Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am wondering from a shoppers point of view, how do you feel about all the "up-selling" or pushing of "add-ons" that is going on just about everywhere you go now? I did find an older thread concerning this, but I feel that it has gotten really ridiculous here just lately.
Everywhere you go now, their pitching credit cards, award cards, charitable donations, extra add-ons, some kind of extra "coverage", trying to get your zip-code, phone number, e-mail and other personal information, on and on. I I understand that companies need to make a profit, but it seems to me they're putting an awful lot on the backs of their lowest paid workers - the minimum wage workers on the front lines. At the grocery store where I shop, the poor cashiers are forced to practically holler a greeting at you the minute you step foot in the door. It's really obnoxious - but I know they have to do it. Do the marketing departments actually think we like this type of thing?
I feel for many of these cashiers, fast-food workers, etc. who are having to push this stuff on a daily basis or be threatened with their hours cut or even job loss. I'm quite sure if the big-wigs of these companies had to face customers day after to day, a lot of this nonsense would stop. As for soliciting donation for various chatities, nothing wrong with that. But all of the sudden, it's a constant request. I find it hard to believe there's not some serious profiteering going on somewhere on the part of the companies tied in there somewhere. Most corporations are not doing things just out of the "goodness of their hearts" these days.
How do you feel about all of this? Where I work, the employees are made to feel awful if they are not performing well in their "upselling", regardless of good their other performance on the job might be.
I am very sorry for the people who are told they have to insist on selling extra products/services to the point that the customer is so annoyed he ends up buying nothing. I have left items and walked out of the store a few times. And I have turned down services (offered by phone, mail, email) countless times.
I do not understand why people think this works. It has not worked with me once.The more items they try to sell, the less I buy.
I have always told people who call me offering products if they call again I will cancel my subscription/not order the product again/switch to other brand. I try to tell this to a manager hoping they realize this annoys the customer terribly, as the employee is doing his/her job only.
In stores when they start the "would you like..." I just go "no thanks, please no extras of any kind".
And I absolutely detest (if you don't mind me adding it to your thread, but I guess it is somehow related) the opt-out option (you are automatically enrolled in any given thing and you have to opt-out instead of opting in - this is absurd, you did not ask for the service/product!!!!) and the "one month free trial" (and they automatically charge you for the service unless you cancel within the time frame, which you either forget to do or it is impossible due to the complications within the canceling process.)
Dang, if it is a free trial I want it to be free, if I want I will subscribe/buy after the first month, otherwise, goodbye!!
I completely agree. It's just ridiculous how they make cashiers badger people all day. Kohls comes to mind instantly. I've had friends work there who say that their hours depend on how many people they can get to sign up for the Kohl's charge card! That's so wrong!
When I worked at OfficeMax, there was a certain product each day or week that we had to push on customers. It was the cashier's duty to sell x numbers of the item, and if we failed to do so, we got yelled at by the managers. They acted like we weren't trying when we did ask every customer; you can't force someone to buy something! Same with Game Crazy (a video game store), we had to ask every customer if they wanted to sign up for a rewards program, warrantees, etc, etc, and if we didn't, our hours were cut. That store ended up going out of business, actually.
It's absolutely annoying from a customer's perspective. I'm not sure why companies think that bothering their customers like that is going to give them a positive reputation. I can see how it would be easy to rope a naive 18 year old into signing up for a credit card, or to scare someone who doesn't know anything about electronics into buying an uncessary warantee...I guess that must be why they keep doing it, because I can't fathom any other benefits to badgering one's customers.
I used to work at a high end clothing retail store while I was in college. We had to offer credit card but I told my manager I will not do it or I will quit. I work very hard and I provide excellent customer service to my customers and some time I'm their personal shopper. I told my manager if they tell me anything about offering the store credit card I will quit. They left me alone and I worked there for 2 years and never asked filled out a credit card form. I guess the whole management team get the message from me.
That was 6 years ago. Over the holidays I went to the store and do some shopping and a girl told me if she didn't sign people up for credit card they would cut her hours. I thought that was so wrong. I asked her if what if the customer get declined because credit aren't handed out easily for the people with low FICO score like they used to do. She told me they dont get credit or working hours if the card is not approve. Outrageous. Since I read this post it appeared to be a industry wide standard.
Status:
" Charleston South Carolina"
(set 6 days ago)
Location: home...finally, home .
8,814 posts, read 21,277,348 times
Reputation: 20102
And I absolutely detest (if you don't mind me adding it to your thread, but I guess it is somehow related) the opt-out option (you are automatically enrolled in any given thing and you have to opt-out instead of opting in .
I totally agree and I believe that this should not be legal. Why is it, I wonder?
__________________ ******************
People may not recall what you said to them, but they will always remember how you made them feel .
When I worked at Books A Million, I hated trying to sell the BAC Millionaire's club card. The official policy was that you didn't have a quota to sell but if you didn't sell enough you got bitched at so it sure seemed like a quota to me. Fortunately, it was just a secondary job so I didn't worry about it too much.
I actually STOPPED buying books at our local Walden Books (Owned by Borders) because there was so much pressure at the register for you to sing up for their stupid "rewards" card. I would browse around in there on my lunch hour, pick up a book to purchase, but then I'd remember all I was going to have to listen to before I could just pay for the thing and get out of there, and just put the dang thing back.
My daughter, along with our bank, filed a case against a "movie-of-the-month" club, that kept sending her movies and debiting her checking account if she didn't send the "opt-out" card back in time. Everytime she tried to cancel her membership by calling their 1-800 "customer service" number, NO ONE would answer the phone, EVER. Our bank verified this by attempting to call the number on her behalf. They had no success in reaching anyone either, no matter what time or day.
Based on that, she won her case and was refunded all of her money, and was even entitled to keep all of the movies they had sent. So, you do have legal rights sometimes for some of these shameful practices.
It depends on the products and costs factors. I get upset at times with up-selling when it’s junk or too much money. However there have been times when I appreciated the person telling me more about the product/s and if there was something better for my needs that what I originally picked out to buy.
Many years ago I did some selling as part of my job while servicing the customers. I enjoyed talking with them and found that most customers didn’t know that there might be something more that they needed or could try for a small fee. I always felt that they were appreciative with the additional insight to why they needed what I recommended.
It does not bother me really it easy to say no thanks.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
That's so wrong!
