To not want people selling things to me when I go shopping

[DaniEvans]

Is it just me or does anyone here get cross with various sales people loitering in supermarket foyers trying to sell something?

If I want RAC cover or a new mobile phone contract then I can go and sort that out myself - I don’t want someone telling me what I need or should have when I pop to the shops!

Someone earlier trying to get me to sponsor a pet, then in another shop just as the RAC person was about to pounce I said ‘no thank you’ with a big smile.

I think what baffles me the most is it must be effective because otherwise sales people wouldn’t be there?

AIBU to get increasingly cross because I feel harassed by people trying to sell me stuff I don’t want when I go shopping?

DP is horrified every time he's with me and I'm offered a discount if I take a store card. I say "I'd love one but unfortunately I'm credit blacklisted." I'm not but by God, it's a conversation killer. 😁

I'm showing my age here but I ran the gauntlet of about 5 different sellers / charity people whilst shopping yesterday, all in one area and I wanted to do what Captain Kramer did in Airplane when he walks through the airport!

Waiting for a friend at the train station the other day, and was approached by 5 or 6 chuggers. Lost my patience at one point and said "no" when one tried to strike up a conversation with my toddler. He was quite offended, and tried to insist he wasn't trying to sell me anything. Yeah right.

What I say to credit card hawkers is "I am under the age of 18" surely it's illegal for them to give one to under 18s. I am 43 with a head of silver hair, I'll be pulling that one when I am 70

I won’t go back to monsoon after an annoying experience there. Popped in to look at kids rucksacks.

Annoying loitering staff member pounced while I was browsing and asked a million questions in the space of a couple of minutes (can I help, these are on 3 for 2, this one’s nice, have you got a store card, would you like a store card, extra discount today only blah blah blah) while I went from polite ‘no’ to irritated ‘no’ to holding up my hand and saying ‘I’m not buying anything now’ and walking out all frustrated and angry.

Just pick up on your customers body language and let them look at your stock FFS!

@Bananalanacake I say this. Im quite clearly not. But the look of confusion slash not wanting to question you. Buys enough time for you to walk by.

Or my other fave is. I dont have abank account. Works everytime as convo killer.

I see I am not alone in my grumpiness at the store card flogging! When will the big retailers twig that if they want us to get off our bums and into their stores and spending our money there instead of online they will have to back the fuck off?? And make it a pleasant experience??

Can I add not wanting to give my postcode or email when I buy?

Really annoying. Last time I was in Brantano the poor lad on the till looked shocked when I said I didnt want to give my postcode, then said he didn’t know how to make the transaction go through the till without it so I left.
No wonder they are closed now

I agree Yousee. It's the reason I stopped shopping at Debenhams.

So when you go to buy things you dont want people to try and sell you things? Maybe you also hate it when shops put things you like but dont really need near to the things you do need. Perhaps you could boycott these shops or just grow up and if you dont want something say no!

We don’t have to grow up or grow down or do anything at all. Retailers need to stop hounding and pestering their customers. They need our money more than we need their stuff. This is adapt or die time for the high street. Nobody wants to spend 2 minutes repeatedly saying “no” to a store card as the cashier makes her way through every sound bite from the mornings team meeting - and nobody has to.

As a fundraiser I hate that kind of fundraising, however...it works. You may not want to sponsor a child/puppy/school, but enough people do that it’s worth their while.

YADNBU OP. As well as the store card hawking, the various charity fundraisers and the concessions selling home improvements and all the other shit I don't want, before I even get in the stores here I have to run a gauntlet of trestle tables set up outside and manned by the local Girl Scout chapter or school football teams and cheerleaders selling cookies and other assorted junk food crap to raise money for their camping trips and team uniforms and trips to the National Championships that's having dodged the pleas from the school band to let them wash my car with a bucket of filthy water and what looks like a scrubbing brush for only $10.

They're all so sweet and nice and when I say I have no money, it's generally not a lie because I rarely carry cash anymore, they are suoer polite in saying "have a nice day" and even open the damned door for me! Talk about a guilt trip!

And it's all so bloody annoying. Yeah, all I have to say is no thanks but I shouldn't have to brush off twenty people all pushing shit on me between leaving my car and reaching the checkout when all I want is a bag of cat food and a carton of milk!

I smile and say no thank you but other week a fella kept talking as I walked on and changed his tone to sarcastic & sarky... I turned around & yelled ‘I said no thank you!’
Perhaps he had a bad day but I gave him a polite rebuff and his attitude totally pissed me off.

I find the expression 'do forgive me but you're mistaking me for someone who is interested' quite useful under these circumstances.

Tell them you are bankrupt. They are so mortified it's actually funny!

Btw If you say no they should back off. If they do not politely and calmly explain you said no and would like to see their badge so you can speak to their supevisor.

I just say I'm only 15, most stuff you can't do until your like 18.

Works a treat with the door sales people!

If it's a door to door sales pitch, like change your energy provider, I say I'm the householder's cleaning lady and I never know what time he'll be back.

To the sponsor just 2.00 a month people I pretend to be foreign and not understand and just smile apologetically with some foreign speak noise.

I know they're all trying to earn a living but it's so irritating at times to just get your business done without having to slalom across pavements to avoid the hyper enthusiastic greetings and tigger-bounding in my direction.

It's conflicting enough to pass people on the streets asking for change knowing I could spare a few euro but not want to be ripped off by professional beggars. Sometimes I give and just decide that if they're fakers they've 'earned' it by sitting on a cold pavement all day. Sometimes I don't then feel bad that maybe they could have had a hot meal or drink or put it to a night at a hostel.

It would be nice to just wander around the shops without the assistants telling me about 10% off this and that with a loyalty card.

I saw something in the window of gap a few years ago. Went in, picked it up and went straight to the till. The guy at the till asked me if I'd had any help with my purchase. Said No, I did it all by myself in my I'm a clever girl voice.

Also, putting phone to ear and pretending to be in a serious conversation seems to deter the sign up to sponsor a charity people.

I just respond with ‘I’m bankrupt’ for anything that requires money and ‘I rent’ for anything re home improvements.

Or a polite ‘no thanks’

They’re just people doing a shit low paid soul destroying job. Some customers do go for whatever they’re promoting or they wouldn’t spend the money posting someone to stand there all day long, financially it works. For the people the goods are irrelevant to or unwanted by, just ignore or say no thanks and keep walking.

I once did sign up to support the dog’s trust in a small co-op cos I felt so sorry for the man I’d seen standing there for weeks, and I knew I could afford it and wanted to donate. Not gonna lie though, a big part of my motivation was to give this guy a sale cos he was lovely! I cancelled after around six months.

Just ignore them. Walk right by them even if they approach you.

I was in a big box store the other day with my 3 and 6 year olds pulling my hands off trying to go in different directions, and a softly spoken young man with a clip board came up and asked if I had a minute; I was taken by surprise so I agreed to talk to him and it turned out he was a bloody chugger! Inside the store! You've got to be kidding me! It's enough trying to do an obstacle course in the street to avoid them, now they pounce on you in the shops! Yet another reason to shop online.

They’re just people doing a shit low paid soul destroying job.
That's exactly why it's distressing.

I usually opt for I already use you/donate/already have windows for most of these. We had a chugger come to the door, he asked if I knew what cancer treatment involved, my reply of my partner is in hospital having chemo now, was the most effective thing I have ever seen for making someone retreat.