In stores do you like to be left alone to shop or helped?

[elrohwen]

Re: In stores do you like to be left alone to shop or helped

Definitely left alone! I hate hate hate to be stalked while I'm trying to stalk. It's one thing for a sales person to approach politely and ask if I need help, but the ones who follow me around get one my nerves to the point where I will leave the store. Sometimes it's helpful if they offer to get other sizes while I'm in the dressing room, but that's about the extent of the customer service I like. I have actually left furniture stores because the sales people wouldn't leave me alone (and almost flipped out when the manager cornered me at the front door so I couldn't leave).

The only exception is Home Depot - the place is huge and I always need help finding some little thing, but there are never enough staff to help.

 

[Nashville]

Re: In stores do you like to be left alone to shop or helped

Definitely left alone! I hate hate hate to be stalked while I'm trying to stalk. It's one thing for a sales person to approach politely and ask if I need help, but the ones who follow me around get one my nerves to the point where I will leave the store. Sometimes it's helpful if they offer to get other sizes while I'm in the dressing room, but that's about the extent of the customer service I like. I have actually left furniture stores because the sales people wouldn't leave me alone (and almost flipped out when the manager cornered me at the front door so I couldn't leave).

The only exception is Home Depot - the place is huge and I always need help finding some little thing, but there are never enough staff to help.

How dare they interrupt your stalking experience

 

[shihtzulover]

Re: In stores do you like to be left alone to shop or helped

I usually like to be left alone. If a salesperson asks if I need help, I politely decline. If they keep watching me, I become uncomfortable and leave the store.

 

[Imdanny]

Re: In stores do you like to be left alone to shop or helped

I'm one of those people who knows dead to rights what I want, what I expect to find, what I expect to pay, etc. before I even show up. I doubt most people are like this though. My SO works in retail management. He hates the "sales consultants" who do training in their "method" that some companies require. At any rate, it is important to keep in mind that any good store manager has the responsibility of training his or her employees and the manager isn't going into it blind. There have to be policies about interacting with customers. The ones that work best are the ones that respect the customer at all times, and at least from what I've observed with my SO are the ones based on sensing what it is that makes the customer genuinely happy. As far as sleazy sales/ management consultants and used car salesperson techniques, not all salespeople are like that! But me, yeah. Leave me alone. Unless it's something my SO is selling, I already know more about it than any salesperson and the salesperson's opinions means nothing to me (not trying to be rude).

 

[atroop711]

Re: In stores do you like to be left alone to shop or helped

one of my biggest pet peeves is when I'm being followed in a store AND when I'm asked over and over again if I need help.

I'm a big girl and if I need help I will def. ask for some

 

[yennyfire]

Re: In stores do you like to be left alone to shop or helped

A quick "hello" to acknowledge me is fine, along with a "let me know if I can help you"...after that, leave me alone unless I ask for something.

 

[Sha]

Re: In stores do you like to be left alone to shop or helped

I like to be left alone mostly, with a salesperson a short distance away, so I can ask a question if needed. I really hate it when salestaff follow me around, making comments about everything I look at. It really intrudes into my 'thinking' process. I take a long time to make up my mind, too.

On the other hand, we have a lot of stores here where the 'salespersons' just stand around and hold up the walls - no 'hello', 'do you need help?' or anything. It's like the think their job is to watch people go by. That really gets me !

 

[Madam Bijoux]

Re: In stores do you like to be left alone to shop or helped

I like to be left alone when I shop for clothing. For jewelry and handbags, I enjoy it when the SA'S want to show me lots of things.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Re: In stores do you like to be left alone to shop or helped

I'm sure they do it because it works - overall.

I read somewhere people do not like to say, "No" and sales people can take advantage of that.
You are deciding whether to buy something.
If you have established contact with someone, who by default wants you to buy something, you are a little more likely to buy something to please that person.
Walking out without buying anything means you are sort of letting someone down, compared to if you had not made any contact at all.

IOW, you are being put in a position where you can either please or disappoint a person you just met.
I'll bet this has a big effect overall.

It's sounds absurd, but it's real.
I think the wimps or the nicest among us will buy more than those who don't care about pleasing anyone.
Stores use psychology.

I think this is why is offends me.
I do not like to be pressured, no matter how subtle it is.

I will acknowledge that there is truth to this. I do feel some obligation to buy if someone takes the time to go through what they have available and recommend things to me, which is silly, since it is their job, it's not like they are doing me a favor out of kindness. However, if they really don't have anything that is to my taste, then I still will not buy it, regardless of how much time the sales person spent with me. So, I'm not a total wimp! I will fully admit though, that I do feel "bad" about it.

I do like to be left alone to shop, but I also like a "hello" and don't mind at all if people ask me if I need help. Generally speaking, I don't need help, but I might chat with the person for a bit too. We are all people after all. I rather like smiling at the person and exchanging a few words. I'd imagine retail can be quite boring. If I don't want to chat, then I will typically say, "ok, I'll let you know if I need anything," and no one hovers.

ETA: I actually find it annoying if I walk into a store, and no one greets me or offers to help (even though I never actually need help.)

LV- Sounds like you and my best girlfriend would get along swimmingly! She talks to everybody, and finds new friends everywhere she goes!

Tuckins!! Hahaha!! Next time you see your friend, be sure and tell her I said .

 

[soocool]

Re: In stores do you like to be left alone to shop or helped

It depends. If I go into a store and find a person with a similar style or taste in clothes as me, I will ask her to help me find pieces that I am looking for and many times it works. Sometimes she'll even tell me where she goes for her clothes. But if I know exactly what I am looking for just leave me alone. Then I usually just want to get in and out of there asap.

 

[soocool]

Re: In stores do you like to be left alone to shop or helped

A quick "hello" to acknowledge me is fine, along with a "let me know if I can help you"...after that, leave me alone unless I ask for something.

I worked part time retail a few years ago and you did not know when a "secret shopper" could be in your store. You would know from corporate if you did not greet the customer, ask her if she needed help, ask if you could check for additional sizes/colors, ask to check another store for the item, have the "not in store" item shipped, offer her membership in the store club,etc. Sometimes your raises could be affected by this sometimes it did not matter. Other times corporate would just fire you. Believe if they could they would leave you alone. It is just sometimes their job depends on them following you around to be helpful just in case.

 

[elrohwen]

Re: In stores do you like to be left alone to shop or helped

Definitely left alone! I hate hate hate to be stalked while I'm trying to stalk. It's one thing for a sales person to approach politely and ask if I need help, but the ones who follow me around get one my nerves to the point where I will leave the store. Sometimes it's helpful if they offer to get other sizes while I'm in the dressing room, but that's about the extent of the customer service I like. I have actually left furniture stores because the sales people wouldn't leave me alone (and almost flipped out when the manager cornered me at the front door so I couldn't leave).

The only exception is Home Depot - the place is huge and I always need help finding some little thing, but there are never enough staff to help.

How dare they interrupt your stalking experience

Uh, yeah, clearly my brain was somewhere else while typing! I've been doing that kind of thing a lot lately.

 

[monarch64]

Re: In stores do you like to be left alone to shop or helped

I spent quite a few years in retail, from high school and college on, well into my twenties, and I went on to work for a jeweler just a couple of years ago. There is a very fine line between following customer cues and offering the right amount of service to each client, and making a nuisance of yourself.

Someone else mentioned greeting clients to minimize shrink. Every store has a loss prevention program, and it is true that one of the ways to minimize shrink, or loss, is to make sure that everyone who walks through the door receives some sort of acknowledgement. This is not to be confused with profiling, or the company assuming everyone's a thief--it is merely a form of PREVENTION. Here's an example from my most recent shopping experience on why this is so important (for everyone involved--and I will get to that in a minute):

S and I went to a town not far from here this past Sunday that is just a few blocks of artsy, funky, fun shops. There is one store there in particular I wanted to visit, or I should say two locations of the same company but I didn't know where either one was. I've received several gifts from this company from relatives in the past few years and I wanted to actually visit the store. We spotted one of the locations (still not knowing there were two) and walked in. The store was two stories, and right inside the front entrance was a young lady who turned out to be the only employee on hand. She did not greet us. We walked around the first room (where she was intently staring at her computer screen behind a small counter), and I was speaking to S, saying "I wonder if everything on the first floor is children's merchandise? I don't see any adult sizes, or are these just really small adult sizes?" Still no acknowledgement from the SA. We walked into another room, no one there, then walked upstairs where a couple of other customers were browsing, still the SA never came upstairs or spoke to anyone. We left, and she never even looked up from her computer screen. S commented to me as soon as we got outside, "we could've walked out with the entire store and she'd never have known." It was ridiculous. I looked at him and said, "I hope no one ever gives me anything from that place again." I was that peeved.

Later, after walking around for an hour or so, we made it to the other end of the shops and lo and behold, there was the other location. We went inside, because I was thinking it HAD to be better than the other location, and sure enough there was a gentleman directly inside the door behind a counter who greeted us right away and was very welcoming. We told him exactly what had happened at the other store, and he apologized and then said that they had had issues with that same SA before. I purchased $70 worth of merchandise in about 5 minutes with minimal need for assistance. So, that guy saved a sale, but that wouldn't have happened had there not been a second location and we hadn't found it.

So, imo not only is it important to greet people from the store's perspective as far as sales, it is also important for another reason and that is the safety of both the staff as well as clients. Greeting clients is a way of both preventing loss as well as keeping control of situations. I've worked in malls before where there are also restaurants housed within who serve alcohol. Some clients like to come into stores and shop after they've spent a couple of hours at Friday's or Magianno's getting loaded and they aren't always nice. There is a need for the staff to know what's going on, to keep an eye on these clients and make sure bad situations do not arise. I've also worked at places (and not random places--very upscale department stores) that have been "hit" by bands of people who work in teams and who also use children as accomplices. Yes, there are typically teams of loss prevention specialists employed by stores who work behind the scenes, but the first contact with everyone is from employees who are on the sales floor. The purpose is dual: protect the store's assets, and protect the safety of associates and clients. And, of course they want to sell you something--but you kind of already knew that when you walked into an environment whose bottom line is making a profit.

Finding a great store whose merchandise I love who also has a well-trained and knowledgeable staff is tough. It is usually easier for me to just buy online because that way I don't have to deal with some of the hassles, like inexperienced sales staff who don't "get" customer cues and who don't know when to back off, or staff who is just downright aggressive. In those cases, I'm absolutely willing to provide feedback whether it's talking to a supervisor, sending an email, taking an online survey, etc. I also try to keep in mind that it's tough to find good staff with great attitudes who will keep up those attitudes after working long retail hours for not a lot of compensation.

 

[Yimmers]

Re: In stores do you like to be left alone to shop or helped

If the SA completely ignores me, I don't tend to buy anything. At the very minimum, there should be some form of acknowledgment of my presence (yea, I sound like queen of the world, haha - maybe just the queen of England, if you get my drift )

I usually don't like to have someone hover. Light assistance is fine. If a SA is really good, they'll know to suggest stuff that I may like and end up buying. So, I have to be careful otherwise I'll spend more than I wanted to.

Once, DH and I were looking for a laptop bag in a store. The grumpy old SA followed us around in the store, as if we were going to steal something. I really didn't appreciate it, since I don't think we look like thieving thugs. Then, when I found the bag and asked if they'd price match, he rudely said, "No, you can buy it at that price here or not buy it." We've never been back since. DH was infuriated with the guy. DH demands and expects top notch customer service wherever he goes. If he doesn't get it, he'll turn his back and never look back.

 

[Tuckins1]

Re: In stores do you like to be left alone to shop or helped

one of my biggest pet peeves is when I'm being followed in a store AND when I'm asked over and over again if I need help.

I'm a big girl and if I need help I will def. ask for some

Oh yeah, like at Gardner White or Art Van.... They are seriously like vultures!