bloody sick of it too but it's worse than being moaned at by bosses and the threat of loosing their job.

puddingbunny · 19/12/2016 01:17

Email the manager with a link to this thread. Customers don't appreciate being pestered and their business will suffer long-term if this policy continues, not to mention the trouble they will have hanging on to staff.

QueenLizIII · 19/12/2016 01:48

I used to work in a Haagen Daaz cafe, the list of things we had to ask customers was a joke. Suggest other items to them, etc etc. Almost everyone said no. I didnt want to ask them all these things, we had to, we had bloody mystery shoppers every month and you never knew the minute and there was hell to pay if we got a bad report.

A dept store is different though I would have thought.

I agree pushy salesmanship makes me less likely to buy anything.

toffee1000 · 19/12/2016 02:14

I've never actually had a problem in Body Shop. They do the usual "are you OK?" and I just go "yeah just looking" and they seem to bugger off...

DesolateWaist · 19/12/2016 08:03

I going to go against the grain here.

I like the attention in Lush. I don't mind talking to staff.
However I was pissed off when twice in the last couple of weeks I have gone into John Lewis wanting to buy things and have been resoundingly ignored. Staff members strolling about or having chats but no one coming to help.

Itisnoteasybeingdifferent · 19/12/2016 08:17

If a sales assistant persists I have taking to replying ...

Yes.. please stand in the corner and wait until I come and ask for help.

LiviaDrusillaAugusta · 19/12/2016 08:44

If a sales assistant persists I have taking to replying ...

Yes.. please stand in the corner and wait until I come and ask for help.

Wow. Nothing like making a (probably badly paid) retail worker feel like shit for doing what they have been told to do. Do you snap your fingers at them when you want to ask them something? Hmm

WilburIsSomePig · 19/12/2016 08:59

I also hate this, but I know that they're just doing their job. I don't 'feel like throttling' anyone over it, it's just someone trying to earn their wage. I can't get worked up about that.

pictish · 19/12/2016 09:02

"Yes.. please stand in the corner and wait until I come and ask for help."

Yeah...you don't say that to shop assistants really, do you? Because if you do that would make you an utter dick.

I can get worked up about it, but only in my head. I can't stand being pestered by sales staff...it's one of my pet peeves. I'm never rude, always pleasant and gracious. It's in my head I'm thinking 'please fuck off'.

RufusTheSpartacusReindeer · 19/12/2016 11:39

My shop is lovely

No pressure at all, we say hello and if it looks like you might need help we will ask and if the answer is no we leave them alone

I am quite lazy so i have no interest in stalking anyone Grin

Luckily for me i only work 8 hours a week so if someone said

"Yes.. please stand in the corner and wait until I come and ask for help."

I would be quite happy to tell them to go and fuck themselves Grin

DailyFail1 · 19/12/2016 12:49

I've never experienced this. Maybe you looked like shop lifters?

YelloDraw · 19/12/2016 13:11

When I worked in a shop we had to ask an open question of every customer! Fucking nightmare. Were not allowed to ask anything that could be answered in one work like yes/no or fine. So you couldn't say "hi, let me know if you need anything" or "hi, how are you today?" or "hi, are you looking for anything in particular" or "hi, would you like any help?"

Hated having to be really intrusive and ask stuff like "what are you looking for"

YelloDraw · 19/12/2016 13:12

*If a sales assistant persists I have taking to replying ...

Yes.. please stand in the corner and wait until I come and ask for help.*

Go and sand in the corner? Really?!?!?!?!
What is wrong wit saying "thanks, i'll let you know if I need anything"???

AllTheBabies · 19/12/2016 13:17

I work in a shop and we are meant to approach every customer. If someone told me to go and stand in a corner it would be up there with the rudest things said to me (and after 15 years in retail there has been a lot of rude).

PatMullins · 19/12/2016 13:28

I worked in a departmen store a good few years ago and although I was supposed to do all the annoying sales patter...I just didn't!

I suffer with anxiety so just couldn't do it, luckily I flew under the radar as no-one noticed.

I am acutely aware the staff don't want to pester customers but it doesn't make it any less irritating

PatMullins · 19/12/2016 13:30

Oh and if you'd told me to stand in the corner and wait for you, I'd have quite happily told you to fuck yourself Xmas Smile

CoraPirbright · 19/12/2016 13:34

I dont even approach the Benefit counters anymore. Just bog off and let me browse in peace will you?!

SomewhatIdiosyncratic · 19/12/2016 13:45

I worked for a shop that sold trinkets and pierced ears many years ago. I hated all the hounding and add ons that we were expected to do. I certainly find it counterproductive when I'm shopping.

You need little enquiry stations so it's easy to find an assistant when you do need one, and that would have stock information should it be required.

Although I was in New Look a couple of weeks ago, trying on party shoes. I'd selected the best pair and left them on my feet while I returned the 4 redundant pairs to their shelves. A lady comes up and asks where menswear is and I replied "no idea" as my briaain wasn't engaged and she gave me a dirty look. I realised after that she thought I was an assistant, despite my wild hair, lack of make up and ancient jeans. Unfortunately the genuine assistants were also wearing black tops, jeand and high heels Blush

kali110 · 19/12/2016 17:12

Stand in the corner?
How rude can someone be??
My god how nice of you to even speak to the shop assistants at all Hmm
Wonder why i don't work retail anymore, this is why.
pat let's hope it'snoteasy speaks to you one day Grin

MrsTrentReznor · 19/12/2016 17:34

I think to be honest, there's a bit of keyboard bravado going on there. (The stand in the corner thing)
I worked in retail for years, I had some shocking things happen, but nothing has ever come close to that rudeness, and I've been threatened, had a thief tear things out of my hands, been told they'll get me sacked, caught people committing cheque fraud, told heroin dealers to fuck off out of the car park... Hmm
No-one ever had the balls to tell me to stand in the corner and wait. (Or words to that effect) it's easy to say you'd do that when there isn't a person standing in front of you.
Some people try to pull the superior, finger click crap. Generally only on the kids that don't have the experience to deal with twats yet. It's pathetic. We talk about you when you leave.
If you treat us badly, Trust me, you have been given a really fucking unflattering nickname or just called a straightforward cunt.
Oh, and your complaints get pushed to the bottom of the pile if you're an arse too.
If you treat restaurant staff like that I dread to think what you've ingested over the years! Grin