Sales assistants that pounce on you

I worked in retail for a bit, our managers filmed us or listened from near by to make sure we were saying all the script phrases to customers whether they wanted to hear it or not. You could lose your job if you didnt: 3 strikes and out!
Please dont snap at the poor floor staff, they hate doing it as much as you hate being "pounced on"

I do not mind being asked if I need help,once only! If I have a bad shopping experience I always ask a member of staff who has either ignored me completely or not interacted at all as they are too busy talking to other staff or harassed me around the store,if I can have their customer service number so I can give feedback on my shop visit.I find their attitude to me changes immediately albeit too late.

I've had terrible non-pouncing service in the local VW garage, overlooked as a customer with the salesman addressing only my husband. Husband shrugged the man off and said, you should talk to my wife - she's the one buying a car. I was - but in the end not from there. Sexist attitude cost them a sale.

I can’t stand it - I like the GAP attitude - the assistants ask once if you need help and then they just say “anything you need, just ask, I’ll be over there” and they leave you alone - perfect.

I sometimes think the opposite. Maybe I have a cloak of invisibility. I always seem to have to hunt out someone for help in a shop.

I don't go into Lush any more as you are followed around and the smell is overpowering. I was once asked in Next three times if I needed any help. Must have looked like I was going to spend some money or it was just a quiet day. Anyway I didn't spend any money that is.

I hate it when you enter a pub/restaurant looking to buy a meal and the waiter or waitress doesn’t even give you time to remove your coat and sit down before they pounce and are asking what you’d like to drink!! This happened to my partner and I yesterday - we walked into a local pub, both soaking wet and looking like drowned rats, were shown to a table then immediately asked what we wanted to drink. I’m afraid I was very sharp with the waitress and snapped that it would be nice to be allowed to get my coat off first! My partner said she looked very hurt and we didn’t see her again, so maybe she refused to serve the miserable old woman on Table Five! I don’t care, they need to learn some customer care or at least give you a minute to settle into your seat.

Well, each to her own. I find it much more infuriating to spend half-an-hour trying unsuccessfully to find an assistant who will help me than having to politely explain that I am only looking.

I wish that there had been a few assistants around in Boots, on Tuesday.
There were 4 people queuing to pay, and nobody interested. When one appeared, helping another customer, she said, " you have to go to the front of the store"
Whilst there I saw two members of staff in the pharmacy, one floating! and one at the only till that appeared to be in use.
I did wonder how quickly someone would come, if we had all just walked through the open door?

Some years ago - but still old- I thought I would splash out on expensive make up to see if it improved me. I went to the cosmetic counter in Debenhams and the assistant said I should go elsewhere and buy Rimmel !!! You can imagine how that made me feel.

In most Aussie stores you get a smile and a “How are you today?” Then they tell you to ask if you need any help, and leave you alone.
I’ve never heard any customer say more than “Fine, thanks, “ so the staff don’t seem to be bombarded with a list of ailments from anyone. They are always there if you ask for assistance.
I find that many U.K. stores are understaffed, and it’s difficult to get any kind of help, especially as many garments are hung on rails that are too high. Being only 5ft tall I often can’t manage to lift them down, and this can even be a problem in the Petite’ department! It’s so annoying to have to ask other customers to help me, so I usually just leave.

You can buy everything online these days -even furniture.

I was in John Lewis yesterday when a staff member pounced...I told her what I was looking for ….the escalator or lift to women's fashions ….sorry, she said There are only stairs …………...I left …...

Body Shop is bad for this.
And Oliver Bonas - not that I go in there often at all.
I never go in Lush - just the stink when you walk past is quite enough!

I was once pounced on in John Lewis children’s clothes dept. by a male staff member, asking in very crisp tones whether he could ‘help’.
I was holding a cardigan against the little dress I’d already bought in Joules for Gdd, in order to see whether the colours matched.
I swear he thought I was about to slip it in my bag! It’s a mite disconcerting to be taken for a shoplifter, but I suppose there’s a first time for everything.

Years ago I did a 4 month stint (Oct to Jan) in a shoe shop once. Not only did you have to ask if you could help as soon as a customer arrived, but you had a daily sales target and part of the amount had to be made up of sales of slippers and accessories like insoles, shoe sprays.
For the persistent ones I usually say “Give me your name and I’ll find you if I need anything.”
Technology depts make me laugh though. They always look round to see if my DH is there and address themselves to him if he is. He always says-“Ask her, she’s the technical one.”

Yes I hate that expression too Nannyknee

It’s not even a proper sentence is it?

What happened to “Good morning/afternoon “ ?

I think one of the problems with pouncing shop assistants is the fear that you may be a Mystery Shopper. I worked in a high street Opticians for nearly 20 years and the mystery shop held us all to ransom. One of the criteria was to approach the customer within x minutes of their arriving in store. Heaven help anyone who got the mystery shopper and was marked down for not pouncing on them quickly enough. Worse still, this was usually secretly filmed and staff members who failed to get a good mystery shop score would get quite a stern talking to. Of course, the powers that be would have us believe mystery shoppers were a good thing and helped improve customer service - and I guess in a way they did.
These days this particular Opticians has a designated meeter and greeter in most of their stores so the customer approaches the staff member and not the other way round. But there are still Mystery shoppers out there! If you wear a brooch on your coat you may well get a lot of attention - it could be concealing a hidden camera.

Your post made me smile Milly

Years ago, I was looking for an outfit for a wedding. On a friend’s recommendation, I went to a ‘posh’ ladies clothes section in a department store. The assistant looked me up and down, could tell it was not where I usually shopped obviously. On hearing the outfit was for a wedding, I was asked what sort of wedding it was, the implication being was it a society type nuptial. I responded with dignity that it was a relative’s wedding, that it would be a ‘nice’ one, but I could see that nothing there was what I was looking for. She had the grace to then be embarrassed, and try to rectify things, but I flounced off and bought an outfit at M&S or similar.
Just because she worked in a ‘posh’ shop, she was a shop assistant like anyone else, and earned no commission off me.

John Lewis employees do not get direct commission so they have less incentive to sell. I once stood for ages in the jewellery dept while 3 assistants discussed their weekend. My next stop was the store manager's office. He thanked me profusely for taking the time to complain and then stormed off in the direction of the jewellery dept!
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My late sister was very outspoken. If they pounced on her with a “can I help you” she would reply “ to do what?”.

When I was in the US a while ago many of the stores had small baskets of badges which said ‘I’m just browsing’. This stopped the constant badgering by staff.

Hate it, so much so, I won’t go in a shop if I see an assistant hovering.

As a customer you are only there for a short time. The floor staff have to go through the scripted routine for the whole duration of their shift or else . Be kind to them

When you say the first scripted line and the customer gives you "dont want to chat" signals, you cant stop there! You have to keep going and get the other 4 script sentances in as you are being monitored.

Its soul destroying because its not "real" conversation. And you have to do it all day.

I also hate going into Lush, glad it's not just me they pounce on. I go in there to buy the Sleepy lotion and never look at anything else as I know they will start talking to me again.

I also have the same issues with JL and the technology department, can never find anyone to talk to.

However if I go to the footwear or jewellery section I am inundated with being asked if they can help me. One time the same woman that had been hounding me in the footwear department promptly started doing the same in the jewellery department too as they were next to each other!