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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think this is dam cheeky of Clark’s shoes

155 replies

Lilylay · 24/08/2019 08:39

We there yesterday to get Ds measures for school shoes and buy some. We have not got a lot of money but I have e put some aside to get DS these shoes as we have found Clark’s last longer so are better value in the long run.
When we got there the women came over the measure Ds feet and also asked him to tap his favourite colour on the screen. He got measure and we picked out some shoes
When the women came back with the right size she had three other boxes with her and took out the school shoes and put them on Ds. We were happy and said we were having them.
She then turned to Ds and says look at these wonderful green trainers and if your mummy and daddy get you these as well as your new school shoes they will get 20% off the trainers.

Now lucky for us we had just been in sports direct and get DS some trainers from there so Ds just say “I have got some new ones thank”
I am not at all happy with the selling technique and say to the women that I know she will a been asked to do this by her boss but could she feed back Clark’s have now lost a sale due to this tactic. We walked out and I have ordered some shoes online that have good reviews and are guaranteed for a year.
Incidentally there was a child having meltdown but his mum was saying she could not afford the trainers. The mum looked so upset.
AIBU to think this is not one at all

OP posts:
CocoLoco87 · 24/08/2019 08:59

We were in there yesterday buying school shoes and after we'd settled on a pair the lady just said "do you need any trainers or plimsoles?" I said a polite no thank you we already have that sorted.

I would have been annoyed if she'd produced a pair and asked DS though! Although he would probably have told her he has faster trainers than that Grin

Spinnaret · 24/08/2019 09:01

They've been doing this for years. I just say no thanks and get on with my day.

KUGA · 24/08/2019 09:02

Agree with all the comments.
I only ever bought Clarkes shoes for my sons and still do for myself and H.
However ,if that happened to me I would do likewise and order on line.
As for the shop assistant,shes just doing as she s told and probably hates doing it too

LittenKitten · 24/08/2019 09:02

Oh god this has taken me right back to working at Clarks 15 years ago. I don’t remember having to do anything like that but there was certainly pressure to follow a certain script and then ‘upsell’ with shoe protector, polish, insoles etc. I liked working there but hated that part of it. (Even worse, at Russel and Bromley we were on a really low basic wage then had to earn commission, there was a score board and everything.) Definitely give them the feedback.

Maryscary008 · 24/08/2019 09:02

Of course it is their policy. The staff are under huge pressure to upsell and basically make as much money for the company as possible. Hardly surprising given the fact that shops are closing everywhere. You can complain but it will be a bit like complaining to a car dealer that someone tried hard to sell them a car. Stop being so naive!

OhHimAgain · 24/08/2019 09:03

Buy DMs instead. They last forever - my daughter gets about 4 terms out of hers and she walks 2 miles each way to school every day (her feet don't grow very quickly!)

They don't upsell, no aggressive sales tactic at all and the last time we went in, the sales assistant picked up on a gait issue my daughter had and suggested we went to the drs to have it checked in case she needed a corrective insole. I was already aware of it and she did but I've never had that at Clarks!

We abandoned Clarks several years ago for a few reasons.

OhHimAgain · 24/08/2019 09:05

MaryScary

It's targeting the children directly that is wrong. Not upselling per se.

flirtygirl · 24/08/2019 09:06

Many pp so far has said it's normal upselling and it would have been had they addressed the parent only. To address and aim the sales pitch at the child is not normal and bang out of order.

There is a huge difference in the two scenarios.

Purplerain16 · 24/08/2019 09:07

Unfortunately, this is what the staff are told to do.
Not even joking, they get bollocked if they don't do it.

My OH used to work there and had to quit because it was that bad

You're also told to follow people round the shop

flirtygirl · 24/08/2019 09:08

Great minds think alike OhHimAgain.

GruciusMalfoy · 24/08/2019 09:08

I'd be really annoyed with the way they're using the kids to get to parents. We got Clarks shoes this year, and though DD did the "favourite colour" thing, we were not shown any trainers or anything other than the school shoes we were there for.

Ali1cedowntherabbithole · 24/08/2019 09:08

There’s nothing wrong with trying to upsell to adults.

There is a whole lot wrong with trying to upsell to children.

Clark’s have been doing this for the last 20 years though (and they wonder why people shop online).

Maryscary008 · 24/08/2019 09:10

It's targeting the children directly that is wrong. Not upselling per se.

Well yes that isn't good but the shop staff are under a lot of pressure/ Perhaps she is new or just desperate not to get shouted at and/or lose her job.

frogsbreath · 24/08/2019 09:11

The sales assistant did the exact same thing to me after 20 minutes trying to get a pair of school shoes for my autistic son (she had a senior assistant check fit as she said it was right and my son said they hurt-we went up half a size and a width size 😒)

We were obviously at the end of our tether and finally had a good pair and she whips out trainers in his favourite colour.

I say no, we are totally done with shoe shopping. Then she offers plimsolls and shoe labels. At the till I am again offered the shoe labels. I said I want nothing extra, my kid is hanging off my leg and I just want to go!

TeamUnicorn · 24/08/2019 09:11

I only go to Clarks if I absolutely have to. Their sale techniques have always verged on the awful. I got told my DC would never walk if I didn't buy them a pair of crawlers.

Skyrain · 24/08/2019 09:11

I have had this in previous years but thankfully not this year. I actually get frustrated that after usually queuing for some time the staff then waste time selecting appropriate trainers to take out. Surely the process would be quicker if they just brought what the customer asks for. My kids used to get embarrassed as I would challenge why they brought out items I hadn’t requested. I know they will have been encouraged to up sell and I acknowledge this to the staff.

MissClareRemembers · 24/08/2019 09:11

I bought DCs school shoes last week and didn’t experience this. However, the assistant was a bit rubbish and clearly distracted. The worst experience I’ve had there was years ago when DS1 was trying on some lace up school shoes but was fumbling a bit with tying them. The assistant suggested to him that he get Velcro fastenings instead because “you don’t want to be bullied for not being quick enough”.

But that was the draconian sales assistant rather than the company as such.

SavoyCabbage · 24/08/2019 09:12

So she got his to choose his favourite colour on the ipad then tailored her campaign to that???

That’s very thoughtfully underhand if so.

I remember going in for doodles years ago and the lady tried to get dd to fall in love with those shoes with the doll in the heel. I was not impressed.

My teens both have Clark’s shoes this year and the assistant was great. She was young and she talked to them about what she thought looked good as well as the fit.

Maryscary008 · 24/08/2019 09:13

The sales assistant did the exact same thing to me after 20 minutes trying to get a pair of school shoes for my autistic son (she had a senior assistant check fit as she said it was right and my son said they hurt-we went up half a size and a width size

She was new then. She would have been told this. Not nice for the assistant to be under that pressure. I think retail is a hellish job at the moment and the last thing I would do is make a complaint against some poor person who was just trying to keep their job.

zen1 · 24/08/2019 09:13

I only ever use Clark’s as a measuring service these days and buy past seasons shoes on eBay after some bad experiences in there. I hate the new iPad measuring system that gets the child to enter their age and favourite colour.

Dontlickthetrolley · 24/08/2019 09:13

We were in Clarks yesterday and no up selling or comments about favourite colours at all. They were quite busy so it felt it was here's the shoes you want and go!

Last year my boys got the same pair of shoes, 1 size apart. The assistant said they had name labels to make my life easier, yay I thought, until I got to the til and she tried to charge me £6 having just spent nearly £90. Told her not to bother and we used a sharpie to differentiate although there was still the odd morning when one was complaining his shoes were too small!

zen1 · 24/08/2019 09:15

The funny thing is, they’re not that great at measuring either. A few years ago I took my DS into 3 different branches over the course of a weekend and got 3 different measurements.

Maryscary008 · 24/08/2019 09:17

I only ever use Clark’s as a measuring service these days and buy past seasons shoes on eBay after some bad experiences in there. I hate the new iPad measuring system that gets the child to enter their age and favourite colour.

This is one of the reasons retail is now a nightmare to work in. People like you make the assistants spend their time helping you when you have no intention of buying anything and they then get yelled at for not making enough sales.

LizzieSiddal · 24/08/2019 09:18

The issue is that they asked the dc what their favourite colour is then brought out the trainers in that colour.

Will they be doing that in WHSmiths next, with sweets?

I also wonder if it's legal, are they allowed to target children so directly, as in face to face to the child.

EleanorReally · 24/08/2019 09:19

that is not good, relying on pester power