I own close to 500.
I like having a library of them, I buy them at a whim if they are good I may watch them in the future when Im bored and theres crap all on the TV (quite often now).
My brother has close to 10,000 books (I have probably 400 or 500 but borrow his) how is this any different ?
If you’ve ever bought cheap pre-fab furniture you know that just about anything can break it. Its really not as unreasonable as you might think. And if it breaks, that 10% extra basically means the replacement is 90% free.
Anyways, it’s a service they offer. It’s no different from a fast food worker asking you if you’d like to supersize your meal or add fries. A quick no thank you is all that is needed to deal with the question. They are being courteous to you, just because in YOUR mind the request is inane doesn’t give you the right to be a big fucking prick.
Not always.
I went to ChumpUSA to buy a laptop. After being near the row of laptops I got to hear several salespeople put their spin on what laptop customers need, what extras they have to have and why they REALLY need to buy the in house warranty.
One woman was very nice to her customer so I waited an extra 20 minutes just to give her the sale.
My turn came around and she asked if I needed anything else - a case, mouse, etc. I told her I had everything and I just need the laptop. She asked if I was interested in the warranty and I said no. I informed her I was a computer geek type and anything that went wrong I could fix myself. She took that as a no and she went to fetch the computer.
A few minutes later she came to tell me her manager has the computer up front and if I follow her up there she’ll get me checked out.
We get to the front and here is Mr Aggressive Sales Managerman. He first does a scare tactic on me. “I need you to check the seals on the box to be sure we aren’t selling you an opened box. Toshiba has been selling refurbished computers as new so we need to protect ourselves. There is a class action lawsuit on Toshiba because so many people are buying used computer they think are new.”
“Hmm? Interesting. Yes, it’s sealed”
By now I have my credit card out of my wallet and I’m all set to pay.
He hands me their warranty brochure and says “I also need to inform you we have so many returns on these because of the screen and hinge. Our plan will protect you on this.”
I told him no. I don’t need it.
“Well, if your screen breaks you’ll have to ship it to California and it will only be replaced for free if it was a manufacturer defect. If you break it by mistake it will cost a great deal to have it repaired”
I take a step back from the counter and say “Not really. I know a distributor that has replacement LCD’s for about $265. It will take me about an hour to swap a cracked screen. I’m not interested in the warranty because I can fix anything that goes wrong”
“That may be but you never know what is going to go wrong with the laptop. This laptop is well known to be a problem – especially the screen hinge. I don’t know how you’d fix that. But with our warranty…”
“I don’t need it”
Now he starts to get very aggressive. “Our plan will protect you from…”
At this point I stop listening. I put my card back in my wallet and take another step back from the counter. Everytime this guy stops talking for a second I just say “No. I’m not interested” or “I don’t need it”. I bet I said this 6 or 7 times.
He tells me he is REQUIRED to inform me of this before he can ring me up. He’s just trying to protect me and my purchase.
The wallet goes back in my pocket and I’ve now moved a good 8-10 feet back from the counter away from asshole fuck head. By moving back away from him I’m attempting to show him how his blah-blah-blah is scaring the sale away. I’ve already decided I’m no longer going to buy this laptop from him but I let him go on.
The manager guy is really pushing for this sale hard. His voice has gotten louder; he’s waving his arms and hands. He’s trying to pressure me into it. When he says it would be a mistake to NOT buy into the plan I decide enough is enough and I walk away. I don’t say a thing; I just walk out the store.
So, remind me again how easy it is to just say no.
End of the story is I did end up buying the computer from another ChumpUSA because the $200 in rebates made the wife happy. One thing I’ve learned is if you’re spending $1600 on a new toy for yourself then you need to figure out a way to make the wife happy. 
I hate it when I order something and get “do you want fries with that?” OH MY OG! You sell fries? Why aren’t they on the menu? If I wanted fries I would have ordered fries. I know the McHelp doesn’t have any choice, but it is intensely irritating to me.
And I still don’t get why in the world you would want to buy a warranty for shelves. If they are going to fall apart, I’m not going to buy them in the first place.
And an electronics salesperson who has just sold you an expensive piece of equipment sounds like an ass when he tries to sell a warranty. He spends time telling you how good it is, makes the sale, then switches gears and tells you it’s a piece of crap, you need a warranty.
I don’t go off on salespeople about this - I know it’s store policy and nothing they can change. However, if asked again after I’ve replied in the negative, I have been known to look one in the eye and say “Just what part of “no” didn’t you understand?”
Seven, that is a truly horrifying story. I want to punch that guy in the face just from reading about him.
While your second anecdote is even more entertaining than your first (but not nearly as funny as your DVD plans), it rather supports the suggestion that you enjoy playing games with the kids in retail. Yes, the manager was a prick and you were correct to walk, but why play out the backing away scenario? To teach him a lesson? To prove your cleverness? You stated that the sale had been lost a long time ago, why not just leave?
I hate the upsell. My pat response is ‘no thank you’ and if I’m pressed I ask the salesperson to either complete the sale or get me a manager. Managers are rarely needed, but when they’re called I explain that while I understand the person is just doing a job, I resent being aggressively upsold and will now take my business elsewhere. The end. No mind games. No muss. No fuss.
It’s difficult to say this without sounding like an inspirational speaker, but the truth is: There are many things in this world over which you have no control. The only thing you can control is your response to them, and the sooner you recognize this the better your contacts with annoying retail clerks will be.
The most ridiculous upsells I’ve been offered have been in WH Smith - a large UK book/news/stationery store chain; after queuing up for a few minutes to buy a cheap magazine one day, the assistant tried to upsell me the latest Harry Potter book, three bars of chocolate(for the price of two) and a prepay mobile phone topup card, making the transaction last three or four times as long as it should have (probably the reason for the long queue to the checkout).
As far as plans go, that is a fucking excellent one! I may even buy my first DVD next week in homage to your plan. I may use it as a coaster for my coffee mug?..is that enough of a plan? I feel feeble and DVD-less now.
Bravo! 
(You still need to chill out when shopping though. Maybe you can plan for that)
See, no, it’s you and your little games. I’m a woman and while people have tried, no one has ever made me buy anything I doidn’t want. Are you a man, or a mouse? Why did you not say, “I am not buying anything in addition to what’s on the table here, and if you don’t stop upselling me, I’m walking out.” Same thing with the girl and the DVD rack. You should have just said, “I don’t want anything in addition to my rack.” Instead of playing your little mind games.
I’ve worked in retail, and hated sarcastic customers like you. I had to do whatever I was told. BJ’s was the worst - I had a guy ream me a new asshole because I wasn’t going to let him take a cart out, even though he hadn’t brought one in. In those days it cost a quarter to put them in, and you got it back, so management decided that you could only have one if you’d brought one in. :rolleyes: Not great customer service, but I was only a lackey!
But I also have to agree that you made up for it all with your DVD story. Who the hell cares how many DVDs you have anyway? When I heard your total, I was jealous…I’m still working on mine.
I went to the post office today, and was struck by the quantity of upselling that goes on there, too.
I want to send a package flat rate Priority Mail. I understand that they have to ask me, “Is there anything hazardous, liquid, flammable,” etc.
But then I get asked:
Do you need delivery confirmation?
Do you need insurance?
Do you need a book of stamps with that?
Is there anything else you need?
What starts off as an exchange that could have been a one-sentence inquiry about hazardous, etc. followed by “That will be $7.70, please,” turns into a three-minute epic with the clerk reeling off all the opportunities I have to pay More! Money! for More! Useless! Services! I think I wouldn’t even mind it so much if the clerks at our new post office weren’t so damn PERKY. At least in New Orleans they were rude, slow, surly, or some combination of the above; that’s what I’ve come to expect over the years from the USPS. Perky just makes me want to jump the counter and throttle her mid-upsell.
Let’s see, me and the girlfriend go to see a movie that just came out. Assuming we don’t go any extras we get to spend about $14. We have to be there at a particular time, blah blah etc.
Or I can spend like $17.99 on a DVD, watch it whenever I want, make a copy for a friend if I want (but I wouldn’t because that’s illegal), and I don’t even have to take out a second mortgage for a bag of popcorn.
So…
-Joe
Please translate that. Start with BJ’s.
If I had only said to the DVD shelf girl something like “I don’t want it. I just want to buy the shelves.” things would have been different.
It doesn’t matter anyway. Most salespeople only get good commission from selling the extended warranty. In fact, some stores only pay out on the extended warranty.
The shark salesmen (like the manager guy at ChumpUSA) couldn’t care less if I buy a laptop. They only want to sell the warranty. Telling them I’m going to bail on the sale really isn’t that big of a deal UNLESS I might be swayed into the warranty.
If I walk without the warranty then it only means they have one more laptop to try and attach a warranty to.
And, to clear up, I didn’t start backing up to play games. I backed off because of his nature. I don’t like people that bark shit at me.
Ok, I will…tomorrow. But quickly, BJ’s is BJ’s Wholesale Club, and they had the most anal policy on shopping carts ever.
What’s wrong with asking for ID? I’m actually glad to be asked for photo ID with my credit/debit cards (I’ve had them stolen before). I even wrote “ask for photo ID” instead of signing it (why let whoever stole u’r card see what u’r signature looks like?) Most small stores where I live do it and it seems like a reasonable anti-fraud measure.
And if you read the post you’re quoting (or perhaps my post above that) then you’d see I’d be in complete agreement with you IF you had just politely said no. But you didn’t, you started firing off with the rudeness, she didn’t start out rude, you did. They are required to ask certain things, I recognize that, and when I simple no is the end of it I’m quite happy with the person I’m dealing with. Some of them like to pressure you or be pricks, those are the ones that deserve to be delt with rudely. And I also am sure NEVER to start off being rude, because well, that’s just not polite. I’ll never be an agressor in a situation like this, if they fire first I’ll fire back, but otherwise I’m going to be a polite person.
I still don’t understand how asking if she was kidding would be considered rude.
It’s a $20 shelf and she’s asking I tack an extra $5 to “assure” me it will behave like a shelf.
Part of her job is to try and sell this crap. Another part is to deal with the reply no matter what it is. If that comment ticks her off then she needs to find another job because she can’t do the one she has. I started the story by saying I got a vibe from her when I reached the counter that she “didn’t want to be there”. That is not the message she should be sending out to customers. She needs to find something that will make her happy.
But now is not really the time to point fingers and play the blame game. I just bought the complete DVD set of The Prisoner (10 discs) and I’m going to see if I can make underware out of it.
Because you know damned well she wasn’t joking. You think it’s foolish to offer the warranty on the shelves and this was your lame way of telling her so. If you REALLY think a cashier just pops that off as a joke while she’s ringing up a customer, then you’re not half as bright as you’ve been given credit for.
Also, your attitude here and your odd stories about being harrassed for a warranty seemingly everywhere you go demonstrates you’re ready to be angry the second you’re asked about it. You almost seem to enjoy having the “upper hand” as the customer when in these situations. The way you’ve described the instances in this thread, you actually seem to enjoy the thought that you’re somehow “showing them” and playing a game with them. Grow up, seriously. These people are doing their jobs and you’re trying to having a pissing match with them. When faced with the hard sell warranty, do what most adults do … “Just the shelves, nothing else.” and that usually does it. IF the salesperson comes back again, calmly say “Honestly, just the shelves or nothing.”
For someone who has admitted that he over reacted, you’re certainly not giving an inch here.
I don’t understand how it was rude, either. If someone asked me if I wanted a warranty on shelves, I would have cracked up laughing. That might have been considered rude.
Yup, a couple of stories about it because I’ve really only shopped twice in my life.
When I open my ice cream shoppe on the moon then you’ll all be sorry. I’ll hard sell everyone on a cone warranty, dropage insurance, drip guards, and anything else I can think of. Then when you come in and really want ice cream you’ll have to listen to all of it and be nice,. or leave. Bwa-ha-ha.
And yes, In the big picture I did over react. I admit it. I should have just left paid my money like a good little consumer and left without saying a word. I shouldn’t have let the store know I don’t like being upsold even after I say no.
But I won’t give on the fact that offering a warranty on a cheap fucking shelf is stupid and that it’s bound to get a reaction worse then my chuckling at the disbelief a store decided to stoop so low as to push it. I think it also speaks for the store on how stupid they think the customers are.
I do not think I over reacted or was rude because at the end of the day “do you want to buy an extended warranty on a cheap shelf” is a really stupid fucking question.