I agree with you about this. There’s no way of telling which customers know what they want or what how much product knowledge they have but there are polite sensible questions to find out. Even customers who have no idea what a video card is don’t want to be treated in a condescending manner.
I’ve been telling managers for years that certain customers would rather be on their own and they will appreciate it if you allow them to do business that way. That didn’t fit their concept of sales until they paid some company a shitload of money to do a study and give them the same information.
It seems to be working it’s way west. PIN entry at the till has been in Denmark (and a lot of other ‘continental’ European countires) for years now, at least all of the 4 years I’ve been in Denmark. Although in Denmark it’s more of ‘swipe and PIN’ than ‘chip and PIN’. The UK caught up this year so I suppose it might make the jump across the Atlantic shortly.
Without a shadow of a doubt it’s the easiest way of paying at the till. I’ve got so used to paying in this way that when I was in the UK and had to sign (since they don’t like my DK card), I realised just how out of practice I was at signing my signature!
Yeah, because most people don’t buy new refrigerators regularly unless they’re interior designers or landlords. Unless they’ve done some homework beforehand, they’re not going to know much about what you’re selling and it’s your job to educate them.
OTOH, people like me and catsix generally know what we want before we make the purchase. We don’t like being condescended to and we don’t like being patronized by some sales drone who has been trained according to some carefully-developed “profile” that makes too many assumptions to be valid.
It’s not that we don’t want the help. We just don’t want salesdrones in our faces when we’re just browsing! Best Buy seems to be the worst at this. If I’m seen when I walk in the door, which is pretty much all the time, I get my New Best Friend following me around like a puppy while I shop. If I tell my New Best Friend that I really don’t need the help, he (and it’s been more men than women) disappears to parts unknown. It’s the all-or-nothing behavior that people complain about. Now, if BB employees were a) more visible (royal blue shirts in a royal-blue-and-yellow store don’t work; they blend in too well to be immediately noticeable) and b) there, shopping there would be a better experience.
And the BB experience must be more universal than you’d care to admit or there wouldn’t be so many people complaining about it when we live in different parts of the country.
It depends on how you look at the numbers. What percentage of the total shoppers have a complaint. As a rule people with a bad experience make a lot more noise than all the satisfied customers. It’s not a perfect world and there are going to be problems. One observation from the other side of the register. I think American shoppers a pretty spoiled. We got to a place where people expected {many still do} Sam’s Club pricing with plenty of great service. We also want to make our purchase quickly and be on our way. Stores try to gauge staff to have enough but not too many. If you tell me you’re just browsing I take your word for it. When you’re ready for some help please understand if I’m with a customer who came in asking for some help. I think customers are adjusting to the changing retail landscape and most are polite and patient. Still, I’m surprised at how many will come up to me while I’m with another customer and start asking questions as if I’m not. There’s also a lot of phone shoppers who want a lot of details about stuff to help decide if it’s worth driving over.
I did have a phone customer the other day who was very patient about being on hold and said “Of course your customers actually in the store get first priority.”
I thanked him several times.
I’ve only been told that I would have to give my phone number before purchasing an item once. A TV, and I left it at the checkout, and it wasn’t at BB.
Whenever I’m asked for a telephone number I say, “No, sorry”, and they accept it. I also say no to my zip code just for general principle. At Best Buy, the thing that gets to me most is the constant drone of… “But you NEED this extended warrantee…” crap. I tell them no a couple of times politely… then tell them that I’ll take my business elsewhere if they do not stop hounding me.
Hey, I totally understand and agree completely. However, the fact is that many of the people that I deal with on a day to day basis don’t know what they want or what they should be looking for. I treat everyone as my equal, and make sure that I’m talking to them the same way I’d want to be talked to. In fact, just the other day, I had a couple come in that wanted a washer/dryer combo, and they were already upset because some guy (who was about my age) talked down to them, even though he didn’t know what the hell he was talking about. I’m not about to be that guy.
Re: Credit Cards. I check ID every single time. If I don’t, and the credit card happens to be stolen, guess who takes the blame? I understand about merchant’s agreements and so forth, but that’s just not how employees are being trained. It’s funny though, because most of the people who I ID thank me for it (I’m seriously not making that up). I personally had my wallet stolen, and even though I cancelled my cards the very next day, some milkweed was able to charge with my cards (even though the sigs were on the back). You’d be surprised how easy it can be for a really motivated person to learn how to forge a sig (in fact, that’s what most ID thieves are best at). Once you have something like that happen to you, I’m sure you’ll be singing a different song.
Well, while I don’t normally like to visit Best Buy, I did so this weekend. My router had been on the fritz for awhile and was acting and looking like Uncle Junior. Stopped in at Best Buy for a new one (because the computer show I went to a few weeks back was devoid of MIMO routers), plus a new PCI card to handle the newer tech. Found what I wanted, waited on a short line, paid with debit card. No hassles. No questions. No problems - other than tracking down Mrs. D_Odds and her offspring who were off browsing all somewhere.
[facetious aside]Jeez, don’t women know how to shop. I said, “I’m going in, finding what I want, then leaving. 5 minutes top.” Took longer to gather up the two of them than it did to find and purchase my stuff. Dumb store and it’s inability to get a phone signal within.[/fa]
So she had trouble getting a hold of you to authorize her purchases?
My thing is, stores have money budgeted for bad debt and loss, they have agreed to pay the credit card % on purchases, and they have agreed to take cards according to the merchant’s agreement. That’s it. Don’t tell me not to use my card, to use cash instead, if you have decided to take cards. And forget checking on small purchases; if people can swipe and go under a certain $ amount like in that ad, maybe you should let those go as well.
Chip-reading POS terminals and phones have been proliferating across Canada in the past five years or so. I stumbled across some references that Chip-and-PIN Visa/MC reading will be rolled out fairly soon… here are a two-year-old press release, and a FAQ for merchants from Visa.
Canadians have been using PINs with our debit cards for years, so it won’t be a huge switch from the consumer’s viewpoint.
I didn’t know that it was being used in CA as well, thanks for that
So does anyone know why the US hasn’t taken this technology up yet? Is it just a logistics issue with rolling it out over the country (but then wouldn’t that count for CA too?).
No stores *don’t *have money budgeting for bad debt and loss. Bad debt is lost money period. It’s not like the electric bill or payroll. Let’s say a $20 item cost $15 and has $5 profit. When one is stolen in any way that means we have to sell three others just to break even. Now we’ve out four and made zero profit.
Stores do know that they are going to suffer losses and their bottom line is to figure how how they can change policies and practices and still make a profit. If we lose a small percentage of customers who think showing their ID is an intrusive outrage but stop a significantly higher percentage of theft then that’s acceptable.
As certain forms of theft become common stores will change policy in response. Have you noticed return policies changing? That’s in large part due to the rent for free scam became so popular among upright “honest” citizens. Of course it’s the truly honest customers who suffer and scream bloody murder over a restocking fee.
A Bush cabinet member just got busted for making bogus returns. The scam is to buy something take it to your car or even home. Go back in pick up the same item off the shelf and using your receipt, return it. Viola!! A free new toy. I’ve seen it happen. Stores that make merchandise too easily accessible are targets for this. Eventually , if the problem becomes to wide spread , merchandise will be locked up and you’ll have to ask for help just to get it. Personally I’ve love to see the small specialty store come back to replace the big box stores. You want a digital camera. Go to the camera store. You want appliances. Go to Joe’s appliance emporium, etc. etc.
Part of the ID thing for my store at least is to insure that employees are taking proper security steps. How does management make sure that employees are following the half dozen steps on the merchant agreement? That may mean getting certain info for every CC purchase.
As I said. I love debit cards with pin numbers. It makes life easier for everyone. Customers also want the right to determine how their card will be read. Debit or credit. Credit is less secure and more expensive for the merchant. What if the merchant insisted on use as debit? What kind of hissy fits would that result in?
I realize handing them your CC and your ID is an incredible ordeal and we in America shouldn’t tolerate this kind of infringement on our constitutional right to be spoiled and impatient. That’s why I recommend the use of cash. That’ll teach those selfish asshole merchants to make my CC purchase less convenient by 10 to 15 seconds. Of all the freakin nerve of those people.
BTW, I’ve noticed life isn’t really like the ads on TV. Again my apologies.
Just to clarify: Canadian debit cards are not Chip-and PIN; they use magstripes.
But they are on the same system (Interac) as Canadian ATM withdrawls, do not have Visa/Mastercard logos, and do not use the Visa/Mastercard payment mechanism. I
have no idea whether Canadian debit cards will ever use the chip. I suspect that the existence of a unified nation-wide debit-card system may actually have delayed Chip-and-PIN rollout here.
I’m not talking about salespeople who are helping other people. I know I’m usually not the only person in the store and don’t expect anyone to drop what they’re doing to help me. I’m also not talking about salespeople who know what they’re talking about and who are willing to answer questions.
I’m talking about salespeople who hover over me as I’m trying to decide what I want. If I say, “I’m just browsing” or “I need a minute” or some other sentence that indicates that I don’t need the salesperson’s help right that minute, they disappear for parts unknown. I don’t mean “they’re busy helping other people”. I mean “they’ve disappeared”. Maybe they were sent on break, maybe they’re back in Car Stereos listening to music (I’ve caught more than one doing this), maybe they’re in the Twilight Zone. The point is, they’re not there to service the customer.
I find it hard to believe that knowing that you will lose some money through fraud does not translate into some price adjustments. That’s a cost of doing business like any other and would be accounted for. Hell, I work at a non-profit educational institution and there’s an allowance for bad debt on tuition receivables.
As far as real life being like the commercial, I can swipe a credit card at the pump or at the drive-through and nothing else needs to take place, because it’s a small amount. That’s all I meant, below a certain amount don’t waste your or my time.
The funny part of one of my rare Best Buy experiences was that I walked in bracing myself for the salesperson onslaught. Aside from the greeter when I came in, no one bothered me as I browsed the digital cameras. Ah, blessed relief. Then when I was ready to purchase, I couldn’t catch the eye of one of the six salespeople who were in a cluster shooting the shit not 15 feet from me. Sure sale blown.
So the upshot is, leave me to make a decision but at least be aware of my status so that when I do need assistance you are not oblivious. I had a waitress like this once; never asked us if things were OK but magically appeared when we realized we needed something. It was amazing. And, seriously, I guess maybe I am asking too much to get that every time.
The Danish cards don’t use a chip and PIN system either. They use swipe and PIN, it’s using the Dankort system (which also carries VISA). I seem to remember hearing that chip and PIN was going to be released at some point, but then again the current system works well.
