Pushy sales associates who won't accept no!

blah956

Member
Aug 16, 2009
6,339
5
I don't like pushy sales associates.

Today I was trying on various jeans and only 1 pair was what i was looking for and fit.

The lady kept saying "well how about this one...and this one?" and i told her they fit but i knew they would shrink in the wash and I did not want to purchase them. She insisted that "stretch" material stretches out over time as you wear them, and that she "never" puts her jeans in the dryer.

I've gotten the same service elsewhere. Pissy SA that are mad that I won't buy what they want. I'm a size 12. I had one lady try to force me to buy a size 8 of "not your daughters jeans" that were stretchy. her logic was that they stretch and they are supposed to be tight cause they "slim" you. it didn't even PROCESS in her head when i told her 3 times that they didn't even zip up. she'd just follow up with a "but you can..blahblah"

in my business classes, i learned NOT to be pushy if you are trying to sell something. because customers will feel pressured to buy something they are unhappy with. therefore, the employees will not have repeat and satisfied customers.

what are some of yalls stories of pushy sales associates?
 
Agreed. Luckily I don't get pushy SA's often. Usually I'll be polite and give an excuse about having to make a phone call. That way I don't have to talk to them and can still keep looking/trying on clothes.
 
I am a sales associate at a major retailer...and I do not push people to purchase anything. I work on commission, but I would rather let people shop at their own leisure than have me follow them around the store pointing things out to them. No thank you lol. If a customer really needs help, they know where to find me. I make myself known, but I don't push them into buying anything.
 
Ugh. I used to have a manager who was like that. The store I worked for wasn't high end at all, but our regulars loved us because we were really helpful and suggestive, but if someone said "no" we NEVER pushed anything on them. We offered our help, but if they wanted to shop alone, we left them alone.

Enter the new manager. We had SO many people return purchases, saying "I felt really pressured into buying this, and I don't want it." That's terrible customer service! She tried to force this mindset on us as well-if we had a 1 item sale, she would watch us the entire time to see how we "fixed" in, and afterwards she would discuss with us how we could have made the sale better. She was the reason ALL of us left.

There's something to be said for helpful vs. pushy. My favorite sales associate at a local boutique is amazing, I've been buying things from her for years. She tries to push my boundaries a bit, but she listens to what I say and never forces me into anything. If I don't find anything, she'll tell me when a new shipment is coming in and to check again then. Now THAT'S good CS!
 
Generally, I don't have too many problems with SA's, but if one's starting to bother me, I'm pretty shameless about letting them know that I'd rather have some time on my own to shop and consider things and I know where they are at and will find them if I have any questions/needs. They usually seem to get the less than subtle hint.
 
One of my best and worst shopping experiences was in Honolulu. Ala Moana shopping center had great shops but I was picking up the hint from the SAa that they didn't like people "just looking". Thwey would jump on you as you walked in the door and practically threw the merchandise at you if you showed any interest. I learned very quickly that you don't ask any questions or show any interest in any items unless you are planning to walk out the door with them.
Seriously.
My husband started to joke that I should stop going into the stores because he noticed I was p*ssing the SAs off. All I was doing was .....shopping! lol

Down on Waikiki Beach was the absolute worst though.
I went into one store and all the shirts were folded on shelves and high up so I couldn't reach them. I HAD to ask for help. (not that I had to look far. They are like vultures! I swear!)lol
The SA set out 3 shirts for me to look at. I said that there was one that I liked,but I would like to bring my husband back to help me decide. He (the SA) was so angry he didn't even look up from folding the shirts to acknowledge my comment. I knew exactly why he was being rude to me ,...oh i was soooo mad. I must have had a smile on my face up until that point because I remember giving him the disgusted evil-look. As I shook my head I said " thank you. Have a good night." Which ,btw, he still didn't look at me or aknowledge me. Another SA saw what was going on and returned my pleasantries. good for him but it still didn't save the sale. I didn't even return to the store.

So not only can pushy staff cause more returns, they can also lose the sale by expecting an immediate sale from interested customers.
Argh., I'm still sour about that. No matter how many times I go back to Hawaii I will never go back to that store.
 
You guys need to come shop with me! I'm a helpful SA that understands that sometimes things just don't fit. :smile: I give my opinion if you ask for it.

And if people ever tell me they are going to think about it and come back, I always offer to put the item on hold until the end of the day. 90% of the time they come back and ask for me specifically when they buy the item.
 
Sometimes you have to be a little aggressive back, but in a nice way. "Thank you for your help, but I can handle it right now. If I need something, where can I find you?" Or probably reword it

When I was working retail and saw that a customer didn't want to be bothered.. I would just say I'm right over here if you need me. And leave them alone.
 
For the most part, I don't have problems but one time, a SA that follow me around the whole floor of Saks, I gave her several hints that I was looking and she never left my side. I ended up telling her that I had to take my kid to the bathroom. I really wanted to get something but I had to come back a different day because I felt pressure.
But, like I said for the most part more SA are very cooperative and give me my space.
Except in Victoria Secret, they are too pushy but I heard they are pressure to be pushy as well.
 
Theres a lot of asian malls in my area and the SAs there are the worst. I went to this one store and they totally pampered and complimented me, and then brought practically everything in the store for me to try on. I ended up spending $400 there S: terrible
 
I was at the NM cosmetics counter getting a new lipstick, and they were having a special where they engraved the case. The SA kept asking me how many of these lipsticks could they help me with for Christmas presents.

1) It's August

2) I've been buying Christmas presents for decades, and I do not think I've EVER given lipstick. WTF was she thinking?!?

I responded politely for a bit, but finally was driven to ignoring her.
 
Thwey would jump on you as you walked in the door and practically threw the merchandise at you if you showed any interest. I learned very quickly that you don't ask any questions or show any interest in any items unless you are planning to walk out the door with them.

That's just one of the reason I won't go to Best Buy.


If I get this type of behavior in any store, I'll totally ignore the offender. If I have a question, I'll go to someone else. I've been known to give them 'the evil eye' and walk out of the store also.
 
I used to be a sales associate at a high end place in NYC. There was one girl that was so pushy that from time to time people would ask for a new sales girl.
Pushy sales associates make me not purchase anything! I am flat chested and was at a lingerie store. There was a bra that I liked, but they they only had is in a 34C. The sales lady tried to convince me I was a 34C so that I would buy the bra!
I will never return to that store!
 
I used to be a sales associate at a high end place in NYC. There was one girl that was so pushy that from time to time people would ask for a new sales girl.
Pushy sales associates make me not purchase anything! I am flat chested and was at a lingerie store. There was a bra that I liked, but they they only had is in a 34C. The sales lady tried to convince me I was a 34C so that I would buy the bra!
I will never return to that store!


i HATE that!
 
Except in Victoria Secret, they are too pushy but I heard they are pressure to be pushy as well.

My friend worked there a few years ago, and she said that she was pressured to be pushy. Although I had an awesome SA when I was in the PINK store at Menlo Park Mall in NJ- she was helping me find jeans in a size 12, but the short length, and she wound up finding me a few pairs :smile: Buuuut they didn't fit my big butt, but she was so awesome and very helpful.

I've gotten that at Nordstrom. I remember when my mom bought me my Uggs a few years ago, we went there specifically for them. We had a male SA that helped us, but he was being so rude and pushy, suggesting like a million other, more expensive shoes that I should try on, meanwhile my mom was trying to go pay for my boots. Same thing recently with the sale- she was just looking at a Kate Spade bag, and I was trying to convince her to get it because it was just sooooo pretty (it was like $250, and she'll buy a bag that costs that much for me, but not for herself!). The SA saw us looking and was immediately like "let me put that aside, its the last one", and my mom was like "well I have to think about it", and the SA was like "its no pressure!", but the way she was saying it, and her body language clearly showed that she wanted to make that sale.