To find these retail practices annoying

[Mistlewoeandwhine]

1. Having to pay 10% service charge added to the bill (with no pre mention of the fact) in Yo Sushi - which is expensive enough for what it is anyway. I only noticed when I read it on the receipt afterwards. I always tip waiting staff 10% anyway but I give it in cash to the actual server so I know they get it. If Yo Sushi want to pay their staff higher wages, they can do it themselves.

2. Lush - I know some people hate it but I don’t. I like their products but I can assure you that I buy FAR LESS when some stranger is standing beside me, disturbing my rare moments of peace and making me smell stuff I’ve no interest in.
   Stop it Lush!

When the cashier gives you your change as coins on top of notes or receipt so bloody awkward and annoying

You've just given me a lightbulb moment. I'm pretty sure I often do the coins on top of notes thing. I sometimes wait a bit because folk put the notes into their wallet before holding their hand out again for coins. I'm going to have a new modus operandi. Notes in (my) one hand, coins in the other, be patient, and let the customer guide me as to how s/he want the change transferred. As always, patience is the key.

I work in a charity shop so I can't get sacked for being slow.
I learn lots of useful things on MN. Thank you for that one.

With faulty returns without a receipt, of course you’re entitled to return them regardless - unfortunately in practice the retailer may ask for proof of purchase to protect themselves against theft and fraudulent returns. Some retailers may (albeit wrongly) only offer you store credit or an exchange instead of a monetary refund without proof of purchase.

When I worked in retail, there were shoplifting groups that would purposely damage stolen items then return them as faulty for cash. They would steal expensive items from smaller stores with lax security, damage the item, and return to larger stores in the hopes that the cashier would be too swamped to pay attention and give them £100s in cash. Dodgy customers were a regular occurrence, so I can somewhat emphasise if a retailer is a tiny bit sceptical of a return without receipt.

Wagamma.

Love the food, hate the way they serve it. Who the hell thought it was a bang on idea to make families eat their meals at completely different times from one another?

Defeats the whole point of going out as a family when everyone gets their meals 15 minutes apart. 🙄

GoGoLego they want you to go down more aisles so that you buy more stuff.

@Mistlewoeandwhine

We go regularly to a restaurant that provides a "self service" buffet lunch. When asked do I want to leave a service charge I say "what service? - Can I have 10% off for serving myself"

I have never dared go into Yo Sushi but if it is that place with the dishes on a conveyor the same would apply

Can't stand Lush, smells too strong. I won £100 worth in a raffle and I gave it all away.
Absolutely detest the self-service tills in supermarkets. It is taking work away from people and increasing profits. Am I employed by the shop...no! Do I get a discount for serving myself...no! Do I save time...not usually as something goes awry. Bah! Away with them!

I worked for Lush about 16yrs ago and I bloody loved it! We got 50% staff discount (I miss that something chronic) and everyone was really friendly and the shop had a great atmosphere. We used to have a target to approach every customer within a certain timeframe of them entering the store, but if they said they were fine, we would leave them alone. It does seem to have ramped up in the last few years but I like that the staff are enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the products. It can be annoying when you just want to mooch but I’d rather that than have someone ignore you or loudly have their own inappropriate discussions on the shop floor. It’s a shame they’re not listening to customer feedback and losing sales. Maybe this thread will help!

*Sheofmanynames
*
I realise that they want me to stay and browse and that in itself is annoying. But it's my local store and I want to go in and out no fuss. And I know what I want and just want to get it.

It's only been the case in the last year or so and when the coffee (the tea stayed out) they had signs saying it's in the next aisle up for weeks. And you could tell the shelf stackers had been asked the same question of "where's the coffee?" 1000 times

thistimelastweek
I work in retail, not clothing or food related.
As rude as you think putting money down on the counter is to you, we really aren't trying to be.
Out shopping you might touch between 1 and 10 assistants hands while handing over money - can you imagine how many people, in my case, on a 8-10 hour shift x 5 days a week, I'd have to touch daily if I physically put change directly into customers hands.

@rosewils yes! I really hate that and now make a point of not moving until I’ve put the coins & note into my purse separately 😡

I also hate the coins on top of notes thing. The coins always slip off and fall either on the counter or the floor.
Please please coins first then notes between thumb and finger please

I hate coins on top of notes on top of recepts-annoying

dont go to the US if you dont want to be followed round-theyre rife for it-but thats the way theyre trained there and sometimes it can be helpful

Re the losing receipts - I stupidly didn’t realise Sainsburys policy had changed. Bought usual food shop and chucked in a pair of school trousers - the self checkout asks if you want a receipt and as usual I clicked “no”. School trousers were too small so I went back to exchange for next size and then realised without a receipt I couldn’t. Luckily school trousers are cheap and I could afford to lose the £5 ish, I gave them to a charity shop

Ah, I work in retail. Just started. I have some explanations for the email receipts and till upsell

I’m on minimum wage, and by upselling till tat and getting emails, our manager and supervisor earn a £250 bonus at Christmas. As long as we reach the annual target for them. There’s no incentive for us to get these, just that it’s a compulsory requirement of the job.

We don’t earn any bonus or perks at all for doing this.

The email ‘receipts’ are actually to send you marketing stuff but with occasional discount codes. Could be useful. We have to reach a daily target of emails, along with till upsells, otherwise we’ll be on a disciplinary and then dismissed.

I hate asking for emails and upselling so I at least try to make a friendly conversation out of it, and if I can tell someone really won’t want to give out their email I just don’t bother asking. I may risk getting the sack if I do that too much, but what can you do, it’s NMW slavery! I’m just grateful to have a job.

Clintons pens at till. Bought one once, didn't like it. Pushy till person tried to sell to me again this week, I said I'd rather give you a donation but she looked at me as if I was nuts. I just don't want their pens, I only like the ones I buy, honestly it puts you off going in there for fear of looking too tight to donate. Suppose I should just buy then throw away.

In Japan they have a little tray on the counter. You put the money in, push it across, they put the change in and push it back. No hands touch.

You get disciplined if you don't hit the targets?! But you can't make customers do it

I can't believe the managers get a bonus but you don't!

Having worked in retail I feel the need to jump to the defence of those workers who ask if you need help...
They have been told to, and if you are seen not greeting a customer then you get shit for it. It's also a requirement to suggest products, especially those on the till.
I wish i could say that they get a bonus for selling this stuff. But they dont. They just get a load of shit if they dont.

As a hint, let them offer you help and then explain, thanks for the offer but if I need any advice then I'll come straight to you.
9 times out of 10 they will then leave you alone xx

The people standing in the queue tutting when the people in front of them take too long faffing then get to the cashier with their clothes and say 'i don't want the hanger' fine, take it off before you get to the till and if you want them to take it off ask them with a please included instead of making an ambiguous statement and holding up the queue taking them off after having been stood doing nothing for 5 minutes and you getting out quicker even more. Same goes for folding them. Do it when waiting or when you finish trying them on. And get out your coupons and make sure you actually have the things instead of chucking a handful at the cashier saying 'try those' then none of them are relevant.
Also self-checkouts are self checkout. Not ask the single attendant who is supervising 20 odd tills to do it for you pissing off all the other people that need things approving and dealing with.

I work in retail and if you don't 'acknowledge' a customer who is clearly browsing it comes up in your pay review. As does not trying to sell credit cards and promoting emails. We are paid very little for the hard work we do. I wish we got a bonus for every time a customer moaned about something. I'd be rich!

Don't have a Lush. Don't have a Yo sushi. YEAH!!!!

1100% with you on boots no 7 vouchers!!

@1vandal2

"' fine, take it off before you get to the till"
Don't usually have hands free, will mess up our purchases, nowhere to put the hangers, might want hangers, obv makes sense to keep them on hangers until till.

and if you want them to take it off ask them with a please
Yes, fair enough

instead of making an ambiguous statement
Like..?

Same goes for folding them. Do it when waiting or when you finish trying them on
I think you're not understanding the customer perspective here. How to maintain the neat folded condition as we walk around, want to look at something else, or try something else on on the shop floor, take a call on our mobiles. Do you think we're not carrying any bags and customers merely wander around with two hands in front of us as if we are holding a tray?

And get out your coupons
What, whilst holding folded clothes, removing hangers, holding the remaining hangers, getting our wallets out...

and make sure you actually have the things instead of chucking a handful at the cashier saying 'try those' then none of them are relevant.
How are we to know if they are relevant, you're the one with the system that checks if they are, not us.

Also self-checkouts are self checkout. Not ask the single attendant who is supervising 20 odd tills to do it for you
If they worked, we wouldn't have to. If they didn't stop and demand we get an attendant every 3 seconds, we wouldn't have to

pissing off all the other people that need things approving and dealing with.
Don't worry, we're all pissed off at self service checkouts.

You're really on board with the whole empathy and customer care thing, aren't you 1vandal2?

Body shop are the worse, they don't leave you alone!

Also self-checkouts are self checkout. Not ask the single attendant who is supervising 20 odd tills to do it for you pissing off all the other people that need things approving and dealing with

So what do you do if the only option is self-checkout? An example would be my local Wh Smith where the staff disappear and there's just a self-service till (goodness knows how much they lose in shoplifting).