AIBU to push back when shops ask for my details when I just want to pay?

[ISimplyDontBelieveIT]

I popped into The White Company today to buy one small item and use the 20 percent off. I normally order online, but this was a cheap item and I didn’t want to pay delivery.

At the till the assistant asked if I was on their mailing list. I said yes (I am). She then asked for my postcode, which I gave, and then she asked me for my surname. My surname is foreign and long and I couldn't be bothered to spell it. I just wanted to pay for my item and leave. I asked why she needed my surname and she said it was to check if I was on their mailing list. That annoyed me as I had literally just confirmed that I was. Why should I go through this whole nonsense especially for such a tiny purchase?? I felt irritated but I know she was just following protocol so I stayed polite and gave her a short version of my surname. She obviously couldn’t find me and then asked if I wanted her to enter my details again. I said no, I just wanted to pay, which I did.

I left the shop feeling oddly irritated by the whole thing. I know a lot of shops do this and it's not a new thing, but it felt like far too much admin for a quick purchase. Would this have grated on anyone else? What’s the best way to shut this down right at the start?

I used to work in a shop that did this (Mamas and Papas).

Sometimes it made sense. It linked your purchase to your details so if you lost the receipt you could still return it. Given the kind of shop it was, sometimes people would be spending a lot if they were buying a whole travel system and nursery furniture, so having that properly recorded made sense for the warranty etc.
But also we’d get a lot of people who came in for a £10 toy or baby book because a friend had had a baby and they wanted to get a small gift. These people obviously did not want their details taken.

I was never at all annoyed at people who just said “no thank you”, I was only ever annoyed at the people who got arsey with me about it. Just say no, don’t berate the teenager behind the till.
If anyone was particularly grumpy from the start, I would just skip that section without even asking - I could tell the people who were going to have a go at me over it!

Pets At Home are particularly bad for this. Won’t take No for an answer. I once had an assistant say “are you sure .. for every transaction on your loyalty card, we make a donation to charity?” Politely “No thank you” assistant “you don’t want to give to charity?” 😳

I Don’t have a bloody clue which charities they give to, it might be an organisation whose agenda I’m totally against. I try not to go in there now and it’s perfectly avoidable.

Just politely tell them to bugger off. V annoying.

When I take DD in new look and they ask for my email address I say 'I'll have a printed receipt please' and they always do this.

They have to ask. They don't have a choice, if they catch you not doing it 3 times, you get a disciplinary. Personally, I am intensly grateful to the ones who just immediately and politely say no thank you so I don't have to give the entire speech. Believe me, they're more fed up of it than you are.

I had this nonsense New Look. I didn't want to give my email address as I've been bombarded with marketing rubbish in the past. The guy tried to get me to input my email on his terminal keyboard but I refused. He said it was company policy not to give paper receipts. I paid by card so had proof of purchase but if I'd paid with cash I would have no evidence in case of an exchange.

I wonder what happens at Christmas when most shops give a gift receipt.

I can't remeber what the shop was called but it was a perfume shop.
Went in to buy some perfume and when it come to paying she asked for my email I asked why and she said that they send the receipt to the email and that was the only way to get the receipt. I ended up walking out and going to boots for the perfume.

Yes I agree with you OP plus with all the cyber hacking going on these days every day some company is hacked and our personal data leaked - why bother giving much personal info for a measly 10% discount

Places like M&S and John Lewis I say "Just checking you can give me a paper receipt?" before I put the item on the counter. Cheerful and breezy, it doesn't cause offense but puts me in control from the start.

I always say "no" when asked this - it's never been an issue. If they tried to insist, I would just walk out without my item, and they would lose a sale.
I don't know how they think it's acceptable to ask a customer to spell out a load of details in front of other customers. Makes you wonder how careful they are with our data after that point!

Just say

No thanks, I'm in a hurry

If one of the things you bought was a television, they are legally required to collect this information from you.

I'm sure Currys were very upset at the loss of a sale from 1 person too🤣. If a customer came in loudly declaring they would leave if I asked for their personal information, I think I'd ask right then so I didn't have to deal with their nonsense.

To be honest I don’t mind getting an email receipt - but I categorically remember issues with this at the white company. I never actually received my receipt via email, had no paper receipt and presumably they didn’t input my email correctly. Luckily the item I bought was a gift that wasn’t going to be returned, but I would have been fucked had I needed the receipt.

I loathe H &B and use it as little as possible. I use Amazon once a year, if that.

I will not be crying if either go under

Ah my dream customer! This is perfect, I’d love more people to say this. Incidentally, at my last job (big fashion/home chain) I discovered we were monitored for cancelled sales. For some reason, if you put something through the till then the person changed their mind, that would be logged on a spreadsheet. Subsequent items or multiple purchases didn’t count, just the first item. I think it was so you didn’t use the scanner for price-checking. I only discovered this when I was asked to sign as being the worst “offender” (never mind I had the most shifts and was left at the till alone most!) Not sure what would’ve become of me - probably on a board of shame in the staff room 😂 The branch closed anyway.

Obviously my post was intended for people who do use H&B, not you.

That requirement ended in 2013.

Like others on the thread, I sympathise with shop assistants who have targets to meet. I just say no thanks when asked for my email address for a receipt and have never have any pushback (although I can see from reading pp that there are some very unpleasant, pushy sales staff out there).

I did once end up taking out a store card that I didn't want or need. I had taken my teenage dd to Debenhams for a bra fitting and the assistant was so lovely and helpful that I thought I'd give up a few minutes of my time to complete the form to help her with her targets. No regrets about doing that.

You said they didn’t want the scanner to be used for price checking. I imagine if it continued to be an issue after you signed - they would have started to monitor you ie check the transactions for patterns, watch the CCTV etc.

I imagine it would only be something they would take forward at that point if performance issues or theft/fraud came about. (Eg I worked in retail at university and heard of stories about staff scanning things for mates for the sake of the camera footage, but not actually charging them.)

Easier to just decline straight off. I think it's harder if you start giving some details then change your mind. I've never given my email address or name for a receipt.

You can literally just say no. And if we all keep doing that, eventually they’ll stop asking.

As a PP mentioned above, New Look now have a no paper receipts policy as I found out the other day. They waffled on about ‘saving trees’ but it’s more about getting your details for direct marketing. (Remember to opt out if you don’t want to be spammed. ) What if you don’t even have an email? Ok most of their clientele will have one, but what about an older person buying something for say a grandchild? No receipt for you then. It’s not somewhere I’ve shopped for a while, and after this change in policy I won’t be going there again.

I had this in a shop recently where I bought a piece of tatty jewellery for a child worth less than £10. They wanted my email for the digital receipt and as I refused I didn't get a paper receipt either. I wonder if that is even legal.

This annoys me too. I have an English surname but it can be spelt different ways so I usually always spell it. Same with my first name I have a common name but it can be spelt two ways. Giving my email address which had both names in it I spell the whole thing. Annoys me. Only in argos do I give my email address as I’m usually buying something electrical which may break down so I want the email receipt. Otherwise I just say no