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.
Worked retail. Hated with every fiber pushing their store card.
I'd ask. And respected every no recited.
Best came from a lady who said, well I'm here visiting family. I live in Canada.
Wouldn't ya know , the store card doesn't accept international applicants.
If you got time to be annoying play 20 questions with them
. Ask which credit entity they report to. ? Experian? Trans ?
Ask if you get penalized for making more the. One payment a month.
Ask if you can have five authorized users ? Ask if the card can open your garage door cuz you saw a YouTube video that showed that trick! Seriously if ya got a good sense of humor use it!
Otherwise , tell them you just got out of jail from folsum prison for going bizerk on a fullerbrush salesman
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,825 posts, read 81,829,411 times
Reputation: 58241
With so many of us apparently taking advantage of the credit card "rewards" and paying them off every month to avoid interest, I wondered how the credit card companies are making any money, with only the 3% charged to the retailers. I suppose there are enough people that run up to the maximum limit and make minimum payments to make up for it.
First time question is asked, my reply is "No, thank you" in a pleasant voice with a smile.
Second time the same question is asked: "No" in a flat but firm tone.
Third time question is asked: "I've told you 'no' twice already, please don't ask again" in a disapproving, no-nonsense school-teacher tone, and with no hint of pleasantry or smile.
It's rare that I would ever get to the third time. I have a pretty good "no means no" voice.
When you have employees who don't score high enough on their yearly review to get a raise because they don't meet the ridiculous expectation of 'selling' two credit cards per day, you're going to get retail 'drones' (why the disrespect? it's pathetic) pushing customers. They aren't sociopaths, they are desperate people who are being pressured and threatened in ways that affect their livelihood.
I have a great deal of empathy for front line workers and their exploitation, but I have even more respect for those who have personal integrity and will not harass a customer who obviously is not interested. For the most part they aren't going to get a raise no matter what they do anyway.
Status:
"It's WARY, or LEERY (weary means tired)"
(set 24 days ago)
Location: A Yankee in northeast TN
16,150 posts, read 21,305,900 times
Reputation: 43949
Quote:
Originally Posted by mordant
I have a great deal of empathy for front line workers and their exploitation, but I have even more respect for those who have personal integrity and will not harass a customer who obviously is not interested. For the most part they aren't going to get a raise no matter what they do anyway.
Do you? Is that why you refer to them as drones and sociopaths?
Have you considered what that says about the corporations that employ them and the managers that push them? Or is it just easier to blame the front line workers?
Do you? Is that why you refer to them as drones and sociopaths?
Have you considered what that says about the corporations that employ them and the managers that push them? Or is it just easier to blame the front line workers?
I don't believe i used the term 'drones'. That is someone else's term maybe. Although on rare occasions, I have been "served" by drones.
I consider it sociopathic in those rare instances when one of them shows that they are sociopathic, such as the case mentioned by the OP. I do not generalize from that to an entire group of people. Most of them are fine. Many of them are outstanding. Sort of like in life generally.
Yes, I get that, but what I don't get is the 4th or 5th time. It's too much.
Because while their primary role is checking you out and receiving payment for the goods, corporate either highly incentivizes or pressures them to sell lines of credit to their store. If you've ever worked in a retail environment, you'd realize this is a pretty common practice. I once worked at Target during the holidays years ago and they definitely pushed us to ask this question. Of course, I thought it was a ridiculous thing to push and rarely asked customers the question at checkout. But it was also a side hustle job, so I didn't really care either.
Because while their primary role is checking you out and receiving payment for the goods, corporate either highly incentivizes or pressures them to sell lines of credit to their store. If you've ever worked in a retail environment, you'd realize this is a pretty common practice. I once worked at Target during the holidays years ago and they definitely pushed us to ask this question. Of course, I thought it was a ridiculous thing to push and rarely asked customers the question at checkout. But it was also a side hustle job, so I didn't really care either.
I worked in the Long Ago at a Radio Shack Computer Center. I did not obey these rules. I made myself too valuable actually solving customer problems for them to come down on me for it. That was a side hustle for me at the time too; eventually I became a computer consultant and joined their "consultant liaison" program as they knew I could get things done for them.
I realize many are trapped in these jobs, it's either stroke The Man or you don't have income. That is why I'm not short with someone doing this, until they ignore me for the fourth or fifth time. In reality I think it has only happened to me once in the 45 years of my adult life, so it's not like it's really a pressing issue to me personally. I have certainly heard these stories many times from others though, not just here in this thread.
I blame the system and employers as the root cause, but I'm sorry, I do kind of need service people to treat me like an actual customer and not be rude. I have a pretty high bar for "rude". A bar that only a person with sociopathic tendencies would actually rise to.
As a side note ... if things keep going like they have these past couple of years, I will probably never be in a retail establishment that has a company credit product to hawk, for the rest of my life. This is a comforting thought, in a way.
I worked in the Long Ago at a Radio Shack Computer Center. I did not obey these rules. I made myself too valuable actually solving customer problems for them to come down on me for it. That was a side hustle for me at the time too; eventually I became a computer consultant and joined their "consultant liaison" program as they knew I could get things done for them.
I realize many are trapped in these jobs, it's either stroke The Man or you don't have income. That is why I'm not short with someone doing this, until they ignore me for the fourth or fifth time. In reality I think it has only happened to me once in the 45 years of my adult life, so it's not like it's really a pressing issue to me personally. I have certainly heard these stories many times from others though, not just here in this thread.
I blame the system and employers as the root cause, but I'm sorry, I do kind of need service people to treat me like an actual customer and not be rude. I have a pretty high bar for "rude". A bar that only a person with sociopathic tendencies would actually rise to.
As a side note ... if things keep going like they have these past couple of years, I will probably never be in a retail establishment that has a company credit product to hawk, for the rest of my life. This is a comforting thought, in a way.
I think some stores are worse than others. Target seems to be the least pushy, then maybe Best Buy is a distant 2nd. I don't really go to clothing departments stores much these days since my entire wardrobe is Costco, so I can't speak for them.
There is one consumer electronics store that I particularly enjoy--Micro Center--where you are basically hounded by their sales associates every few seconds, sometimes multiple times by the same one. It's the worst part of shopping there. But I'm a sucker for gadgets and will take my chances occasionally.
I think some stores are worse than others. Target seems to be the least pushy, then maybe Best Buy is a distant 2nd. I don't really go to clothing departments stores much these days since my entire wardrobe is Costco, so I can't speak for them.
There is one consumer electronics store that I particularly enjoy--Micro Center--where you are basically hounded by their sales associates every few seconds, sometimes multiple times by the same one. It's the worst part of shopping there. But I'm a sucker for gadgets and will take my chances occasionally.
I bought a TV from Best Buy a couple of years ago and they talked me into a 2 year service agreement on the basis that it was cheaper than paying them one-off for the installation. It worked out well at the time.
What they didn't tell me was that they'd renew this two years later at $215.99. This got flagged as "suspicious" by my credit card company and, not having the slightest why a Best Buy in distant Minnesota was trying to charge me for, I said, no, I didn't buy that.
It took me a couple of weeks to finally reach someone behind voice menus and busy signals to identify and remove this charge. In the meantime my credit card was shut off because of this "fraudulent" activity and I even had to get a new one issued, which was a separate problem I now have with the card issuer.
I am not sure which is worse, an employee hounding you to sign up for something, or a zombie service that won't go away ... all I can say is that the only reason I might buy anything from Best Buy after this is that there just aren't many brick and mortar alternatives in my town.
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.
