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?

You're not being unreasonable to say no but it's reasonable for them to ask. I actually find it really useful them emailing me reciepts, as it means I never lose them.

Like others have said, just smile and say, no I'll just pay please.

What an incredibly silly post. 🙄 That 1 person who is not giving Currys the trade, MAY only be 1 person, but that 1 person will soon become, 2, then 3, then 5, then 10, then 20, then 50, (and eventually many more,) if the arrogant, pushy, haranguing of people for their personal details continues. They will lose LOADS of customers long term if they persist. Do you really think it's only going be 1 customer?!

Can you actually really, genuinely, not see/understand that any given company would lose many customers, if they insist on their shitty haranguing and bullying?

I mean, seriously.......?!

!

Fridge freezer!

It's best not to give out personal details as they're sold to marketing companies and it also puts people at risk of their details ending up leaking out in hacks. Not to mention the spam from the company itself.

This ^^ says a lot about you

What a nasty post. Perhaps I should say that I won't cry if the company you or your loved ones work for go under. Only I won't because I am not mean spirited, unlike you.

I can't get over how easily offended some posters are when a till operator asks for your email address. Just say "thank you, but I prefer a paper receipt". It isn't difficult, and it doesn't take much imagination to work out that they have been told to ask customers for email addresses. It's no wonder that retail workers are fed up with rude customers.

Funnily enough I don't come across rude retail workers because I am pleasant and polite to them.

BTW, I don't work for H & B or Amazon, nor do I work in retail. I just know how to treat people.

You completely missed the point that some no longer give paper receipt. You literally won't get any receipt if you don't hand over your email.

Also, I don't think the OP meant they don't care if thousands of people lost their jobs. All this taking things to an extreme is ridiculous.

I don’t want to give out my personal info in a busy shop , I also don’t want to get the constant marketing emails either - I’ve started saying no - can I just pay please .

I highly doubt that their printer was broken - they've probably been told to say that, or otherwise are out under so much pressure to meet targets that that is their go-to lie.

Issuing a receipt is a standard part of the transaction - albeit one that protects the customer and not them. If it were their actual till that went down, do you think they'd just shrug their shoulders, not bother to find a solution and just not accept any sales?

I'd never want ti be one of these obnoxious customers who is rude to the staff and screams "I pay your wages!"...

BUT I do think that the top management of a lot of these companies have truly lost sight of the fact that they are relying on the favour and goodwill of their customers to choose to shop with them, and they aren't actually doing them a massive favour by letting them shop with them and not their competitors.

The older lady mentioned above, who was basically lied to and scammed by a supposedly reputable shop, has been treated abominably and abusively - that shop deserves to go out of business if they treat their customers so appallingly. I know she doesn't want to 'cause a fuss', bless her; but these cowboys deserve to be exposed all across SM and held to account.

Even if somebody had willingly and knowingly signed up to their mailing list, that is still completely excessively stalky and wholly abusive of customer goodwill.

I just say, ‘I’d like to just pay, please - no signing up. Thanks.’

Oh no @Perimenoanti .

It lost the post I was responding to. This wasn't meant for the OP but for @HoppityBun who said this:

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

which I thought wasn't a nice comment to make.
My apologies @ISimplyDontBelieveIT if you thought that this was meant for you.

TBH I haven't shopped anywhere that won't give me a receipt. I do peruse New Look but haven't bought from there for years.

It was just one of those things. I said oh don’t worry I don’t need a receipt… she said we need to give you one in case of exchange or refund.

Im sure I could have refused but it was just going to get more awkward. The easiest thing at that point was to give her my old one. She did say details wouldn’t go further or be sold on.

Just politely say no.

I had “this till is for emailed receipts only, is that OK?” at New Look yesterday. Which I’m pretty sure was BS from the member of staff.

Apparently, if I’d wanted a paper receipt I’d have had to wait whilst her manager finished with another customer on the other till. Not great service and I left feeling a bit (probably unreasonably) annoyed.

New Look are awful giving you a paper receipt where i am. Dd worked in a shop and they were evaluated on how many email addresses they got. They have to ask, particularly if the manager is around. But would leave it if someone said no thank you.

I say "No thank you, I prefer not to share personal information."

It appears that New Look are the worst for this. I would probably ask for a till receipt and give a fake email address.

Also hate it, but just say It’s ok thanks and that’s the end of it!

I asked for a paper receipt in NL and the lad flatly refused claiming that it isn't company policy to issue them.

I haven't set foot in it since.

You must be far from the only one.

Do they really prefer to aggressively grab contact info for marketing campaigns than to not alienate customers who would otherwise be in their stores actually buying things?

It seems par for the course now for stores to ask for your email address. It irritates me, it feels like an invasion of your privacy. I always tell them I can't remember it, just print my receipt.

The high street is dying on its arse, you'd think they'd be looking for ways of enticing customers, not pissing them off!

Thank you for all the replies. This is definitely not about blaming the shop staff who might cringe themselves at having to do this. I stay polite always, and I know they’re just doing what their jobs requires.

Yesterday at WC I simply tried to pay and get on with my day. At the till, it started with a simple “are you on our mailing list?”, but whether I replied yes or no it didn't make a difference, I was immediately pulled into the whole run of details. By the time I realised it, I was already in the middle of a transaction I didn’t want. That’s the part that leaves me with a bit of a negative residue afterwards, a sense of an interaction that felt off for no good reason. It’s similar to the tactics used by street canvassers in town: the initial phrase is phrased in such a way that anything other than engaging feels rude.

When I see canvassers in the street I walk the other way. I don't want to have to avoid shopping face to face.

Shop assistants have to ask otherwise they get a bollocking. I just say that I'd like a paper receipt.

The only place that has ever argued with me on this is New Look - claiming they don't give paper receipts anymore. A quick search of their own privacy policy shows this isn't true (I got a paper receipt after pointing this out).

https://help-uk.newlook.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360015272452-Digital-Receipt-Privacy-Notice

I always just say no thanks when they ask for my email address. Recently I paid cash for a few things in Home Bargains and they wouldn't give me a receipt. I've since discovered that shops are not legally required to issue receipts at all!

Just say no.
Are you on our mailing list? No thank you.
Do you want an email receipt? No thank you, I’ll have a paper one.
Do you want to join our rewards club? No thank you.