What awful advice. I prefer someone to ask me "Can I help you?" If I need help I'll tell him, if I don't right now I'll tell him. Cornering me like that with a two choice question would just provoke me to rudely answering "I'll let you know when I need help".
Can I help you? Why retail customers always say No
41–50 of 89 posts
Re: Can I help you? Why retail customers always say No
#42I worked computer retail for a bit over 3 years and I think the best opening line was always "hello" or "good morning/afternoon/evening", with a by "welcome to [store]".
The best follow-up was to not only look busy but be busy. Stocking shelves or merchandising was always effective. People who want help but are shy about it always seem willing to spontaneously talk with employees who are busy doing something... it's a strange concept.
"Are you looking for pants or tops" is assumptive and manipulative. Remember this chestnut from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4795139 : "Which one are you most impressed by?" How about neither, you swarmy ass?
Re: Can I help you? Why retail customers always say No
#43For me it started with waiters: a good waiter can really help you figure out what to order, or what to drink. Instead of staring at the menu for 5 minutes (while your dear friend, or wife, or parent) is right there with you, just glance at it, get a few ideas, and then ask the waiter: "I'm pretty hungry. The chicken looks good, is it ?" Or with wine: "I love jammy Zinfandels: berry berry all the way! Do you have anyt…
Restaurants are a slightly different situation. Once you're already in a restaurant, it's quitely unlikely that you're going to walk out without buying something. The waiter (if motivated by tips) has every reason to help you actually enjoy your food. Salespeople, who are more commonly motivated by commission, have every reason to convince you to buy something whether or not you need it.
They do but throw away any feelings of compulsion to buy things to make the salesperson happy. And if you don't like them or find them helpful, totally just walk away or say: "Thanks for your help, but I am going to look on my own now."
It's not a personal relationship and (basic human decency aside) you have no need to please them.
But don't categorically reject all salespeople. Maybe go to better stores where there are higher quality folks at work?
Re: Can I help you? Why retail customers always say No
#44"People wouldn’t (especially men) enter a store just for the sake of it, they want help." I prefer to engage with others as little when I enter a store. I want to find the stuff I want, pay for it, and get out. I'm even willing to spend twice as much time (or more) looking for what I want than I would have if I have go engage with a store assistant. I'm not exactly socially awkward, either. I just hate shopping. I fi…
I have the same goals as you (find the stuff I want, pay for it, and get out), but that's why I seek out the salespeople! I feel that assistants aren't really there to help me; they're there to maximize profits for their employer. Help me find these employees! I joke, but seriously - I usually get great recommendations from the staff, often brutally honest. I find people don't give flippant recommendations, as its a…
I went to Sears two days ago for a brake inspection. The guy quoted $700. He pulled me off to the side and said, 'buy the parts for $100 and we will charge $300 for labor. Quote around for better prices, or you might be able to do the labor yourself, so, give that a try too and just bring it in if all else fails.' My memorial day weekend is going to consist of attempting these repairs, but thanks to him, I may become a man this weekend.
(No, brakes are not my first repair. Most of my repairs have been in the car, electrical, hoses, injection, dropping the fuel tank, etc. I have always stayed away from tires/suspension and usually paid the hefty fees. Thanks for the _valid_ concern!)
Re: Can I help you? Why retail customers always say No
#45I worked in retail for a few years and the approach I always took was to say hello or make eye contact and smile. That way if the customer needs help they know you are there but they dont feel harassed.
Re: Can I help you? Why retail customers always say No
#46Even if I know more or less what I am looking for, I'd still rather do it on my own time than have a sales associate "help" me. I always feel like I am pressured in to making a decision faster than I would otherwise. If they are helping me and I do try to take my time to make the decision I always get the impression of mounting frustration at my indecisiveness. That's why I prefer sales associates who say "let me know if you need any help" and then just leave me alone.
Re: Can I help you? Why retail customers always say No
#47I always say No because I usually enter a store with a product (or product type) already in mind and just desperately want to avoid getting upsold by the packs of roving sales peoples trying to boost their commission by selling me something I don't need. I have occasionally had good experiences talking to sales types at retail places (including just a couple days ago) but normally if they get persistent I just end up…
„avoid getting upsold by the packs of roving sales peoples trying to boost their commission by selling me something I don't need.“ I have some friends working in stores who quit their jobs because they were forced to sell nonsense stuff in addition to products :-/ Pushes me in the Amazon direction, too...
I had a job in college where I was supposed to sell worthless "protection plans" on every goddamned product in the store. Second-to-worst job I ever had.
Re: Can I help you? Why retail customers always say No
#48We always say no because, at least for me, it's pretty rare that I actually need help. I am, in general, capable of following signs and locating where in the store I need to be. Maybe I'll have to ask where they put the widgets, because it turns out they're in sporting goods instead of tools as I'd thought. But now, assume I'm shopping for clothes. This 19-year-old girl doesn't know me, she doesn't know what kind of…
> She doesn't know what kind of price range I'm looking at, or even what particular clothes I'm currently looking for.
I would wager she could probably make a very good guess based on which shop she works in. You don't get £10 t-shirts in a Hugo Boss shop, and you probably don't care as much about labels if you're shopping at Ross.
Re: Can I help you? Why retail customers always say No
#49"People wouldn’t (especially men) enter a store just for the sake of it, they want help." I prefer to engage with others as little when I enter a store. I want to find the stuff I want, pay for it, and get out. I'm even willing to spend twice as much time (or more) looking for what I want than I would have if I have go engage with a store assistant. I'm not exactly socially awkward, either. I just hate shopping. I fi…
I have the same goals as you (find the stuff I want, pay for it, and get out), but that's why I seek out the salespeople! I feel that assistants aren't really there to help me; they're there to maximize profits for their employer. Help me find these employees! I joke, but seriously - I usually get great recommendations from the staff, often brutally honest. I find people don't give flippant recommendations, as its a…
As a non-commissioned retail salesperson in a previous life, giving honest and helpful recommendations and trying not to annoy people that don't need help, was the only pride to be found in that work.
Not everybody is an introvert, and some people do want help but are too afraid to ask. Although I suspect that for each of those there are three people that would just like to shop on their own.
It's also important to note people can often give the wrong signals. Wearing a baggy coat and making sideways glance at the staff because you're worried they may come over may flag you as a shoplifter and attract their attention.
Re: Can I help you? Why retail customers always say No
#50If Im shopping for clothes I go straight for a salesperson. I use them as personal shoppers and ask them to go find jeans in my size that meet some loose criteria. If I find a shirt in thats too small I'll ask them to bring the right size. Sometimes you can be brutally honest with the "can I help you?" and just ask them what looks good and is on sale. They'll grin and point you in the right direction. If you're buying dress shirts I've found the salespeople to have insight into which brands will fit your unusually wide shoulders without looking awkward.
Don't feel uncomfortable rejecting their suggestions either. It's an iterative process. Once you don't need them say "alright, thanks so much for your help" and they'll leave you alone.