I thought it was mandatory.
“Can I help you?”
“No, thank you.”
Is this thread on crack?
They don’t all just quietly leave at that point. If it was that simple, there would be nothing to complain about.
I realize it was likely a simple typo, but this is my word for the day. Thank you for it.
I’ve never had someone not leave me alone after a polite, “No, thank you” to an offer of assistance. Usedtobe could not even manage to say that.
Yes. Because there’s nothing wrong with that behavior. For all the clerk knew, the OP was wondering where the cases of Gatorade are located and she could have told him. Being asked if you need help is an asinine thing to get worked up about.
Yes, he made the mistake of not immediately dismissing her as a probable idiot. Some of us are just too optimistic for our own good.
I am frequently questioned at length, if my “no thank you” is too friendly-sounding. If that doesn’t happen to you, what’s your secret?
But being worked up that someone else doesn’t like fake help offers is perfectly reasonable. :rolleyes:
When I start making new threads ranting about it, you should totally come into it and post that line. It’ll be all like: "BURN!!"
Until then, you just look silly 
And yet, we wonder why “fighting ignorance is taking longer than we thought.” Why I can’t imagine why people wouldn’t want to learn from rude jerk offs.
I also have never had someone pester to help me after I say, “No thanks, just browsing” or “No thanks, I know what I’m after.”
Honestly, I think the complainers are missing an opportunity. If you have the gift of making help appear at Home Depot, I know lots of non-home improvement inclined people who would pay good money for a staff member to ask if they can be of assistance. Me, on the occasions I can’t find what I need, I have to find the person trapped at the paint mixing area and get them to page the appropriate staff member.
Nobody pesters me after I say no thank you. And I say it friendly, too! I see no reason to be rude, after all, I have done that kind of job and I didn’t like it.
Seriously, they just go away, or at the most, say “I’ll be over here if you need anything.”
Yeah, going again to my own retail experience, I always had enough other people to help that I wasn’t going to waste time trying to convince one specific person to let me help them.
Likewise, saying “Nope, I’m good. Thanks” has always been enough to be left alone short of used car lots and mattress stores.
If I’m counting correctly, only AnaMen agrees with usedtobe that the Home Depot clerk was in the wrong. Did anyone else side with the OP in 133 posts?
I didn’t start this thread.
Just want to mention that Home Depot’s website has helped save my sanity more than once. If you can find the thing you want on their site, it will tell you within about eight feet where that thing is supposed to be in the store. I just wish they’d label the bays, but at least knowing that the 5/37" feeblestats are in aisle 7, bay 4 is a tremendous help.
Some of these big box stores also have free in-store pickup. So the stuff is either shipped to the store or someone retrieves it from the shelf and you pick it up at the service desk. And I’ve seen a curbside pickup tent at my local Target. So you don’t even need to go inside.
But nah I only get rude when the same employee asks twice if I need help, or like Ace they decide any unaccompanied customer must be harassed.
Really? I’ve had numerous store employees ask me if I need help. And every time I’ve told them no they’ve just said “Okay, let me know if you need anything” and left me alone after that.
Maybe you appear to be more in need of help than the average customer.
I can’t remember which one, but there was a big box store about 20 or 25 years ago that offered “Just Looking” stickers at the entrance that you could wear if you didn’t want to be bothered by salespeople. When and if you decided you wanted assistance, you would remove it.
And for whatever it’s worth*, in all my 55 years I’ve never heard anyone call a light bulb a “lamp” until now. A lamp is what you screw a light bulb into.
*Absolutely nothing.