[Closed] Pointless questions sales staff ask you when shopping.

and yet it's proven to work...

The Post Office piss me off. No I don't want life insurance I just want a book of stamps.

And Swinton Insurance - get a call every two or three weeks trying to sell me additional policies of one kind or another since taking car insurance out with them last October.

and yet it's proven to work

Not with me its not.

Yep, it winds me right up too. Don't these heartless bastards realise that some of us really struggle to say no.

Oh and there is Superdrug, they ask you do you want ant stamps or mobile phone top ups.

No,surely if they see youve bought deoderant, why the f... do you need stamps and a mobile top up.

other customers are available...

Mind you, on that point I'll go put of my way to buy the cheaper option if a salesperson tries to be pushy.

Superdrug, they ask you do you want ant stamps or mobile phone top ups.

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As clubber says, it works. Up-selling is a big part of sales. I bet it has worked on you sometime in the past.

I would imagine superdrug are promoting those services as most people wouldn't be aware it is a service they offer.

[i]Oh and there is Superdrug, they ask you do you want ant stamps or mobile phone top ups.[/i]

because unless I had mobile top up tattooed on the back of my hand, I'd never remember, so it's just as well they ask!!

Businesses in bid to increase sales shocker.

Jesus

the other favourite is have you got a nectar card, and do you wAnt one, the answer im going to get a t shirt with "NO" printed on it so i can just point and smile.

you should get a nectar card...or can I have your points?

project - Member
and yet it's proven to work
Not with me its not.
POSTED 9 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST

and a costa card, and a waitrose card, and a Tesco club card....

I hate it when they ask if i intend to pay for the items that are in my jacket pockets...

Having worked in a bike shop, I can assure you that folk have a habit of not realising they don't have everything you need. Even if it's as simple as an inner tube, you'd be surprised how many folk will buy tyre leavers when you ask, as opposed to getting home and then having to make a second trip.

To be honest I'd buy an ant stamp.

[img] [/img]

We've a WHSmiths where I work - they get me with "offers for a pound, dearie" (you have to imagine the witch from Snow White) about 50% of my visits

I'm weak

and tubby 🙁

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/p>

See - I didn't want to say anything until it was too late for him to edit his post* 🙂

* and then I forgot 😳

Mobile top ups are for poors.

because unless I had mobile top up tattooed on the back of my hand, I'd never remember

That's you starting a "what's the point of getting a tattoo?" thread right there, that is.

Pointless questions customers ask you when shopping.

"How much is this?"
"what does the point of sale clearly plastered all over it say?"
"£9.99!"
"Then that's how much it'll be".

"Is this £4.50?"
"what does the point of sale clearly plastered all over it say?"
"£4.50!"
"Then, Yes"

"would you like a bag sir?"
"Yes, if you've got one?"
"Well, if I didn't have one, I wouldn't £ecking ask you if you wanted one, you stupid tit."

Unfortunately as part of my demeaning part time job I have to ask people if they have their own bags if they want help packing, if they have a clubcard and if they are collecting whatever daft vouchers we're giving out (at the moment two lots) its annoying but its part of the job.
The other day I asked a customer if they were collecting the knife vouchers, half listening they replied "oh are they for schools?" I just said yeah and gave them 'em...
I feel sorry for the people in W H Smith's who have to blag every customer about dairymilk for a quid or whatever.

And yeah I have asked customers out on dates before now, so you're just not going to the right checkout Project!.....

Its seems to be all the rave at the moment cross selling ancillary sales, low revenue but high margin, perhaps not always done that intelligently, but for some companies it now becoming a key strategy.

Generally I have been led to believe that it is considered to have better conversion rates than up-selling, plus some things can't easily be up-sold, how can I get people to buy a higher priced, higher margin deoderant especially when they are already at the till point. So, you can see why stamps and gum are offered but is it really very successful? And as people are saying, it just pisses people off.

Would you like to supersize that? = up sell
Would you like fries with that? = cross sell

So not really very new, just becoming much more pervasive in our retailing culture.

McDonald's are the worst.

"Big Mac meal please"

"Is that a large meal?"

Look at me, johnny-no-stars, of course it's a large one.

Just doing their jobs aren't they?

You could be a covert mystery shopper who will report back to/grass them up to head office and get them fired for not having obeyed the latest cross-sell/up-sell marketing/sales campaign!

Lolz at thegreatape

I'm just annoyed you can't supersize anymore 😥

A lot of this is prompted by the till - as you are being served the till is prompting the server with the various up-sells and platitudes.

its why in burger king you'll cheerily be told to 'enjoy your meal' even if you've only bought a drink

"and yet it's proven to work"
Not with me its not.

Maybe you should get "cross selling doesn't work with me" tattooed on your forehead so you can avoid all this hassle?

.

[i]Mobile top ups are for poors.[/i]
& people who don't walk around with a phone glued to an ear. Like me (except I'm PAYG)

The other one is banks, got a call at TEATIME tonight, Barclays wanting to talk to me about my 'everyday banking'. Well I do apologise for not going to the bank everyday! I did tell the guy that it was a totally mind numbing subject & he tried to convince me it was actually a fascinating subject. When I told him I'd talk about MTBing or sea fishing he seemed a bit confused. Soon got shot of him without being rude though. 😈

To be fair he has reasonable grounds to think you may be interested in banking offers (most people with a bank account are at least vaguely). Whereas MTBing or sea fishing is boring to 99% of the population.

The other day I asked a customer if they were collecting the knife vouchers, half listening they replied "oh are they for schools?"

guilty on that one

the worst one is when the store is doing a postcode survey for a week or 2 to find out their catchment area. Your till, which you are logged on to, is automatically monitored whether you're entering postcodes for each customer, as well as snidy supervisors keeping an eye on you. You feel like a right tit asking people for their postcode and loads of customers feel it is an invasion of their own private info. Got pulled in one year cos I was slagging the company with customers for doing it. Got pulled in the next year for making up postcodes. Stupid crap! cashback?

Cycle to petrol station in full bicyclist uniform. Lean bike under cashier's window, make eye contact with cashier and smile through mud splat riddled face. Helmet still on, grab an energy drink and maybe some athletic cigarettes and waddle up to counter....'any petrol today sir?????' 😀

In Morrisons: "Do you need help with your packing?"

"Jesus! Do I look so old that I've obviously lost the use of my faculties?"

And, of course, in the pub: "Will that be a double?"

has anyone ever answered 'no' to that question? 🙂

Pointless questions asked by sales assistants?

"Can I help you"

In the bank.
"Who is your home insurance provider?"
Excuse me?

"Can I help you?"

No thanks.

*Proceeds to tell me all about the product I'm looking at anyway, usually by reading the features card on the display to me*

In petrol stations they usually ask if you want a huge bar of chocolate for a quid. My response sometimes is, 'do I look like I eat chocolate?' I'd love to add 'fatty' on the end.

Maplin, always want to send me their brochures... "can I take your postcode to send you some money off vouchers?"

can you not give them to me now? always stops them in their tracks.......

I love it when non sales people are given sales techniques to use that are there to reduce rejection rates, as I sales person myself I like to take them away from their script, they soon fall over in panic...

The worst one is when you say to somebody "no thanks i'm not interested" and they come back with the worst reply ever......"can you tell me why are you not interested?" 🙄

Even if it's as simple as an inner tube, you'd be surprised how many folk will buy tyre leavers when you ask, as opposed to getting home and then having to make a second trip.

What would TJ do?

the worst one is when the store is doing a postcode survey for a week or 2 to find out their catchment area

I give the postcode of a house in East Anglia that I lived in about 12 years ago (I now live about 300 miles away from there).

Smash the system, give misleading data in response to a question and thereby skew the resultant stats my a barely perceptible amount 😀

Alternatively point out that you don't have a postcode of your own but you can tell them the one that that Post Office lets me use as long as you live where you currently do.

+1 for petrol station staff asking helmet clad, mud spattered me if I'm paying for petrol...

😀

I get annoyed by robotic staff asking me if I have a loyalty card. I find a curt "I neither have nor want one" works well.

I use the self-service tills to avoid all human interaction. Of course, this means continually calling an assistant when the machine repeatedly accuses me of nicking stuff, but it's a price worth paying.

thegreatape - Member

McDonald's are the worst.

"Big Mac meal please"

"Is that a large meal?"

Look at me, johnny-no-stars, of course it's a large one.

[IMG] [/IMG]

"are you alwright there....?"

...from some gormless youth

I have found that the best response to
"sorry about your wait" is
"I know I'm looking a bit saggy round the middle but I'm hoping a better diet and more exercise will shift the worst of it" causes sufficient confusion and embarrassment 😀

Assistant "I'm sorry about your waiting"

Me, in Patrick McGoohan the Prisoner mode "I had a choice?"

"Thank you for waiting....you are an [b]important customer [/b]for us and a consultant (sic) will be with you are soon as possible....."

Do these buffoons not see the irony in these messages?

this is what shopping experiences should be like;

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I assume most of you lot have never worked retail then?

Don't blame the minimum-wage till-monkeys for asking annoying questions, they're just doing what they have to do to keep their jobs. Having been there myself I try to be a nice as I can to the poor sods, it's mind-numbing drudgery, and it's not helped by miserable **** like you lot being all smartarse or grumpy. Just say "No thank you", it's not that difficult is it? 🙄

[Edit: Mr Murray's antics however are perfectly acceptable. Very entertaining. 😀 ]

wwaswas - that's awesome!

mintimperial - sorry but that's pretty tame

I have worked in retail and it would brighten my day a bit if I dealt with someone who appeared to think that the till/sales script was as daft as I though it was.

I assume most of you lot have never worked retail then?

I assume most of you lot have never worked retail then?

Don't blame the minimum-wage till-monkeys for asking annoying questions, they're just doing what they have to do to keep their jobs. Having been there myself I try to be a nice as I can to the poor sods, it's mind-numbing drudgery, and it's not helped by miserable **** like you lot being all smartarse or grumpy. Just say "No thank you", it's not that difficult is it?

+1
You might find that, behind the automatic scripted questions, they're actually quite decent people just trying to make a living.

Unless they're in telesales in which case, hanging up or leaving them on hold for 30 minutes is perfectly reasonable... 😉

I generally try not it mix with the sort of riff raff that fill such menial roles in society. If I do have to go into a shop I take someone with me to speak to them and explain that under no circumstance should the oik look directly at me.

Crazy-legs - but no-one is commenting on whether they are/are not decent people, its about their behaviour when at working. Perfectly OK for us to make that distinction especially when may seem to do that themselves!

Unless they're in telesales in which case, hanging up or leaving them on hold for 30 minutes is perfectly reasonable...

Never worked telesales but I know a few who have, one mate of mine says that people who put him on hold were his favourite because he could just sit there and stare into space.

Had the joyous experience of a quick visit to Sports Direct yesterday. There were two "sales consultants" at the door collecting money for sports relief. Actually surprisingly polite, ...."Excuse me sir....".

Then followed down the stairs by a lady saying to a friend, "That daft **** just called me sir!"

Whenever I buy a 'Subway Melt' from Subway, they always ask me if I want it toasted and whether I want cheese.

It wouldn't be much of a melt without cheese, and it needs some heat to melt the cheese 🙁

TurnerGuy - Member

Whenever I buy a 'Subway Melt' from Subway, they always ask me if I want it toasted and whether I want cheese.

It wouldn't be much of a melt without cheese, and it needs some heat to melt the cheese

I thought they asked if you wanted [i]extra [/i]cheese, and the heat could also be provided via microwave.

[b]"Subway...proud sponsor of The Biggest Loser"[/b]

You couldn't make these things up!!

Crazy-legs - but no-one is commenting on whether they are/are not decent people, its about their behaviour when at working. Perfectly OK for us to make that distinction especially when may seem to do that themselves!

This is why I like the self service checkouts in supermarkets. I'd rather not have the forced friendly-ness of staff asking how my day was.

I thought they asked if you wanted extra cheese

they seemed to have changed to asking if you want cheese at all - although they certainly used to ask if you wanted extra cheese, as you said.

Maybe it is just the one near St Pauls that does this.

I shall ask how they are going to melt the cheese if I say no to toasted.

"Subway...proud sponsor of The Biggest Loser"

You couldn't make these things up!!

and there's stickers on the counter saying that the British Heart Foundation supports your choice of low fat subs...

I give the postcode of a house in East Anglia that I lived in about 12 years ago (I now live about 300 miles away from there).

Smash the system, give misleading data in response to a question and thereby skew the resultant stats my a barely perceptible amount

Maybe we should all give the STW Towers postcode?

tyre leavers

Where are they off to then?

In a Canadian Subway I visited recently they were doing a promotion on BLT subs.
What bread did I want? White please.
What did I want in it? Bacon please.
What did I want with it? Er, lettuce and tomato please.
Apparently I could have had a BLT made with tuna, coleslaw and avocado if I wanted, it would still have been a BLT to them.
And don't me started on ordering a coffee in Starbucks - more questions than the census form.

OH works in a bike shop...came home the other day with this tale..

Customer... "my back tire keeps going flat, whats wrong with it"
OH....."sounds like a puncture, but could be the valve, how long does it stay up"..
Customer... "i pump it up a few times a week, how can i fix it".
OH... "you can either book it in and we check / fix as required, otherwise you could check the valve is not leaking, fix the puncture or just replace the tube, if your unsure id dont want us to fix it your best bet is to just replace the tube".
Customer... "you would say that your a bike shop and just want to sell me stuff".

Customer then leaves...

Bike shop in free advice and offer to fix shocker..

The customer is always right but also cheeky / misguided and about to buy online..

Kevevs - Member
the worst one is when the store is doing a postcode survey for a week or 2 to find out their catchment area.

Local Wickes where doing that , gave them the postcode of the local prison, and said i was out on day release, and where did they sell hacksaw blades.

WH SMITHS today, buying new SINGLETRACK MAG, did i want any chocolate, and a bag, seems as if its shameful to be seen carrying a Singletrack in public.

As someone who frequently has bad hearing, pointless questions can be frustrating.

Recently when my hearing was particularly bad (couldn't hear wife when she shouts in my ear), I went out to buy said wife some unsalted butter and milk. Easy.

Got to counter, ready to hand over money and leave...and the lady proceded to wave a few leaflets and say something to me. I gave my usual response "sorry I'm deaf" (don't know why I insist on apologizing for it all the time). She decided to wave a few more leaflets and talk at me some more.

After trying to explain that I'm deaf a few more times, and politely saying "can I just pay for these and go please?", that got a glare and a frown. Then shook her head at the next customer in a kind of, 'deaf people, why can't they just stay at home' way.

ohnohesback - Member
I get annoyed by robotic staff asking me if I have a loyalty card. I find a curt "I neither have nor want one" works well.

Maybe I'm just having a bit of ginger moment but I'm struggling to figure out in what way that 'works'.

You should engage them in converstaion - a Staples Loyalty card, wow, and what colour does it come in, really, wow, like awesome dude (really works when you're in your 50's that one, you really see their respect for your like totally AWESOME street cred light up their faces or something), so wharere was I oh, yes, the air miles card, how many airmiles do i get on a 75p bottle of own brand tippex, what, not airmiles, really? are you sure, it looks like an airmiles card, what with being plastic and everything, is that thermoplastic, looks like it might be, do you think I could melt it down and make it into an air miles card, so anyway..

.......did i want any chocolate, and a bag, seems as if its shameful to be seen carrying a Singletrack in public.

Cheeky git......did you make a formal complaint ? The only way to put a stop to that sort of nonsense is to ask to speak to their supervisor.

[i]"Anything for the weekend sir ?"[/i] always gets me. The desire to have slightly shorter hair is the sole motivating factor behind me entering their establishment, and yet they take it upon themselves to ask prying questions about my sexual ambitions during the weekend. It's not right.

"Anything for the weekend sir ?"

I was asked that after my last haircut so I said yes please....the barber lent me his fishing rod

IGMC

"Anything for the weekend sir ?"

Just tell them that you're flattered but you think it would be better if you could just be friends