What sales tactic raises concern for you?

[SouthernElle]

What kind of perfume was it?!?!

Anything too pushy, really... I guess I am just a plain girl and even the high end luxury brands and their extreme CS are a touch too much for me. I recently bought a perfume and got a long, personal, handwritten thank you note (my name, our convo, my perfume correctly mentioned) via snail mail, three event invites and numerous e-mails within a month. Somehow I don't feel pampered, but slightly stalked...

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

What kind of perfume was it?!?!

Valid question lol

But the sale sale was under 300 bucks : Dior Lucky

 

[missy]

Anything too pushy, really... I guess I am just a plain girl and even the high end luxury brands and their extreme CS are a touch too much for me. I recently bought a perfume and got a long, personal, handwritten thank you note (my name, our convo, my perfume correctly mentioned) via snail mail, three event invites and numerous e-mails within a month. Somehow I don't feel pampered, but slightly stalked...

Just goes to show how we are all different and respond differently to things. Stuart Weitzman boutiques do this. Whenever I make a purchase I get a follow up note thanking me and throughout the year they invite me to special events. I have never attended any of these events but don't mind getting the invites and I do not mind receiving a follow up thank you note. I really love their Soho boutique. I just purchased another pair (don't ask, I have way too many boots from them) but this time I purchased it through Stuart Weitzman .com so should be interesting if I receive a follow up thank you. My guess is no.

What makes the purchasing at the small boutique special is their individual attention to details. Not only don't I mind it I enjoy it. And I suspect others do too and that is why they do it. Something civilized and nice about getting a thank you note in today's more impersonal society.

Just goes to show how we all respond differently to things.

 

[missy]

Recently I went to a coffee house I was checking out because I intend to perform there for open mic night.
Though the ONLY way I consume coffee is at home for $0.17 a cup I decided to order a cup to support the music venue.

The chalk menu said a small cup of coffee was $2.15, but the human charged me $2.75.
I said the menu says $2.15 and she said there's been a price increase.
I said nothing and pointed at the menu and waited in silence.
She wouldn't budge so I walked out.

That would annoy me too Kenny.

We went out to eat last week and my dh ordered a Manhattan and the menu listed it at $13. Anyway the bill came and we were charged $14. My dh said forget it and we just paid the bill. If I had more energy (long story but these days we are just barely making it through each day) I would have pointed that out to the waiter but I just agreed with my dh and we paid. It did annoy me. I am guessing they changed the price and did not update the menu. The old me however would have raised that point with the waiter and asked if it was a mistake. The new me needs more sleep and less stress. But I digress.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Recently I went to a coffee house I was checking out because I intend to perform there for open mic night.
Though the ONLY way I consume coffee is at home for $0.17 a cup I decided to order a cup to support the music venue.

The chalk menu said a small cup of coffee was $2.15, but the human charged me $2.75.
I said the menu says $2.15 and she said there's been a price increase.
I said nothing and pointed at the menu and waited in silence.
She wouldn't budge so I walked out.

isn't that you know aganist some sort of consumer law ?
sloppy shop keeping if you ask me
who knows what the use by date of the milk in their fridge is if they are too lazy to check their pricing on their blackboard

 

[missy]

Do any of you let salespeople start dressing rooms for you when you are clothing shopping? I do. In fact it makes the experience much more pleasurable for me not having to carry clothes around that I want to try on. The salesperson takes the clothes as I gather them and puts them in the dressing room for me and the clothes are then waiting for me when I am ready to try them on. Works for me. Just wondering how many of you like this and how many of you don't like this. There is no downside of this for me.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

That would annoy me too Kenny.

We went out to eat last week and my dh ordered a Manhattan and the menu listed it at $13. Anyway the bill came and we were charged $14. My dh said forget it and we just paid the bill. If I had more energy (long story but these days we are just barely making it through each day) I would have pointed that out to the waiter but I just agreed with my dh and we paid. It did annoy me. I am guessing they changed the price and did not update the menu. The old me however would have raised that point with the waiter and asked if it was a mistake. The new me needs more sleep and less stress. But I digress.

im the most meek and mild person you will ever meet but i would be putting my foot down and making a sceen or at least taking photos and ringing the commerce commission

 

[missy]

im the most meek and mild person you will ever meet but i would be putting my foot down and making a sceen or at least taking photos and ringing the commerce commission

Haha I do not view you as meek dear Daisy. You are just the right combo of sweet and sassy as I see it. All good things.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Haha I do not view you as meek dear Daisy. You are just the right combo of sweet and sassy as I see it. All good things.

thank you dear missy

 

[the_mother_thing]

Do any of you let salespeople start dressing rooms for you when you are clothing shopping? I do. In fact it makes the experience much more pleasurable for me not having to carry clothes around that I want to try on. The salesperson takes the clothes as I gather them and puts them in the dressing room for me and the clothes are then waiting for me when I am ready to try them on. Works for me. Just wondering how many of you like this and how many of you don't like this. There is no downside of this for me.

As someone who does NOT like to clothes-shop, I absolutely appreciate this service when offered/available! It’s frustrating enough navigating stores with too-narrow distances between racks, dodging people/kids, etc. let alone with an arm-full of clothes on hangers that catch on everything and everyone as you walk around, as well as how heavy that all gets. Throw in the added discomfort of winter time when I’m more layered, and I get overheated, which adds to my frustration, and I get too aggravated to even remotely enjoy trying on anything. So yea ... thank you, kind salesperson, for taking one aspect of this experience off my hands (literally & figuratively) so I may get through this and get out of here!

 

[PreRaphaelite]

Do any of you let salespeople start dressing rooms for you when you are clothing shopping? I do. In fact it makes the experience much more pleasurable for me not having to carry clothes around that I want to try on. The salesperson takes the clothes as I gather them and puts them in the dressing room for me and the clothes are then waiting for me when I am ready to try them on. Works for me. Just wondering how many of you like this and how many of you don't like this. There is no downside of this for me.

Ha! I had completely forgotten about this! I love it!

I did this when I worked retail to get through undegrad. It is a kindness every boutique should offer, both because it is considerate, and also it leads to higher overall purchase. My staffers invariably failed to do this, I think because they almost never had a “service heart” so they considered it too demeaning. Ridiculous! Without the customer (guest) we had no reason to be in business. But there is no way to convey that idea to a person who is sensitive about subservience.

I never saw it that way. From the earliest age I carried clothes for my mother as she shopped, and put them in a dressing room when I could reach the wall racks, and as she tried on and discarded things, I would put them back on the hangers and then finally as she checked out, I put the things back where we found them. It meant we covered more ground, and more quickly. We were a team!

When a retailer offers to ‘start a room’ I accept gratefully!

 

[PreRaphaelite]

Here’s another one I loathe: sales POP-UPS


‘TEXT US!!!‘! And if you do, it takes a few seconds to be connected via instant message to a ‘conversion specialist’ who knows nothing about the product and if you ask enough detailed questions, they either lie, or tell you they need your email so they can get back to you with information (so they harvest your email for marketing lists).

It is the quivalent of ‘professional answering service’ from the 1980’s where they answered the call with ‘thank you for calling (insert company name here) how can I help you? And when you ask to speak to someone or ask a question about a product, they admit the office or store is closed and they can only take a message. Argh.

 

[Austina]

Many years ago, we were replacing all the windows in our house. I made appointments for several companies to come and quote. Some of them asked if my husband would be home for the appt. I told them no, and they said they’d rather come when he was home. I told them he’d rather not have to deal with sales people, so either they came to quote and dealt with me, or not to bother coming!

One who came then went through the whole spiel of phoning his sales manager, and telling him that this was just the property they were looking for for their special sales promotion, and what could he do on the price. Then there were the gasps of disbelief, as the ‘sales manager’ gave him such a special price, that I was bound to sign then and there because they couldn’t hold the price open after the appt. Needless to say I told him to leave and that I didn‘t respond to those kind of ridiculous sales tactics.

The job went to the company who came, measured up, gave me a realistic price without any special ‘discounts’ and left the quote with me for consideration.

I would hope that the days of salesmen thinking you must be a brain dead moron just because you’re home are over, but I doubt it.

 

[Tartansparkles]

Do any of you let salespeople start dressing rooms for you when you are clothing shopping? I do. In fact it makes the experience much more pleasurable for me not having to carry clothes around that I want to try on. The salesperson takes the clothes as I gather them and puts them in the dressing room for me and the clothes are then waiting for me when I am ready to try them on. Works for me. Just wondering how many of you like this and how many of you don't like this. There is no downside of this for me.

Strangely, that's one technique I really don't like because even though I pick something up and carry it around, the carrying is part of my decision making process as to whether or not I want it. There's a high street store in the UK (Hobbs) who seem to have a policy of doing this. I've now reached the point where I won't shop in their store but will buy the same (Hobbs) clothes from John Lewis. Just goes to show we are all different

 

[PreRaphaelite]

Some of them asked if my husband would be home for the appt. I told them no, and they said they’d rather come when he was home.

I had this scenario recently when I sold my convertible. Firstly, I’m not married, and secondly, there is no male family member alive with my last name, so when the Buyer tried to low-ball me, and I balked, he said he would “come back later and talk to Mr. (insert my real last name here)” to get his price.

I laughed out loud and said “Bye.” The buyer didn’t know what to say after that. Gee, I wonder why that car was sold to someone else. Ha!



ETA: would the male PSers feel as offended if a presumptive buyer grumbled that they would ’just come back and talk to the Mrs. to get the deal’?

 

[msop04]

Many years ago, we were replacing all the windows in our house. I made appointments for several companies to come and quote. Some of them asked if my husband would be home for the appt. I told them no, and they said they’d rather come when he was home. I told them he’d rather not have to deal with sales people, so either they came to quote and dealt with me, or not to bother coming!

One who came then went through the whole spiel of phoning his sales manager, and telling him that this was just the property they were looking for for their special sales promotion, and what could he do on the price. Then there were the gasps of disbelief, as the ‘sales manager’ gave him such a special price, that I was bound to sign then and there because they couldn’t hold the price open after the appt. Needless to say I told him to leave and that I didn‘t respond to those kind of ridiculous sales tactics.

The job went to the company who came, measured up, gave me a realistic price without any special ‘discounts’ and left the quote with me for consideration.

I would hope that the days of salesmen thinking you must be a brain dead moron just because you’re home are over, but I doubt it.

Good grief... this made me uncomfortable just reading it!

We had a vacuum cleaner salesman come to our door just as we were leaving for dinner with my FIL. I politely told him we weren't interested in buying a vacuum, so I didn't want him to waste his time (or mine). I could have KILLED my husband for letting him in because "he'd only be 10 minutes."

After calling his boss TWICE with the same type of nonsense and almost THREE HOURS LATER, I'd had all I could take. This dude wouldn't take no for an answer, and I was over it (and hungry -- it was after 9:00)!! I sternly told him to he had to leave right then and that, again, we were not interested in buying. His demeanor changed and he was visually irritated. Oh well... I told him we weren't buying before he started his spiel. NEVER. AGAIN. will we let anyone inside our home. My husband learned his lesson.

Do people really fall for this ridiculousness??

 

[Texas Leaguer]

"We have another buyer for the X and you'll need to buy/place a deposit to get it first..." Ummm...no. Either you have another buyer and are going to disappoint them or you are a big fat lier. I don't want to buy from you either way now.

This is a conundrum for us!

We have a consultancy style approach. Since nobody is on commission here we take on the role of customer advocate. So our 'selling' is geared to making sure the customer is fully informed about our products, services and policies, and that we gather all the info from the customer necessary to recommend the right product for that particular customer.

But since every diamond is unique and since our inventory is available for sale 24/7, we often have customers who are considering a given stone only to find it sold to someone else. So, at a certain point a consultant may give a customer a heads up that someone else is seriously considering the same diamond, or the diamond is in a couple of shopping carts, or that the diamond has been viewed a lot. This could sound "salesy". On the other hand, we have had customers who have lost out on a diamond tell us 'you should have TOLD me that someone else was looking at that diamond!".

So it's a bit of a no-win situation. I'd be interested to hear thoughts on this dilemma...

 

[Gussie]

Mall kiosks are THE WORST. Those guys chase me halfway down the mall to give their "free" samples while giving backhanded compliments about my makeup, skin, wrinkles, etc. I am almost flat out rude to them just so they will leave me alone.

 

[Tartansparkles]

@Texas Leaguer hi, you might already do this so ignore my comments if you do. I'd think about your 'customer orientation or customer journey' and even before someone gets as far as starting a sales conversation, take the opportunity to explain exactly what you've outlined above. It could be a prominent section on your website, or on the bottom of emails, about "how we like to work with you" which outlines exactly what you've said, and helps set expectations.

 

[Texas Leaguer]

@Texas Leaguer hi, you might already do this so ignore my comments if you do. I'd think about your 'customer orientation or customer journey' and even before someone gets as far as starting a sales conversation, take the opportunity to explain exactly what you've outlined above. It could be a prominent section on your website, or on the bottom of emails, about "how we like to work with you" which outlines exactly what you've said, and helps set expectations.

Thank you @Tartansparkles . No, we currently do not have any public facing messaging to that effect. But I think it is a very good idea!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

This is a conundrum for us!

We have a consultancy style approach. Since nobody is on commission here we take on the role of customer advocate. So our 'selling' is geared to making sure the customer is fully informed about our products, services and policies, and that we gather all the info from the customer necessary to recommend the right product for that particular customer.

But since every diamond is unique and since our inventory is available for sale 24/7, we often have customers who are considering a given stone only to find it sold to someone else. So, at a certain point a consultant may give a customer a heads up that someone else is seriously considering the same diamond, or the diamond is in a couple of shopping carts, or that the diamond has been viewed a lot. This could sound "salesy". On the other hand, we have had customers who have lost out on a diamond tell us 'you should have TOLD me that someone else was looking at that diamond!".

So it's a bit of a no-win situation. I'd be interested to hear thoughts on this dilemma...

For those of us who absolutely know this is not a sales tactic used by WF, I would consider it immensely helpful to know if someone was interested in a stone I was looking at. I can see how some people would be suspicious when told that, because I honestly would be if it was a vendor I didn't know well! So I am not sure there's a perfect answer to this. I think maybe they just need to say: if you are seriously interested in a stone you may want to put it on hold for 24 hours because the stones are being viewed by others 24/7 and can be reserved at any time.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I also almost never inquire about an item with no price listed on IG. If you do list the price, I know whether to contact you or not.

I also don't like buying anything where the salesperson is paid on commission. Cars are the absolute worst things to buy.

 

[Tartansparkles]

I really don't like it when sales people 'gang' together.

When I was about 12 my mum answered the door to a young man who was an artist and selling his artwork. I overheard Mum say no, but the man was very persistent and eventually she let him into the house. He got half way to the front room when my dad blew a gasket. He angrily told the man to leave and that he wouldn't put up with people selling him stuff he didn't want, in his own home. The guy did not go quietly, protesting that he hadn't come in un-invited. I felt bad for my mum that the guy had (kind of) forced his way in and then embarassed for Mum that Dad overruled her and threw the guy out.

The next day the artist came back, with a friend. I opened the door this time. Being 12, having overhead everything the night before and with there now being two men at the door, I thought they'd come to beat up my dad. But they knocked on the door late in the afternoon - long before the men folk would be home from work. They had deliberately come as a pair and while Dad was still at work, because they thought my mum would be easy prey. That made me feel really, really bad for my mum, that there are people who would deliberately take advantage of another person. That's probably when I gained my dislike of sales people!

However, that said, I run my own business and I've had to learn to sell, but hopefully not in a way that takes advantage of people.

 

[rockysalamander]

This is a conundrum for us!

We have a consultancy style approach. Since nobody is on commission here we take on the role of customer advocate. So our 'selling' is geared to making sure the customer is fully informed about our products, services and policies, and that we gather all the info from the customer necessary to recommend the right product for that particular customer.

But since every diamond is unique and since our inventory is available for sale 24/7, we often have customers who are considering a given stone only to find it sold to someone else. So, at a certain point a consultant may give a customer a heads up that someone else is seriously considering the same diamond, or the diamond is in a couple of shopping carts, or that the diamond has been viewed a lot. This could sound "salesy". On the other hand, we have had customers who have lost out on a diamond tell us 'you should have TOLD me that someone else was looking at that diamond!".

So it's a bit of a no-win situation. I'd be interested to hear thoughts on this dilemma...

What @diamondseeker said is right on. I think my level of trust in a company is a strong factor in how much this line is "I'm being an honest vendor and telling you the risks" vs. "that stone has been sitting for 2 years and I have a car payment due". I genuinely appreciated it when colored stone vendor let me know that he had just had another inquiry from a dealer about a lavender spinel I liked. It helped me decide if it really was "the" one or not, as I believed him.

For WF, I suspect the delivery and timing of the words matter as much as the words themselves. You don't necessarily have a long history with every buyer/inquirer/ponderer to rely upon. So, I think as long as it is delivered as "information" and not "act now while supplies last"...you are good. It is a fine and difficult balance that I don't envy.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Great discussion! I also struggle with a situation where two people are looking at the same, one of a kind item.
Personally, I avoid telling each of the clients that there's another interested party, as it would seem to me like pressure......
But maybe there's a better way...I'll be watching intently!

 

[missy]

Great discussion! I also struggle with a situation where two people are looking at the same, one of a kind item.
Personally, I avoid telling each of the clients that there's another interested party, as it would seem to me like pressure......
But maybe there's a better way...I'll be watching intently!

I appreciate being told if someone else is (genuinely) interested and I think one can tell the difference if a vendor lets you know because he/she wants to be above board or if it is just a sales tactic. At least I think I can tell the difference and I always feel knowledge is indeed power.

 

[Rockdiamond]

I was about to write that if you know someone, it's easier to broach the issue....but then I remembered something that happened last week....
A new client was asking about an item- and had assured me they were going to purchase.
A little while later, someone who's a very regular client asked about the same item. The item still hadn't been purchased, so I answered the questions, and thought to myself...maybe I should mention the other guy...
But part of what we face as sellers is that many times someone will swear they are going to buy something, but then they don't. SO I didn't say anything about the other person asking....
If an established client says they are buying something, that's a totally different sort of situation.
Five minutes later I got notification from PayPal that the new guy had indeed paid. I immediately let our established client know what happened....thankfully this was a case where we can make another comparable one ( not always the case)

I don't think there's a right answer here.

 

[yssie]

Not really a sales tactic, but... I once had a Starbucks barista insist that my name couldn't possibly be "Jan" - and demanded that I give her my real name. My name isn't Jan, but it's Indian and noone can spell it and I'm not about to go through the NATO alphabet when there's a line... I've avoided that location since!

Do any of you let salespeople start dressing rooms for you when you are clothing shopping? I do. In fact it makes the experience much more pleasurable for me not having to carry clothes around that I want to try on. The salesperson takes the clothes as I gather them and puts them in the dressing room for me and the clothes are then waiting for me when I am ready to try them on. Works for me. Just wondering how many of you like this and how many of you don't like this. There is no downside of this for me.

You know, I actually don't particularly care for this! I'm like @Tartansparkles - I decide as I carry. It doesn't offend me, it's just not my preference.

I detest clothes shopping - I feel my nervousness and irritation rising by the minute... after about half an hour in any clothing store I'm literally tearing up. Over nothing. And now I've come to expect that feeling, and I worry about it, which I'm sure just makes it worse! Online clothes shopping saves my sanity - I can buy everything in two sizes, try things on in the comfort of my own home, and return whatever doesn't fit well.

Anything too pushy, really... I guess I am just a plain girl and even the high end luxury brands and their extreme CS are a touch too much for me. I recently bought a perfume and got a long, personal, handwritten thank you note (my name, our convo, my perfume correctly mentioned) via snail mail, three event invites and numerous e-mails within a month. Somehow I don't feel pampered, but slightly stalked...

My other half got me something from VCA online. They sent him a handwritten note on the one year anniversary of his last gift for his beloved. That... yeah, not pampered but slightly stalked is a really good description of the feeling that one invoked.

 

[Karl_K]

My opinion on telling people that someone else is considering it is: You cant win. If you do some people are going to consider it slimy and if you dont some people are not going to be happy when something is sold before they decide.

I do like the idea of having a written and published policy if your going to do so. It helps remove some of the appearance of slime.
I would also explain up front that some times of year things move faster than others and make no guarantee of availability pre-purchase part of the policy.

 

[kenny]

FWIW, every time I list something for sale on Craigslist I prominently state in my ad, in all bold caps, "First person here with the cash gets it because there are no holds."