To ignore Lush staff member to her face?

[OrangeMangoSmoothie]

I love Lush, unfortunately as anyone who's ever been knows, the staff can be a bit overwhelming. Grabbing your arms to rub products on, pouncing the second you're through the door, etc.

And as much as i love Lush, i'm also autistic and really bad with people and communication. I normally order online but if something is new i'd prefer to smell it first.

I went in today to browse the new halloween range and had very obvious headphones on with my back to staff. I kinda thought this would deter them but one popped up in front of my face (literally) as if to mouth something to me and gestured to the products.

Sometimes things like that happen, for example on public transport, or if im in someone's way and i can potentially take off my headphones and say sorry/no/excuse me. But i panicked because of how insanely close she was and recoiled then turned and moved. She then followed me a little bit (i had my head facing down) and she bent over to ask again, i think she said "can i help you with anything" but i still had noise cancelling headphones and music playing. I kept my head down and meandered a little then darted out the door.

I know on reflection that this was a bit rude on my part and i feel bad now for not answering but i wasn't capable. Was she BU to continue trying to get my attention? It felt like overkill and very intrusive. Im not sure if im overreacting because i need the space. Im used to people realising i "cant hear" them and leaving me be.

Im too embarrassed to wear anything like a badge saying i'm disabled and it would probably attract staff to want to "help" me more if i did. Does anyone have any advice on how to seem less rude when im not able to speak? Did this lady take it too far?

Just saying at her first approach ‘I don’t need any help thank you’ would have avoided her following you around. She was doing her job as she was probably trained to do and I really think using a disability to excuse just answering someone right at the start is poor form. IMO.

Some of the comments here make me despair. Do we really want to reach a point where we expect retail staff to do nothing more than nod at us as we browse? Surely these connections, trivial or not, are all part of life’s glorious tapestry. I understand those who are autistic may struggle with these encounters. However, the rest of us should revel in contact and chat with others.

All those saying ' tweet them' ... you can't. They made a decision to come off most of their social media forms in the UK back in April

@Noviceoftheweek - there is a big difference between a bit of eye contact and a friendly approach from staff, reading body language (headphones on, head down clearly means leave me alone) - and the kind of TGI Friday OTT nonsense that Lush does.

They're supposed to be all free love, freedom, bit hippy in their marketing so back the hell off already

I used to spend loads in there, but haven’t set foot in the door since the spycops thing. Totally unnecessary to shove their political view down my neck when I’m simply buying a treat. And the pushy staff are too much. Body shop is the same.

Do we really want to reach a point where we expect retail staff to do nothing more than nod at us as we browse? Surely these connections, trivial or not, are all part of life’s glorious tapestry.

I think this is beside the point, really.

I do despair and people who can't cope with putting their phones down when they're checking out at Tesco or whatever. But this is completely different, it is a sales ploy rather than an exchange of human kindness.

I am probably better equipped than some to deal with annoying salespeople (I can do imperious fairly well as necessary) but I find myself often walking by empty boutiques where I might otherwise be spending money because I find them so tedious and about 98% useless.

Of course when you actually need them, they are not there.

They need to be better trained to read a customer's body language.

I don't go in Lush for the same reason and I'm not autistic. Their customer service is appalling. Robotic and with no training for treating people differently based on their obvious discomfort. They treat everyone like they're a 13 year spending their pocket money.

In fact, many shops seem to aim their customer service model on attracting teenagers when it's adults in their 40s and up who have the biggest spending power.

Bizarre.

@Dyrne

My point was that the staff can also influence policy, just like customers can.

The corporate is certainly wrong, but the staff also have morals of their own.

Do we really want to reach a point where we expect retail staff to do nothing more than nod at us as we browse?

Yes. Some connections are 'part of life's rich tapestry'. Someone desperately chasing you round a shop hassling you because they are made to in order to reach sales targets? Not so much. Customers are perfectly able to ask assistants for help if they want it.

I've only been in Lush once for this very reason, they scared the bejeezus out of me. No amount of 'no thanks' was going to save me, the girl followed me round rubbing stuff on my arm despite my protestations. I would probably have bought a few items if I'd been left in peace as there were some things I wanted to look at but instead I yanked my arm back and walked out.

Can't they see their sales would probably increase if they didn't have this ridiculous pushy policy?!

@justbeingadad “Staff can influence corporate policy” Ha! Thanks for the laugh... you’ve not spent much time recently as a minimum wage peon on a zero hours contract, have you?

Most people are perfectly capable of browsing and asking for help if they need it.

I am really good at deflecting Lush staff but if I go there with my cherubic 5yo they fall on him like vultures and he laps it up. And then I have to drag him away. Nightmare.

I shop at Lush, they have a packaging-free store here that I use to cut down on plastics. They are without fail absolutely lovely to 4yo DS, letting him play with the bath bomb demo sink thing and whatever else they've got going, leaving me free to have a little browse while keeping an eye on him (I think this is a brilliant sales tactic! More stores should do this). They've always backed off when I've refused the offer of help. And I'm someone who's seriously considered having either flashcards or a t-shirt printed with 'No thanks'.

OP, I'd definitely email them. I can't imagine they won't take you seriously.

@OrangeMangoSmoothie

My teenage son has Autism and has a laminated card that says I have Autism please give me space.

He keeps it in his pocket so if he is in a shop and people are being too pushy he gets it out and shows them. So far he not had a negative experience using it and shop staff often apologise to him.

Would something like this be useful for you?

I really feel for you.
I suffer with agoraphobia.
Some days are better than others, but on a bad day I have to really force myself to leave the house.

I just tend to keep my eyes focused on the task and avoid eye contact, but I totally sympathise.
I know how over powering those situations can be.
It's something that people struggle to understand unless they experience it for themselves.

I once had a job interview with Tesco but didnt get the job because I didnt interact with the customers enough. I did all the standard, hello, good morning, do you need assistant etc, but no, they wanted me to hassle customers for conversation.

I suffer with depression which is pretty well managed, but some days the idea of speaking to people makes me not want to step foot out of the door.

My kids would love to go to Lush but I don't go there for exactly this reason.

Much as I approve of the sunflower lanyards etc., it is appalling that the onus should be on members of the public to make declarations about their private health situation in order not to be harassed.

Sometimes (usually!) people don't want to be harassed for other reasons and these are also legitimate.

I'm on the verge of no longer shopping in Holland and Barrett due to the fact that their staff are clearly told they must approach you as soon as you enter the shop

( having said that, quite a few (strange) people seem to to think that Holland and Barrett is a health care provider, and stand in the shop sharing the nitty-gritty of their skin or digestive problems, so I think the dynamic is a bit different there)

Most people are perfectly capable of browsing and asking for help if they need it.

That may be true, but when you're being mystery shopped and you know you'll fail if you haven't greeted a customer within 30 seconds of them entering the door, then you damn well talk to everyone who walks in!

We're scored out of 100 for our mystery shops. However, if you fail to do one of the following, you fail, no matter how well you did on the rest of it:

• greeting the customer within 30 seconds of them walking through the door
• offering the customer an additional item to what it is they're purchasing

We have to do those things. We're not doing it to piss you off, or to get in your face, or to wind you up. It's our JOBS. Being rude to sales assistants by shoving your hands in their faces or blanking them, or turning around and walking out, says more about you than it does about them.

I hate being hassled staff when I am out shopping, and it is much more likely to drive me out of the store rather than encourage me to buy anything. I don't mind too much if it is just one approach and they back off to let me browse when I (politely) tell them to, but if it is repeated swooping then it feels like harassment.

I don't use Lush. It just isn't something that appeals to me, but other retailers do it too and some are worse than others. I do feel some sympathy for the staff members, many of whom are probably being forced into doing this against their better judgement because of stupid, numbskull management, but perhaps the only way to get the message across that customers don't like it is if customers vote with their feet. That is a blunt tool, but it can be the only way to escape the hassle.

Customer service should not mean harassment of customers.

I don’t know about the sunflower lanyards. They are using in specific situations like airports, however most people don’t know what they are, and even if they did, it’s so individual what people’s preferences are I’m not sure they help.

I work in retail (won’t say where). We have very low staffing levels and are not trained to approach customers at all. We don’t have time. There are too many other things to do.

And that is great for many customers but leaves some unhappy because they want to chat for a long time and we can’t really do that. And the profit margins are tiny on the products. People are paying for the products not the cost of highly attentive service.

Lush is the opposite. I would never shop there because of the high customer interaction level, but clearly many customers love it or Lush wouldn’t be a viable business.

Part of what you pay for is the shopping experience. And not all shops will suit different people.

For Lush to be so highly staffed, well staff are very expensive so the actual products must be worth a couple of pence. What you’re actually paying for is people to rub bits of soap on your arm like an Edwardian servant.

I'm sorry this lady wasn't able to read your cues. I think you should bring it to the attention of Lush, not so much as a complaint, but as awareness raising. I know someone who works at Lush and I'm pretty sure it's the kind of thing they would like to know

Many moons ago, I used to work at The Body Shop. My shop was a franchise and the shop owners were there daily. It was drummed into us that we had to greet and approach EVERY customer. Not just with a "can I help you?" but we had to use open ended questions only. So we'd have to think on the spot of something to say, which was relevant to what the customer was looking at so they couldn't answer the question with a yes or no.
It was awful. We were fearful standing on the shop floor that one of the owners would come out and they'd be customers we weren't actively talking to.
If there were customers there the owners would ask you if you'd spoken to them, and if not, send you right over to strike up a conversation.
Some people just want to be left alone, and you could sense that. They'd try to brush you off, but because we were being watched, we had to try to persevere.
I hated working for the owners of that shop.
I hate walking into Lush too, but I do have a certain amount of sympathy for them. It's not the shop workers fault - they have a management team behind them making it impossible not to approach you.

I remember one time in the Sephora on the Champs-Elysées - this was years ago. I went in for a browse and after politely refusing offers of help from various assistants, I put my headphones on and shook my head "no" in exasperation at the last one, who said "well, let me know if you need any help choosing that anti-ageing cream". I wasn't anywhere near the anti-ageing creams...