To get itchy teeth at salesspeak?

[EricNorthmansmistress]

Why do they always say 'yourself' when they mean you? Who teaches them this?

And 'obviously'....why?

"Obviously, we tried to call yourself on wednesday and obviously you weren't home, so I'll leave a message for someone to call yourself tomorrow..."

I don't understand why it is only salespeople who speak like this?

YANBU. They probably also use grocers' apostrophes.

Not only salespeople unfortunately - I once had a manager who would check the (gramatically correct) letters I sent to customers and change things like "you" to "yourself". Grrrr.

Umm... salesperson here... dont speak like that.

These are usually crap sales people on the very first rung and not likely to manage to climb to the next one!

agree with foureleven, twats in their first ever sales job IMO

or poor bewildered 16 year olds who doesn't really want to talk to a middle aged woman about whether she is happy with her sky warranty but has to start somewhere...

I think the "yourself" thing is an attempt to sound more formal or the product more superior/luxurious.

There was a Victoria Wood sketch years ago set at a health spa with Julie Walters as the therapist doing introductions and it was full of "so, when you are facilitating yourself in our hydropool-matic super-relaxitant luxe pool" etc