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Original poster

To be tired of being asked so many questions for even small things in shops?

169 replies

Iris65 · 19/01/2017 20:40

I went to ask for a passport renewal form and was subjected to a three minute sales pitch about check and send. When I said no thank you I was asked where I was going on holiday and when, then they tried to sell me travel insurance. I went through the same 5 minute ordeal to post my passport form the next day.
In a department store every time I buy anything I am asked whether I want a store card, what my name and address is, whether I want to give my email for offers advance notice of shopping.
When I buy painkillers form the chemist they give me a three minute speil asking whether I take other medicine, telling me how often I to take them and other advice. Then they ask for me email to send me offers.....
I appreciate that in the chemist they have to give the info and it's fine. I just say 'OK, thank you.' But when did it become OK for every purchase to involve dealing with long sales pitches and dealing with requests for personal information.
I had one assistant ask for personal information saying 'It's not sensitive' and following it up with wanting my name, address, phone number, which bank I used - including sort code and account number! I told her it certainly was sensitive and walked away.

OP posts:
HookandSwan · 20/01/2017 13:22

I hate now how they waste 10' minutes going on about raiting their service online.

sobeyondthehills · 20/01/2017 13:22

*If whsmiths piss off six in seven customers who don't want to be pushed to buy chocolate they very soon won't be trading!

What proportion of customers buy extra chocolate because the sales assistant offered it? What proportion are irritated and avoid returning?*

They have been offering these damn things for around 10 years and still going.

Also I have not found anywhere that this was actually true with regards to Woolworths, just something that was said to convince staff (at the start to do it)

HookandSwan · 20/01/2017 13:27

My goodness they even push extra food on the self serve checkout!! Would you like a bottle of water to accompany your reading book.? Nope

myfavouritecolourispurple · 20/01/2017 13:28

When I've complained to retail staff about things, they've just said it's not worth complaining to them and to contact head office.

So why, exactly, will retail head offices not take feedback from their staff on the ground? What's the point of employing people if you don't take any notice of their experiences day to day? I think some of their head office staff need to get out of their ivory towers and spend some time in the actual shops (the same could apply to the people who run rail companies).

GlitteryFluff · 20/01/2017 13:56

Oh yes we have to tell customers about the surgery too...

IsadoraQuagmire · 20/01/2017 14:47

I've never been asked for my postcode in a clothes shop, I feel slighted! Confused

spaXXlappazz · 20/01/2017 14:57

It's annoying but the salesperson is forced to do it - it's part of their job and they will be picked up on it if they don't try to upsell. Just be polite, say no thanks, be firm and show no interest. The fact is that shops insist on their staff trying to upsell precisely because some people will fall for it. If you throw enough darts at a dartboard, eventually you'll get a bullseye.

My personal favourite was when I bought my laptop. After listening to the salesman exulting the power and performance of the one that I had chosen (presumably, because it was expensive), he then proceeded to tell me about how I would be taking a massive risk in not taking out insurance with them - effectively telling me the laptop I was about to buy was unreliable and likely to breakdown the moment I took it out of the store!

"Doublethink", I think Orwell called it...

Ilovetorrentialrain · 20/01/2017 15:51

Selfridges and Gap are the worst for it I've noticed.

RhubarbGin · 20/01/2017 15:59

If I'm asked for a postcode I always use SW1A 1AA - its Buckingham Palace! SW1A 2AA is good too, that's 10 Downing Street.

maggiethemagpie · 20/01/2017 16:02

With the exception of medical information to the chemist you don't have to tell them anything.

If I'm ever asked for my email address when making a purchase I just say no thank you.

I've never been hassled further.

Butteredpars1ps · 20/01/2017 16:03

Oh yes we have to tell customers about the surgery too...

Sorry, this has got my imagination going. ^would you like to sign
Up for breast augmentation with that bikini Mrs Parsnips? We have got a special BOGOF offer^

Ilovetorrentialrain · 20/01/2017 16:12

RhubarbGin very good.

littleme2017 · 20/01/2017 16:13

I understand they have to do it but yes, its annoying and tiresome.

I've been given a few Hmm looks by shop assistants when I've told them I don't have an email address for my receipt. The truth is I do have an email address, I just don't wanna spend several more minutes in the shop spelling out my name..

wheatchief · 20/01/2017 16:21

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

scaryteacher · 20/01/2017 19:12

I topped up my PAYG phone credit online yesterday, and had to input all my details including my date and place of birth. Had I done this in a shop, I would have had to provide my ID card, as security has been tightened, and it is no longer possible in Belgium to have an anonymous PAYG phone.

formerbabe · 20/01/2017 19:16

I have been asked my postcode whilst buying things. I just say no. You don't HAVE to give it to them. Why are you going along with it? I love refusing to give it to them...They look quite shocked!

formerbabe · 20/01/2017 19:20

Oh and I don't mind giving my postcode for a refund... That has always been fine by me. I certainly won't give it though if I'm buying clothes or shoes.

Shop assistant:. "can I just take your postcode?'

Me: "No"

junglie · 20/01/2017 19:39

I have a part time job in a high street clothes shop. The pressure to sell random crap by the till is awful. We have to greet customers when they come in, follow it up with "do you need any help?" Then ask if they found everything they wanted. Add that to the "do you need a carrier bag" and explain the 5p charge and it feels like an interrogation. So I apologise to you all.
Refunds we ask for telephone number, email and postcode. It's really nosey! I loathe every time I have to ask but it's all done by computer with boxes to fill in.
What I'd like to do is leave you to browse, make up your own mind and feel comfortable to take your time without feeling watched or pestered! But we can't, we are threatened with 'mystery shoppers' all the time.

I'm fairly new to retail and I'm shocked at how pressured it is.
Even worse is this doors open policy. Come wind, rain or shine the doors are open so we can heat the pavement outside and who pays for the privilege? We do in the long run. Seems nuts to me.

GlitteryFluff · 20/01/2017 20:39

Haha oopsy I mean survey
Though offering surgery would spice up my day!

lyricaldancer · 21/01/2017 00:12

I have been asked my postcode whilst buying things. I just say no. You don't HAVE to give it to them. Why are you going along with it? I love refusing to give it to them...They look quite shocked!

Agree. Though I always feel like a Victor Meldrew whenever I do this sort of thing, which is -always often. Glad to read some like minded people here do similar.

maddiemookins16mum · 21/01/2017 00:18

We are women trying to hold down £7.40 an hour jobs by the way. We hate it too.

Zafodbeeblbrox10 · 21/01/2017 00:57

What about doctors surgeries when the receptionist will ask the nature of your visit, in front of a queue of people? Pointless anyway, considering they aren't medically trained personnel.
Yes, banks aswell, the new informal counters where you are cordially invited to chat about shit. Very intrusive nowadays.

SugarLoveHeart · 21/01/2017 01:22

Sounds awful, junglie. Worked in retail years ago & it was nothing like that. The way you describe a customer being able to walk at leisure, enjoying a browse, is what we used to aim for. Make eye contact, say hello, stand back until the customer needs you. Working in a shop is hard enough without all of the extra pressure you've mentioned.

The thing I hate the most in shops is when department stores have a booming voice coming over the tannoy telling me what to buy. Shut up! Must drive the staff crazy...

HopelesslydevotedtoGu · 21/01/2017 06:36

As a teenage Saturday sales girl I had to stand in front of entrance and say hello to every customer entering. I personally find this bloody irritating as a shopper, so it was embarrassing.

What really annoyed me was that if a customer then asked for help finding something I wasn't allowed to leave my point to show them! So a lady asked where the belts were and I walked her to them, she was grateful, but my manager then told me off for not being at the door greeting people.

I love it in Waitrose when the employees will show you where something is rather than say "aisle 14", to me that is useful customer service. Greeting people at the door isn't.

HopelesslydevotedtoGu · 21/01/2017 06:42

My manager also said that I could intercept shoplifters at the front door. As a shy tiny 15 year old there was no way I would be confronting or chasing any shoplifters!

She also put the leather coats close to the entrance to catch peoples eye, but then they all had to be security tagged to stop people stealing them; the security tags left little holes in the leather and the wiring was too short to attach them discreetly to the cuffs, so no one wanted to buy expensive jackets with a hole in the middle of the back! Completely daft.