Annoyance at shops pushing extras/store cards at the till

[Creambun2]

I know this has been going on for ages, but seems to have got worse recently. A cashier in superdrug yesterday asked three times if I would like a store card and was surly when I said no.

Repeat experience in Paperchase - no I just want to purchase this (overpriced) mother's day card and leave and no I don't want stamps or pens too - I'd have asked if I did.

And despite much bad publicity on it WHSmith STILL do all the "do you want this shit chocolate/sweets" every time. I know the people on the till have probably been told to do this, but most (all?) find it annoying and it holds up the line - even their bloody self service machines try and flog haribo and chocolate oranges.

And finally, does anyone else hate the cheery m&s self-service "have you scanned your sparks card!"

The self service tills do??

I don't mind if I'm asked once.

yes the self service tills in wh smith have an extra screen for "specials"

I work in a shop and the pressure to sell cards can be a bit much. Because of the shifts I work quite a lot of customers are fairly regular and have either got one or don't want one. Yadnbu.

Yes, it’s annoying but the staff are targeted on how many extras they sell so are probably worried about losing their job if they don’t push it.

It's annoying but the staff have to do it. They really push it, especially in Superdrug (DH is an area manager for them). They dish out prizes for staff who get the most sign ups and things like that, and they've got targets to beat for their "star buys". It's not the staffs fault.

They did this to MIL when we were in Debenhams. They made it sound like she HAD to get their shitty card. It really confused her and if I hadn't been there I'm pretty sure she'd have signed up!
It happened to me in the post office. In the space of 3 transactions I'd been offered a credit card, insurance and a commission free travel money card. Made me feel old and bitter

A firm but polite 'no thank you' has always worked for me.

I work in retail and we need to ask if you would like to join our mailing list. And offer an additional item. If a mystery shopper came we would loose points if we didn't as we are not doing our job correctly. We know you are pissed off but we gotta do what we gotta do sorry.

Happened to me in the Post Office. I just popped in to get a passport renewal form but you have to queue up and ask for one.

First she told me that they were agents for Jet2. I said I'd already booked a holiday and I usually book travel online, but I had to listen to her patter.

Then she asked if I had travel insurance. I said yes I have a specialist annual policy as I have a chronic illness and I'm happy with it. I still had to listen to their travel insurance offer even though I said their standard insurance won't cover me.

She asked about currency and I said I have a Revolut card that I'm happy with. I still had to listen to their travel money options even though I'm not interested.

Finally, she told me all about the check and send service and wrote the prices down on the envelope.

Including queuing, it took me about 20 minutes just to get a form, then I found out I could have filled it in online - doh!

I emailed WHsmith customer services and they claimed there isn't a directive from "head office" about this and it is down to local management! Probably lies.

Those are all the expensive shops that I never set foot in. Most towns have alternatives. Easy.

Post office is unavoidable but just say no thanks. Clueless managers insist on all this.

I just smile and say I live abroad, so there is no point.

That is a lie from Smiths. I worked there for 3 years and they were so focused on selling those sweets and chocolates. The staff had targets to hit and would be "spoken to" by management if we didn't achieve them. No reward for hitting said targets . I used to hate it, its so awkward for everyone involved. I stopped offering in the end.

Not quite 'selling', but I bought a single card in Card Factory yesterday. It came in its own cellophane wrapper.

Unprompted, the cashier started putting it in a bag. I said, "no thank you, I have a bag - and the card is already wrapped anyway!"

She looked very worried and said "ARE YOU SURE?" like the sky might fall in if I didn't put my plastic wrapped card inside a plastic bag.

She looked very worried and said "ARE YOU SURE?" like the sky might fall in if I didn't put my plastic wrapped card inside a plastic bag.

ShotsFired That’s because the majority of people moan and complain if they don’t get a little bag, even going so far as to write to head office that one wasn’t automatically offered.

As to OP, while it might be annoying for you to have to just say no it is not the staff’s fault; they have to ask. They don’t like it any more than you do, particularly when people are shitty with them about it.

Upselling works, really really well, so nowhere is going to stop doing it. That means you’ll just have to learn to say no politely and not take it out on the staff, or simply don’t go in shops that do it.

Smith's now has crazy staffing policies too - a smallish one I use in a local high street shopping centre has one self-service till and one un-manned conventional till with a door bell if you want to use! The staffing level is ONE women who is trying to tidy shop floor, put out magazines etc and she is always going to the broken self-scan etc She looks worn out and even shitter if management are demanding she hits galaxy choc sales targets.

WhatToDoAboutThis2017

Sorry this is unacceptable from superdrug

Till : "Do you have a store card"

Me: "No"

Till: "Would you like one?"

Me: "No thanks"

Till: "Are you sure, it doesn't take long to sign up"

"Not today"

Till: "Okay, if you don't want to save money....."

Come on, that is beyond "up-selling"

I work in Argos and we get prompts on the till to sell insurance , an Argos card and ask if the customer wants an email copy of their receipt. It can get a bit uncomfortable when you can see the customer just wants to buy their £9.99 MP3 player but we have to ask them questions .
It makes me feel uncomfortable selling them because management make such a fuss if you've sold an Argos card , it's like Christmas ! One manager even said he would run the store on his own the next day and give us all a day off if we hit our Argos card targets that weekend.
It's really not our fault , it's just our job !

It annoys me even more when some sucker actually agrees to sign up for a store card. Yes, I do mind standing in the queue for an extra 10 mins whilst the cashier completes the form with the sucker customer. Yes Argos I'm looking at you.

Just think, as annoying as it is for us as customers, it is much more annoying for the staff who can actually be fired if they don't ask. It's ridiculous.

Definitely a lie from Smiths, I work there and we're certainly targeted and tracked on additional till point sales! If we're not hitting them the store will be named and shamed in weekly regional voice conferences and individual staff members will be spoken to by management. We hate asking as much as you hate being asked, trust me. It's not just chocolate either, we're supposed to push for one 'add on' sale for every transaction, so if you're buying a pen, we're meant to ask if you want refills. If you have a notepad, do you also want a pen? One of the big reasons that I'm trying to leave!

Upselling is a pain, agreed.

My biggest issue with the whole till dance affair, is if they have reason to take my email address for an e-receipt or to load loyalty points on my card, the cashier inevitably says my full address out loud rather than asking me to discreetly confirm it. If you work in Superdrug retail, please stop breaching privacy like this.

I worked in retail, I never wanted to sell store cards but there was a hell of a lot of pressure from above because the managers got a bonus for hitting targets.

I certainly never pushed them inappropriately - I had to deal with one very confused, elderly customer who'd been persuaded to sign up, not realised what it was and was now panicking after having received a statement and then a letter for not paying. This person clearly had some form of cognitive difficulty, possibly dementia and I was furious this had been taken advantage of. I told them to cut up the card and took their cash and went and paid it off for them and raised it as an issue with customer accounts. They didn't give a shit.

Years ago I used to work in retail banking. Yes, we were targeted on -pestering- asking every client (if possible) if they wanted a credit card, a savings account, whatever insurance product, who they had their mortgage with and would they like to take the mortgage/home insurance challenge, do they have plans with this cheque or that money sitting in their savings account etc We had to "produce" x amount of credit cards applications every day, y amount of savings accounts, z number of referrals for loans etc. Not hitting your target meant name and shame and getting into trouble, hitting your targets meant a small amount of money every three months, believe me, not THAT worth the hassle - but only if the WHOLE branch hit the targets, so no pressure, people, no pressure!. Very glad I managed to get out of that job!

Oh, and "no thank you" wan't an acceptable answer to take from the customers, noo, we were meant to "challenge" the reply, turn it around and aim to persuade the customer to take that product he/she didn't want and more than most of the time he/she didn't need.