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AIBU?

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Original poster

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

111 replies

Shortysoso · 03/02/2021 12:02

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?!

OP posts:
marshmallowfluffy · 03/02/2021 17:49

They have to ask about the Beauty Card and try to sell you a SIM card or Star Buy or they get into trouble. It must be far more annoying to say it 100s of times a day rather than having to listen to them upsell you crap.

grandmasterstitch · 03/02/2021 17:56

I used to work in Joules and we were meant to upsell. Someone buys a top or whatever and you were meant to suggest some beads or a brooch that would go well. I hated doing it. Someone has spent £60 on a dress and I'm meant to try and persuade them to spend another £20 on a necklace? No thanks. Also complimenting them if they tried something on. I think I'm just a crap saleswoman

Griselda1 · 03/02/2021 18:09

Contact Superdrug, tell them it's not appreciated by the vast majority. The main thing is to never take it out on the poor assistant.

PattyPan · 03/02/2021 18:11

@fridgepants Klarna etc are going to become regulated now because of concerns, it was in the paper yesterday www.theguardian.com/money/2021/feb/02/buy-now-pay-later-klarna-fca-covid-19-pandemic

ShatnersWig · 03/02/2021 18:12

I won't use any store that makes its employees try to upsell in this way.

AgeLikeWine · 03/02/2021 18:14

@user1471447863

The way to stop it is never to buy anything offered at the tills. If nobody took them up on the offers they wouldn't do it so it must be worthwhile at the moment
That’s my policy, too. I never, ever buy anything which checkout staff push at me, on principle. The more people who do this, the more retailers will decide it’s a waste of time.
sunflowersandbuttercups · 03/02/2021 18:19

That’s my policy, too. I never, ever buy anything which checkout staff push at me, on principle. The more people who do this, the more retailers will decide it’s a waste of time.

You'd think so, but that's really not the way it works.

I used to work in retail management. We HAD to upsell and got penalised (via verbal and written warnings) if our KPI's weren't good enough. Those KPI's included items per transaction - if you consistently only sold one item, you'd be bollocked, whether it was worth £1 or £400.

If you failed to upsell to a mystery shopper, you failed your mystery shop, even if everything else was perfect. If you failed two mystery shops, you got a written warning.

Customers have complained. Staff have complained. It's been that way for 15 years - still the complaints come, yet still we have to do it. Honestly, head office don't care what their customers think.

Cadent · 03/02/2021 18:31

Argh I thought it was just my local Superdrug.

I had the manager do this, she's been there for decades, and she was pushing me to the point of harassment.

Another worker offered me student discount to get me to buy extra things. I said I'm not a student but she said it's fine. I still said no.

Cadent · 03/02/2021 18:33

[quote PattyPan]@fridgepants Klarna etc are going to become regulated now because of concerns, it was in the paper yesterday www.theguardian.com/money/2021/feb/02/buy-now-pay-later-klarna-fca-covid-19-pandemic[/quote]
They should also regulate that company that offer you cashback after shopping at Debenhams. They sting for c.£10 pm, even if you just accidentally click on the link without signing up.

BaggoMcoys · 03/02/2021 19:02

I have worked in a shop where I had to upsell. Also having to go around the shop floor and ask people whether they needed help etc. If I was alone I'd do it in a more subtle/not pushy way e.g. just saying hello or nodding a greeting so they know I'm around if they need anything, and only approaching customers who genuinely appeared to need help, but when management were watching I really had to go for it and I had to be pushy or I'd get in trouble.

I think most customers understand that we have to do these things and that it's just as frustrating and annoying for us, as it is for them. I completely understood when some of the customers would snap a bit, I know how annoying it is when you just want to be left alone. I had a few customers be so horrible though, I nearly burst into tears at one woman!

EveryDayIsADuvetDay · 03/02/2021 19:11

HATE IT - long queues and they're still asking "would you like our mobile phone services/loyalty card/perfume" (except all as separate questions to spin it out longer).

No, there's a fucking queue, I'm buying cold medication, why the fuck would I want to buy crappy perfume that I can;t smell because I've got a sodding cold?
If I see a queue and it's not something I need desperately, I just walk out. I'm sure I'm not the only one doing that.

SendARavenToRiverRun · 03/02/2021 19:25

I worked at a well known Toy store as a teenager. We had to upsell all sorts of crap. Offering people who had literally saved all year for an Xmas splurge store cards at a massive APR. Shitty behaviour.
Like everyone else has said, no one wanted to do it. Most of us ramped it up when management were about.
Thankfully never had a mystery shopper.

emilyfrost · 03/02/2021 19:26

If I see a queue and it's not something I need desperately, I just walk out. I'm sure I'm not the only one doing that.

EveryDayIsADuvetDay Of course you’re not. But the amount of people buying from upselling is higher and worth more to them than the few who will just abandon ship.

ItsJustARide · 03/02/2021 19:26

I used to work for a building society in a market town with an ageing population. We had to ask every. single. customer. about their will and whether they had life insurance and a funeral plan..
Same customers, every week for years on end.
The pressure to do this was exerted from various higher levels and we actually had to email/phone the area manager every time we got a lead or appointment so that she could fill in her league tables of shame to belittle everyone at the end of each day.

Be kind to customer service people. They have no choice and their job often depends on jumping through ridiculous hoops to achieve the KPI’s.

HelebethH · 03/02/2021 19:27

I was in Superdrug once when the young girl in front of me was buying a pack of sanitary products. The cashier tried to upsell and asked if she would like to buy some stamps, to which the young girl replied smiling sweetly " no thank you, I am going to go to the loos and use them. I'm not posting them home" I thought the man in the queue behind me was going to have a heart attack trying not to laugh and the cashiers face was a picture. I do feel sorry for shop staff though that are made to go through the spiel.

BonnieDundee · 03/02/2021 19:40

I hate.this.too but I know they.have to do it so I politely day no thanks.

As an aside WH Smith were terrible for this but now have self service checkouts so.i always use.them now

saffire · 03/02/2021 19:40

@Mochudubh

This is one of the reasons I left retail banking. I absolutely hated having to encourage customers to take out a loan/credit card. Even worse was having to stay back after closing one evening a week to call the "leads" generated.

Many of our customers were people who had come in to the branch to take out their last £3.50 as they couldn't get it out of the ATM, the last thing they needed was more debt.

@Mochudubh my mum used to say the same. She wouldn't do it and was reprimanded a few times but she stood by her guns and they just gave up telling her to do it.
Twillow · 03/02/2021 19:44

It's so annoying, and what's worse is it makes you feel rude and snappy as you inevitably decline every offer. It puts me off shopping there.
I hope Superdrug management are reading this thread: as, in essence, it's a great store with good prices and great choices - but THE CUSTOMER DOESN'T WANT THIS!!!

emilyfrost · 03/02/2021 19:53

I hope Superdrug management are reading this thread: as, in essence, it's a great store with good prices and great choices - but THE CUSTOMER DOESN'T WANT THIS!!!

Twillow Enough customers do to justify them requiring their staff to do it.

foxhat · 03/02/2021 23:44

Yeah I hate it and therefore shop elsewhere when I can. Makes for such an unpleasant shopping experience.

littlepattilou · 03/02/2021 23:46

@foxhat

Yeah I hate it and therefore shop elsewhere when I can. Makes for such an unpleasant shopping experience.
I agree. Makes me not want to shop in these stores!
littlepattilou · 03/02/2021 23:46

@HelebethH

I was in Superdrug once when the young girl in front of me was buying a pack of sanitary products. The cashier tried to upsell and asked if she would like to buy some stamps, to which the young girl replied smiling sweetly " no thank you, I am going to go to the loos and use them. I'm not posting them home" I thought the man in the queue behind me was going to have a heart attack trying not to laugh and the cashiers face was a picture. I do feel sorry for shop staff though that are made to go through the spiel.
That's pretty funny! Grin
Fretaway · 03/02/2021 23:53

There is one assistant in our Superdrug who doesn’t take the first No as the answer and cringingly carries on: “Are you sure?...It’s a lovely perfume.....Treat yourself?”
FGS I just want to buy my sanitary pads and leave!
“Would you like to sign up to a Beauty card? You get discounts”

ARGH

littlepattilou · 03/02/2021 23:58

@Fretaway

Grin
littlepattilou · 04/02/2021 00:00

@Mochudubh

This is one of the reasons I left retail banking. I absolutely hated having to encourage customers to take out a loan/credit card. Even worse was having to stay back after closing one evening a week to call the "leads" generated.

Many of our customers were people who had come in to the branch to take out their last £3.50 as they couldn't get it out of the ATM, the last thing they needed was more debt.

I'm so pleased you left. I really dislike retail banks, and only use them to my advantage now. They are a necessary evil!

And what I would like to add to the 'trying to push loans and credit cards' on people, is the trying to push insurances that the customer doesn't NEED!

I went to deposit a cheque (some 11 years ago now,) and was cornered by my account manager who tried to get me to take out a policy, for me AND my DH (two separate ones) at the cost of £20 a month EACH, to ensure we could each access our money if the other one dies.

'Your accounts will be frozen and you won't be able to get any money out for MONTHS' she lied... 'So this policy pays out £1000 to keep you going for a while until the government frees up your accounts.'

Absolute fucking horseshit, as me and DH had - and always HAVE had joint accounts, since the day we married nearly 30 years ago. Only if DH had had a separate account would HIS be temporarily frozen (maybe...) I would still have access to our JOINT bank account and joint savings!

Luckily I knew this, and told her I didn't appreciate being lied to, and her trying to hoodwink me and DH into an insurance policy we didn't need. She went flame red and made an excuse and left the room!

Also, some twatty bank manager (around 10 years ago, same bank,) tried to sell me and DH a private health policy that would pay towards dental, and glasses, and would pay £45 a night for the first 10 nights of a hospital stay, (to help with costs for a week or two if you're off ill,) and so on.

We both said 'NO' as we had private health insurance via our employers.

Several months later, we were looking through our bank statement, and lo and behold, there was this bloody direct debit coming out for £40 a month. We both had very busy lives, and very busy jobs, and no internet banking, and didn't notice it for 3 months!

The fucking bank manager had started the private health care policy that we SPECIFICALLY told him we didn't want, and had forged our signatures! He denied it and said we signed the forms, but we didn't and he was a liar, and a fraudster. But we couldn't prove it.

We cancelled the policy immediately, and moved banks several weeks after. Then again, they are all the same.

I have several more examples of having stuff pushed on us, and some that we didn't really need, (as I am sure everyone else has!) but no-one ever forged our signature again! Thankfully.