i absolutely hate being asked "are you findin everything ok" or "can i help you" nine billion times by nine billion different workers at a store. i feel so annoyed by this and it makes me angry. i just like to do my shopping and i will ask if i need help.

a part of me understands this after working retail, but i never took part in the hounding of customers. i remember working at bed bath and beyond and i got threatened by my boss that his boss was goin to hav a one on one with me cuz i wouldnt hound customers. they had this policy that if a group of employees would walk past a customer, we all had to greet them even if there were like 10 of us. i thought this was absurd. i dont like to be bothered while shoppin and didnt like to bother other ppl. we had so many customer complaints about how they felt stalked and were annoyed by the associates but yet we were pressured into approaching the customer, each time we passed them....ridiculous.

i will actually avoid certain stores because of the obnoxious associates, Lowes, Best Buy and Bed Bath and Beyond being on the top of my list. after goin to Lowes the other day and bein asked if i was finding everything ok by 6 different workers in 5 minutes i vowed to never go back. so just wondering if anybody else gets annoyed by this and if you do what stores do you avoid or get irritated goin to.

I only find it annoying when I don't need the help. Frequently it's the opposite for me--I'm looking for someone, and nobody is around.

Funny, recently I was at a Best Buy twice in one day (first shopping for a TV and then buying it), and was not approached even once--and I really wanted some questions answered. They must have sensed that I was desperate for a sales associate.

Anyway, I avoid shopping and don't even know where the obnoxious sales associates are.

Quote from: Arch on February 19, 2010, 12:46:37 AM
I only find it annoying when I don't need the help. Frequently it's the opposite for me--I'm looking for someone, and nobody is around.

Funny, recently I was at a Best Buy twice in one day (first shopping for a TV and then buying it), and was not approached even once--and I really wanted some questions answered. They must have sensed that I was desperate for a sales associate.

that is so true. we were attacked from the moment we walked in at Lowes but as soon as we needed some glass cut nobody was around we waited like 10 minutes for help. and yeah i think they can sense that you need help cuz the same thing will happen to me at best buy. they are there when you dont need em and never there when you do.

It's a little irritating. Never got asked that much.

Yeah, if I need help I'll seek out an employee and ask them for it.

most of the time I've had more trouble getting a floor sales peep to help with something. (last time it was to preorder mass effect 2 limited edition for PC at best buy, must have been a good 20 min standing around before I could get someone, only to be told to go to the service desk because they only had the standard edition preorder boxes)

target is pretty good at keeping both from asked too much or can't find a sales associate. I don't like lowes/home depot/menards anyways so no loss there (mills fleet farm has a more interesting selection, that and at least they don't pretend to know home improvement)

overall I've had it mixed to good when it comes to sales peeps, I suppose it's a regional thing.

I always get hounded when I go to Best Buy.  It seems like every 5 minutes, I look at something new, or just even move a sales rep has to come ask me if I need help with anything.  I don't avoid the place, but it does irritate me.

Anywhere else I go, I'm either ignored (mainly because I look like I can't even drive, let alone pay for my own stuff) or just asked once if I need help.

Another country same story.

Hasseled when you are looking,
avoided like the plague when you want help.

I have gone up to a store counter and put stuff down and said, I would have bought these but I didn't get any help when needed, good bye.

Some of the worst are electrical stores when you want technical help. When I'm presenting as me I get waffle because my little female brain cannot take it. If I happen to be in drab I get answers, or more often, "I'll have to get back to you on that."

One of the funniest was ages ago, but my sister and I went to buy a car for her, her boyfriend was with us. He had been on the scene for about a week so was a puppy dog ( ).

He got all the questions and was the only person who was looked in the eye. We two girls were totally ignored. I was paying for the car for my sis as a present! But since we were girls and a guy was present DUHHHH.



Strange world.

Cindy

I find it often works if you give them a really pained stare and say something like:

"I know this isn't the correct shop, but do you have any idea where I could get some medicine to cure Bubonic Plague? My doctor said I shouldn't go near other people because it's infectious but, you know, you can't let a little thing like the Black Death stop you living your life, right?"

A small cough afterwards usually sends them scurrying for the nearest stockroom.

Quote from: CindyJames on February 19, 2010, 02:23:28 AM
But since we were girls and a guy was present DUHHHH.

Sounds like what used to happen with one of my exes. She knew cars and almost took a job as a service adviser. But when she went into an auto parts store for some thirty weight, a clerk would swarm over there and ask her if she needed help...she would have the motor oil in her hands and be ready to go to the counter to pay, and the guy would say something stupid like, "Do you know what kind of oil your car takes?" Sheesh.

Once a mechanic told her that her catalytic converter needed replacing. She gave him a chilly stare and said, "My car doesn't HAVE a catalytic converter." Needless to say, he was quite embarrassed at being caught like that. And, needless to say, she took her car to a different mechanic.

I guess the best revenge is to know as much as you can and not be afraid to flaunt your knowledge.

I put Best Buy on top of my hate list. I don't go in there to browse.
The sales people have the dual properties of being pesky and unavailable.
They are also not particularly knowledgeable.

At work, I am instructed to ask, "Did you find everything that you wanted today?"
I don't ask, but I will acknowledge that this often results in an additional purchase.

Yes, I am eternally amused by the scenario of a girl and a guy walking into the auto parts store.
Since I don't like being pestered anyway, I like that the guy has to take the flak.

Retail associates are supposed to acknowledge every customer for two reasons. 1) To increase sales, and 2) To prevent theft.  If they know you're watching, theives are less likely to attempt to steal something.  If you're being asked if you need help every thirty seconds, either the associates are working for commission, or you look disreputable.    Personally, I hate shopping anywhere where the sales people work for commission.  You can always tell.  It's like the sleaze factor goes up 10 fold when they approach you.

As a side note - one of the places I used to work had a codename "Ruben".  If "Ruben" was called to any particular area (usually the music department) every available person in the store would swarm that area and kill the suspect with service. 

I find it very annoying.
But I get it too. I *look* like the person who's gonna shoplift from the electronics.

Quote from: insanitylives on February 21, 2010, 11:13:33 AM
I find it very annoying.
But I get it too. I *look* like the person who's gonna shoplift from the electronics.

A good reason to not shop at big box stores and only shop at small stores with owners you know. It is not worth a slightly reduced price to be looked at like a stranger.

I've reached the top of my department in sales performance while transitioning in a small, rich, highly religious conservative town.

Some people just suck ass at sales. Sorry y'all get them. Come to me instead.

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Post Merge: February 22, 2010, 09:31:11 AM

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I'm going to weigh in more.

Most customers have been trained to assume one of two things. Either 1: you're a complete idiot or 2: you've got a PhD in the subject.

The former will tell you they're fine, ignore you, maybe get snippy. When they finally are ready to check out, you ask them a simple question and it turns out that they grabbed the wrong thing. Or what they want is out of stock. Or any number of problems that you *know* are going to happen ahead of time, but because they won't open simple dialog they waste a lot of time.

Then you have engineers and other ->-bleeped-<-s like that who come in and ask you outrageous questions and get upset when you don't know. I'm not an electrician, I can't tell you how to wire your house, in fact we don't even sell electrical supplies. And if I did and you killed yourself your family could sue me for liability.

Of course, I'm actually professional at what I do. I offer my customers "good luck there" when they want to check our local competitors. Those two sentences may seem contradictory, but I know I provide exceptional service and my customers realize it too. If they're serious about buying, they usually come back laughing about how bad they are.

I scoff at noncommissioned sales with customers. Best Buy and the Apple Store pride themselves on not being commissioned. Usually when I say that customers respond "that's why they don't know ->-bleeped-<- about anything." Well, I'm sure apple is full of rabid cultists who're happy to be underpaid, but job satisfaction is little incentive for someone making $8 to learn hundreds of products. Plus if you lie, bull->-bleeped-<-, or are simply wrong about something and a customer returns it, it's no skin off your nose. If I screw something up, that's groceries for a week coming out of my check.

Quite honestly the worst part are the people who you spend literally hours with, who need to make multiple trips, such as to measure or somesuch, who then go to a different store or buy it online. Or they come back and just buy it from any random person. I suppose, like I said, the reputation of sales is to be less than human, but when you prove that you are, it's nice for people to be respectful back.

Quote from: lisagurl on February 22, 2010, 10:50:59 AM
A good reason to not shop at big box stores and only shop at small stores with owners you know. It is not worth a slightly reduced price to be looked at like a stranger.

Those places are worse. Their loosing more profit per item, so if they think you're a shoplifter, they'll just ask you to leave before giving you a chance.

for me it's better to have the guy passing by looking over my shoulder every five minutes then to be told "don't show up anywhere near my store again", even though in both situations I've done nothing wrong except wear dark baggy clothes.

In defense of high volume stores, we get the strangest people sometimes. We do become a bit callus because of it. I have worked at both high and low volume stores. The time I am given per customer is much less at my current high volume store. Speed becomes more of a factor. I do not get the hour or half-hour per customer like I did at a low volume home improvement store I worked at. Its more like 5 secs to 2 minutes.

From a retail position were hounded by coorporate office to greet everyone that comes within about 5 ft of us. But in a group as mentioned somewhere its not necessary for ALL of us to greet lol thats a bit obnoxious but i see the point of it.

Quote from: insanitylives on February 23, 2010, 05:53:31 PM
Those places are worse. Their loosing more profit per item, so if they think you're a shoplifter, they'll just ask you to leave before giving you a chance.

for me it's better to have the guy passing by looking over my shoulder every five minutes then to be told "don't show up anywhere near my store again", even though in both situations I've done nothing wrong except wear dark baggy clothes.

A community is where people know each other and do business with each other. It is only polite to conform to community standards if you are a stranger. When people get to know you you can be a little more eccentric. If you dress as a thief then expect to be treated like one.

I went in to home depot today, and was swarmed by "sales associates" from the minute I walked in there.

Two of them stand out - the first one was standing on a main aisle and as I approached he wanted to know if he could help me - no thanks. I then saw what I needed and made a turn into a side aisle. I happened to look sideways and out of the corner of my eye I could see that he adjusted his position to be able to watch me.

The second guy was straightening out the contents of a shelf and I needed something directly across from where he was working. I noticed that this guy also adjusted his stance so that he could keep an eye on me, although he didn't say anything.

I did just have a haircut, so maybe they were checking me out  but it made me feel like a shoplifter.

That's funny, the last time I went to Lowe's, no one asked me anything, and of course it was the one time where I needed help finding something.

I don't like it when it's obvious that the store has a policy that the salespeople should ask the question to everyone they see.  I don't mind being asked if I get the sense that the salesperson is actually thinking about whether it looks like I need help before they ask (which isn't often).