(no subject)

[katallison]

OK, gals and pals, it's time for a little pop quiz, so sit up straight, put away your gum, and pay attention!

Now--imagine that you are a salesperson in a retail store selling a reasonably big-ticket furniture item such as ... oh, let's say, mattresses. A customer enters the store, and tells you upfront "I'm just looking right now, to get a sense of what's available in various price ranges." Do you:

___ a. Say, "That's fine, take your time, let me know if you have questions," and then hover at a tactful distance, allowing the customer to peruse the stock in a leisurely fashion, perhaps tossing out a bit of info now and then about the features of the various mattresses, but otherwise giving the customer a bit of time and breathing room? OR:

___ b. Clamp onto the customer like a freakin' pit bull, drag her over to the most expensive mattresses in the store, insist she try each of them out, and when she mentions a desired price range considerably lower than twelve hundred dollars, give her the stink-eye and strongly imply that she might as well sleep in a refrigerator carton under the bridge, but huffily show her the cheaper items, and then when she begins saying, "Well, OK, I'll need to think this over," swing right into the high-pressure close-the-deal stuff of "When should we arrange delivery?" and "Would you like the extended financing?" until the customer, feeling panicked, starts babbling all sorts of obviously lame and contrived excuses (forgotten dental appointments, a sudden case of the flu, grandma's funeral) so that she can flee, hands flapping, still babbling, sweating profusely?

I mean, OK, selling mattresses has got to be an awful job, but jeee-zus. I shall never in this life enter that store again, even if the only alternative was to pull a Benton Fraser and sleep on the floor in a freakin' bedroll.

[edited to add: And yeah, I could have told her (politely) to back the hell off, but really, my script for the day was "Kat goes to look at some stupid mattresses," *not* "The Very Special Episode in Which Kat Discovers the Miracle of Assertiveness." Bleah. God, I hate shopping.]

Comments

[debchan.livejournal.com]

Kat, if you think maybe you'd like a futon bed (a nice one, not a dorm type one) check out Casual Living on Snelling (across from Har Mar). When Steph and I went to just check out what they had, they were so helpful and charming (and the prices were so good) that Steph ended up buying a new bed that day.

*kicks the crappy salesperson*

[ratcreature]

ROTFL.

You know, that reminds me of how on a vacation after a few experiences with hovering supermarket employees in the US (who also creeped me out with their sort of fake pod-people cheerfulness, since I'm used to supermarket employees who don't consider playacting cheerfulness to be part of their lousy underpaid job) I used to make sort of strategic plans before entering a store in order to avoid contact, and how I worked on looking as competent and organized as possible (despite being in a new and unfamilar store each time) to not attract their attention...

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Next time you need to go shopping, bring me. ;) I'll drive up and everything. The salespeople? Will leave you alone.

[spike21.livejournal.com]

*petting*

Shopping for anything but books is awful. Shopping for huge, expensive things that you need but don't really give a rat's ass about is even worse. And the high pressure tactics make me all bumbly too -- mostly because I can never quite believe anyone is actually being that rude when not intentionally trying to pick a fight. You have my sympathy. Thank god mattresses last practically forever.

[tazlet.livejournal.com]

One word: http://www.mattress.com/

[yonmei.livejournal.com]

Given that the high pressure sales tactics is presumably something that management dreamed up to make their sales staff have even less fun, it might be worthwhile calling the shop and telling the management - without identifying the individual - that you didn't buy a mattress from them precisely because of the behaviour of their staff.

[virgulesmith.livejournal.com]

Yes furniture shopping is a bitch.

I went to XXXX furniture (down 45 off Nasa Road) and some sales lady accosted me once I got in the store. I was like, no thanks, just looking. Sales lady actually grabbed my arm. I don't appreciate it at all when people don't listen and just blah blah blah. Slow said my face turned bright red. I slowly said, thank you, no I am just looking. Sales lady shoved card at me. Slow grabbed my other arm and dragged me away before I could commit greivious acts of violence.
Fine whatever.
Then mattress dude in mattress land did the face of oh my god you are pitiful to not go into debt for the rest of your life to by some mattress you don't even like.
Blah, ignored him and bounced on the beds.
Saw Justin's bed (the one with the rolled headboard and little silver eggs from Italian Vogue-Thomasville Kalahari or Kenya Hemingway collection btw).
On the way out of the store... pouncing sales lady did it again. Apparently the bright red returned, with Slow wondering if I was gonna deck the lady, curse her out or what, but I pretended I was someone else and was rather polite. Thank you Improv sessions in Drama.
Is it a sales tactic to make people feel claustrophobic? And accosted? Praise be to the internet. Ahhhhh, buyer controlled enviroments. Lack of red faced me. All good.

like jk above

[kormantic.livejournal.com]

and you, Kat, baby, I got some freaked out high pressure salesman who was actively, overtly pissed that I didn't buy a mattress from him. He was vaguely physically theatening, even. I was all, dude, surely your job sucks serious ass, but it's not my fault and I'm not here to be assulted, man! I walked out saying, "Thanks for your time."