Why do salespeople do this?

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I don't enjoy shopping in stores most of the time, especially for clothes, those people are vultures. Any clothes shop I go into I will be asked the dreaded "can I help you with anything?" within 60 seconds. Give me a chance to actually look and I will get back to you! I also don't like it when you are after a particular item and they just claim they don't have it instead of bothering to look it up on the system or in the store. Online shopping has definitely been a good advancement for people like myself!

Even if they were asked about that recently, or know there department well? I don't see why I should have to look at a spot that I saw yesterday to verify what I already knew, that the product wasn't there. Now you could say that it ended up being there, will I would not have said that I knew we didn't have it then

It isn't too bad, it is just a scripted response. May I help you, or can I help you find something? If yes help them, or find someone who can. If no then don't. At the end of both say something like have a good day. Or if I am feeling it "have a wonderful walmart day" (made that up myself)

My coworkers can definitely tell I am...quirky. I make odd comments a lot and jokes, have let most of them know I don't get sarcasm. But I act cheerful almost all the time so their isn't much of a reason for them to be bothered with me.

If a customer is frustrated about something/ranting I will try to find someone else to help me, I would not be able to deal with that well.

Last edited by Delphiki on 09 May 2012, 12:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

So,
the assistant followed the script.
Knew exactly where the item was.
Gave you their choice of the options.
Wasn't aware that they were making you uncomfortable.
... OP, can you be sure the assistant wasn't an Aspie?

Well sure, if they state that they've checked the inventory for that item already I would be fine with that. But sometimes you will just have someone say they don't have any in an unenthusiastic tone, which makes me think they just can't be bothered. I know being any kind of sales assistant isn't a pleasant job, but a bit of communication and friendly attitude can go a long way.

I don't like random people bugging me while I'm out shopping, I'm usual frustrated enough as it is. What I think adds to the problem is the wrong focus on sales instead of service. I usually try not to get too bothered by the person as they are usually just following a set of rules that someone high up in the company decided are good ways to get more money. If only the companies instead of spending their time training their staff to make sales gave the staff that time to research what they were selling then that would add some real value to the process.

Sad thing is it's easier to do the same response rather than assess the situation. And there's me thinking it was just aspies that got thiss wrong!

Some aspies work in shops. I have. We're everywhere

Its part of their job really as that is how their make a sale i suppose.

I never get them, but I do appreciate hearing the details. They calculate the price and duration of an extended warranty based on a 50% fail rate over a set period of time, so it tells you something about the actual durability of what you're buying. So, if they don't volunteer this information, I always ask.

I didn't know that!

I think what a lot is, by just looking around by yourself, they think you're "up to something" ie, going to steal something. Probably some portion is that. I used to, when people asked if I needed help finding something, I'd say no and I'd look suspicious. Eventually I figured out to just let the salesperson do his job, and take me wherever. Makes my life easier, as he knows where it is and I don't.

Even if their ideas aren't as insidious as thinking you're going to steal something, a lot of times the salesperson just wants to develop a rapport with you. Make some smalltalk, tell you about sales that are happening, whatever. So by establishing the personal connection, you're more likely to come back to the store. Personal connection helps you, too, as especially in the case of a smaller business, you often get "good guy pricing" and, let's say you wanna buy a drink, and you only got $2 on you and it's $2.50, they'll often just let you go at $2, or they'll let you have for free, say, sandwiches or bread they're gonna throw out, things like that. I understand totally how sometimes you wanna just be left alone to look around, and to a point, salespeople do, too. The solution for that, if you don't want the salesperson helping you, tell them "Ah, thank you very much, but I'm just looking around/browsing right now, thank you though." Better, though, is let the salesperson find you the initial item you're looking for, and if you still wanna look or examine more stuff, after they guide you to the item you want, you say "Ah, thanks for helping me, I'm gonna look around a bit more by myself if you don't mind, though, thanks." Or something to that effect. If they immediately hand you the cheapest item, and you don't want it, just say "oh, thank you, but I'd like to look at the others and compare them a bit before I buy."

So yeah, the solution to the problem is basically, you gotta communicate with the salesperson.

I tend to do most of my cloths shopping in supermarkets or cheaper stores which tend not to bother you much.

There is one shop, selling suits, that streamlines the process nicely. First they measure you, then take you to a rack of clothing that is all your size. This makes the buying process a lot quicker, and therefore less painful.

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A lot of staff are forced to up/suggestive sell items to customers. A lot of the time they are just going through the motions (so that if you were a mystery shopper you would not mark them down) so a simple no would do. A major national electrical chain always suggests the same item every time (you would think they would offer different items each week or month to grab regular customers).

@Collin - People like you and me will be the death of mom & pop stores because we primarily shop online!

Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike going in store all together. I still enjoy browsing games and such when I'm in town. But even the shops I do go into are big chains, not that many family run shops where I live. Well apart from local takeaways that is, which I do support a fair bit financially

You know what one of the most miserable jobs on the planet is? Working retail. It doesn't really matter what your 'floor walker' does, it'll be wrong half the time.

Retailers insist that their employees greet, engage and converse with their customers in order to sell them the products they need. The social skills needed to read people, say the right thing at the right time and seemlessly end a conversation is just that - a skill. For them just as much as for you. Some are better at it than others and some have no skills at all. It is also a talent. Some people are VERY good at sales.

Give some poor working stiff a break. I cannot emphasis enough exactly how much working retail sucks.

Be polite, simply say 'No thanks. I'm just looking.' And let them exit as gracefully as they know how. They are REQUIRED to harass you in order to keep their job. Try and remember that next time you go shopping.

Man, I hate salespeople coming up to me and asking if I need help! I have some rote responses prepared for when it happens. I love online shopping.

I have worked in retail - yes, it does suck; no, I don't cope with it very well, but had no choice - and I can say it's about customer engagement and security. If a would-be shoplifter is approached by staff, it's less likely that they'll pinch anything because the staff look like they're alert.