AIBU to wish Superdrug would row back on the hard sell at the till?

[Shortysoso]

On Saturday I was offered three items, not a problem, it's the weekend, I wasn't in a hurry. The assistant went on a bit about the mascara but it didn't really bother me. Today I nipped in on way back from medical appointment to buy one thing quickly and the assistant just wouldn't stop - hand gel, mini hand gel, then how about two nivea lip balms for only £2?

Enough already! I know what I want to buy, by all means stick offers in baskets so the generally very long line of people waiting to pay can view them at leisure but stop holding up the queue, irritating the customers and asking staff to do something which can't be enjoyable.

It seemed the assistant today had to get through the script even though I politely indicated I only wanted what I had already chosen to purchase.

NB I wasn't rude and never would be but it's a bit wearing for all concerned surely?!

Yes I despise upselling, hard selling and any kind of overzealous customer service. I just want to browse without someone trying to push something on me, or follow me around asking me if I want any help, argghh! Have retreated into online shopping as a way of avoiding this sort of thing. I also prefer Boots as they never try to upsell and just let you browse.

Completely agree. As an ex customer service assistant, I have to say it is wayyyyy more annoying having to upsell than having to listen to it as a customer. I would usually expect them to refuse, so I would stop as soon as they open their mouth 😅. Perhaps their manager was close by at the time, so they were making extra effort?

Yes, they do have to go through the script despite your lack of interest because they can be disciplined for not doing so. It’s part of their job to upsell and their managers are listening.

Upselling works really, really well so they’re not going to stop doing it.

Yes, they do have to go through the script despite your lack of interest because they can be disciplined for not doing so.

Yep. I hated doing it, but if they heard you not doing it, you could be disciplined.

Nowadays I just politely smile and decline once they've finished because I know from experience, if someone acts all huffy over it, it makes you feel even worse.

I also prefer Boots as they never try to upsell and just let you browse

Ha ha, they make it impossible to pay though. As I said upthread, so understaffed.

I work in Argos and we have mystery shoppers who test you to make sure you’re offering the Argos care and Argos cards right , due to selling laws. We get filmed if we serve the mystery person and get called into the office if we haven’t done our job right . We all HATE it , every month we get tested to make sure we know what we are saying and how and it’s the hardest part of the job to the point no one likes being on the till anymore !!
So , sales staff hate asking as much as customers hate us asking them !!! Especially when we get shouted at for just doing our jobs :( we could get the sack if we don’t ask !

I left a long Superdrug queue recently when I realised the reason it was so long was because there was only 1 person on the till and the current person being served was filling out a loyalty card application!

Went to Sainsbury’s instead, unfortunately our local Boots closed as I much prefer shopping there, even though it can be a little more expensive.

It irritates me too but I know the till assistants have to do it.
I used to just do a no thank you and still do but one day I was in a mishchevous mood so after being asked (yet again) "would you like some Maltesers" I replied oh yes please are they free? It didn't work obviously but I wish stores would not make their staff do this. It happens in the pound shops a lot too. I always feel like saying no if I wanted that packet of biscuits looking at me in a sad little pile I would have chosen them from the shelf! No I just tend to feel a little sorry for the staff having to obey their managers like this. They probably hate doing it.

It’s horrible for the staff and off putting for the customer. Hate it and never buy the products offered, if I wanted it, it would already be in my basket.

I think the problem is that everyone knows the Superdrug staff have to do it. So the customer says, like I do, no thank you I'm fine for today, feeling sorry for the poor fucker that's forced to trot these lines out. Meanwhile the powers that be think, look no one minds that much, let's press them harder!! It's a self fulfilling prophecy

When I worked in Next years ago a few times a year they did a campaign where you were supposed to ask every single customer for their email address so they could get £10 off online. A few people did want to but the majority did not or would get angry (also there was frequently a glitch which meant the money off didn't work and so people would come back and shout at us about that too despite it being nothing to do with us).

As well as worrying about customers kicking off about something you had no control over, you would be worried because the shift managers were set target numbers they HAD TO get by head office and if the staff didn't collect enough emails (on top of all the other work they had to do in a busy store!!!) they would be harangued and could even face disciplinaries. I DREADED that time of year constantly and most of us ended up hiding in the fitting rooms briefly to just make up 5-10 email addresses at a time on the little cards because it was the only way to hit the target without aggro.

I have nothing but sympathy for staff in any store who are forced to irritate customers and face backlash, and would never dream of dumping my stuff and walking out without paying. These things are terrible practice which neither staff nor customer enjoys but head office of most big brands are disconnected from reality.

Ex Claires worker, we had to do it too. We all hated it. We had individual targets and usually at the end of a week we'd split out the add on sales among us all so no one 'underperformed' and if the overall total was low we'd usually dip into our own pockets and buy whatever bracelet/nail file/earrings for £1 that we had to so we wouldn't get bollocked by the area manager (I was assistant manager and me and the manager made sure no one fell behind doing this or bought several add ons ourselves to split between the team)

It's everywhere, even when I worked in banking we had to get people in for account review appointments, especially if they had no savings account. The manager used to sit behind me with a clipboard and ask me what I could have said to get an appointment out of a customer while the queue was out of the door, when what she should have done was got off her lazy arse and opened a till instead! (This was someone who used to hide in the back room on her phone, so yes she was lazy)

Chocolate orange anyone?

I do feel really sorry for them when I say politely "no thanks" and I see them going, dead eyed, we have sure deodorant for 1 pound fifty or these make up wipes or these Halloween chocolates.

I do wonder if part of the marketing ploy is that you are made to feel so sorry for these poor bastards, that you buy a bottle of water just to make their life seem worth living

I have this in my local Poundland there is always a woman working on the self checkouts offering random chocolate, it’s super annoying

Because of mystery shoppers, they have to do it or risk losing job. I work in retail but thankfully not on tills now but I certainly had to do it working at TK Maxx, Kodak shops etc...
But I did stop shopping at WH Smith because they were always the worst
Mind you, Lush (my favourite) is terrible...don't they realise people hate it..

Parent of superdrug employee. They have no choice. They are beasted to give the hard sell and can get a warning for not selling enough. They have to hit targets. Along with this and some other of their policies I have discovered that superdrug are a scum outfit of shit employers.

I no longer give them my custom.

I worked on the check out at B&Q just before covid and we were pushing the loyalty cards to the extent we had to ask customers for their mobile phones so we could apply online for them, huge queues angry customers. I didn't mind the "battery specials" at Christmas I felt that was a service, pointing out the offers but the card thing was one of the reasons I left, I never made my targets and was constantly being told off. PLUS managers got bonuses based on card sign ups, staff got bugger all.

@luxxlisbon

Agree, I hate this. Usually it makes me pick boots over superdrug unless only superdrug has the item or it is significantly cheaper there. It seems so dated and I'm always surprised they still do it! Surely it only annoys people and the staff?

This.

Clinton Cards now always ask if you want one of their charity pens (they're crap, so no!) or any postage stamps.

I also avoid any shops that try to upsell at the tills if I can buy the same items somewhere else.

I suppose the only way to stop this is if we all email the head office of these stores and tell them how much we hate it.

@myusernamewastakenbyme

I suppose the only way to stop this is if we all email the head office of these stores and tell them how much we hate it.

Good idea, but will they take any notice? My friend emailed McDonalds once and told them she was fed up with the lobby staff trying to palm raffle tickets onto them for some bloody raffle that had a bunch of shitty prizes no-one wanted anyway, (when they were trying to eat the food they had paid for!!!)

They never stopped, they just messaged back and said 'but the raffles are for 'charrridddeeeee.''

@janj2301

I worked on the check out at B&Q just before covid and we were pushing the loyalty cards to the extent we had to ask customers for their mobile phones so we could apply online for them, huge queues angry customers. I didn't mind the "battery specials" at Christmas I felt that was a service, pointing out the offers but the card thing was one of the reasons I left, I never made my targets and was constantly being told off. PLUS managers got bonuses based on card sign ups, staff got bugger all.

This happened to my cousin at B & Q. They offered her a 'Diamond' storecard at the till. It's for discounts for the over 60s. My cousin was 45.

She was mortified and very upset. She said 'I must look like a pile of fucking shit if someone thinks I look over 60.' I laughed at her and said the woman must be mad, because my cousin looked no more than early 40s!

The woman obviously had poor eyesight, or was SHIT at telling peoples ages, because my cousin looked nowhere NEAR her bloody 60s, but it really upset my cousin, and she didn't go back to B & Q for about a year.

Do these stupid managers who try and get their staff to push these storecards not think outside the box - ever? Getting their staff to push storecards for the over 60s, to a woman who is only 45, is going to do nothing but drive their customers away.

I find Savers the worst for upselling at the till.

@Clevs

I find Savers the worst for upselling at the till.

They are quite bad.

@Shortysoso

YANBU. It's not just Superdrug either. The shops 'Bodycare,' AND 'Savers' ask me EVERY TIME I go in to get antihistamines or a bottle of talc or some shower gel, if I want Britney Spears latest perfume, or a set of David Beckham smellies... And WH Smith ALWAYS ask if I want to buy a nearly-out-of-date Terrys Chocolate Orange for £1.50, when I am going in to buy a magazine.

And many other shops do it too. My local little 'paper shop' does it... tries to palm off 'nearly-out-of-date' chocolate onto me... Or asks if I want some stamps or phone credit... Every time!

Even when I go to buy a stamp, the post office asks me if I want their insurance for my car/house/life, and keeps me at the counter for 10 minutes. It's as annoying as the irksome 'do you have 5 minutes to do a medicine review' bollocks that Boots always do. (And some other pharmacies too!)

Claires Accessories used to do this too (Although I haven't shopped there since DD was about 14 to 16, so over 10 years!) We would buy 2 or 3 items at a cost of £10 or so, (say 2 pairs of earrings and a bangle,) and they would say 'would you like to purchase a mini turtle purse for just £5.99,' or 'would you like to purchase a 3 pack of lip balm for just £4.99?'

Clintons and the Card Factory try and upsell at the till too. Often a pack of 3 pens for £3.00, or a notepad and a pack of envelopes or something!

And although this hasn't happened for some 10 to 12 years, (as I haven't shopped at either one since then,) I used to get SO pissed off with BHS, and Debenhams ALWAYS trying to palm a storecard off on me. I said 'I don't so storecards..'

One assistant said I was 'very silly' for not having one. I thought that was very fucking rude. I was so close to complaining about her, but couldn't be arsed to hang around. After that, I never went into a Debenhams again, and BHS closed down soon after.

I HATE upselling, but I know it's not the shop assistant's fault, so I don't get arsey with them; I just politely decline...

Like many others on here, I tend to avoid most of these places now, and get as much stuff as possible from B & M, Wilkos, and Home Bargains, or Tesco/Morrisons/Asda/Sainsburys, where they don't try and 'upsell.'