Annoying salesperson

[mretzloff]

I went to the AOS in San Francisco.
Somewhat similar experience, but nowhere near as annoying.
Went in to check it out, look at some stuff, laugh at the Mach3 and Fusion handles, and check out the straights.
Someone had dropped one of the Thiers Issard straights, and it had a 1/2 inch long 1/4 inch deep chip And not to mention the pricetag

I kept my answers short and sweet.
"What are you currently using to shave?"
150 year old straight razor.
"Oh....Do you use a brush?"
22mm Silvertip.
"............And the soap?"
Col. Conk, and VanDerHagen lol
She proceeded to show me how well her stuff lathered, and how slick it was with a pre-shave oil.

My response: Man, my 2 dollar puck of Conk lathers up better and slicker than that.

I then turned on my heel and walked out.

I could feel the daggers in the back of my skull from her eyes.

That was a good one. You should have said that you use a boar brush. That would have sent the salesperson flipping.

 

[Fnord5]

Oh, I had shaved that morning, and it was a normal SF day, chilly and windy.
The lady had the nerve to ask me "Is your face normally red like that after shaving? This pre-shave oil will help"

For the record, I am a Ginger.
Cold wind makes my face red, and nothing can help that aside from the above mentioned clown makeup. My only response was, No, It's cold and windy outside, and I am German. Sheesh, trying to sell me something and doing it by insulting my red face? No thanks.

 

[Stubblefield]

I hate receiving poor service whever I go. I think that all personnel should, at the very least, adhere to these minimum guidelines for rendering adequate service to the paying customer.
minimum requirements for providing service

Clearly, this particular salesperson failed, because they did not offer the OP a fork.

 

[mretzloff]

Oh, I had shaved that morning, and it was a normal SF day, chilly and windy.
The lady had the nerve to ask me "Is your face normally red like that after shaving? This pre-shave oil will help"

For the record, I am a Ginger.
Cold wind makes my face red, and nothing can help that aside from the above mentioned clown makeup. My only response was, No, It's cold and windy outside, and I am German. Sheesh, trying to sell me something and doing it by insulting my red face? No thanks.

It must be that 150-year-old straight. You should upgrade to a Fusion

 

[dpm802]

I went to the AOS in San Francisco.
Somewhat similar experience, but nowhere near as annoying.
Went in to check it out, look at some stuff, laugh at the Mach3 and Fusion handles, and check out the straights.
Someone had dropped one of the Thiers Issard straights, and it had a 1/2 inch long 1/4 inch deep chip And not to mention the pricetag

I kept my answers short and sweet.
"What are you currently using to shave?"
150 year old straight razor.
"Oh....Do you use a brush?"
22mm Silvertip.
"............And the soap?"
Col. Conk, and VanDerHagen lol
She proceeded to show me how well her stuff lathered, and how slick it was with a pre-shave oil.

My response: Man, my 2 dollar puck of Conk lathers up better and slicker than that.

I then turned on my heel and walked out.

I could feel the daggers in the back of my skull from her eyes.

This is probably the best response, but only after you've used the "Just Looking" tactic at least twice.

Most salespeople will shy away from any customer that knows more about the product than they do.

 

[NightLad]

Kudos on your self-restraint!

AoS employees don't happen to work on commission, do they? Ha

EDIT:
Maybe she liked you and was trying to keep you engaged long enough to notice...?

 

[RoyalKooparillo]

Clearly, this particular salesperson failed, because they did not offer the OP a fork.

Yes, well god help you if you are driving anywhere near that lady..

 

[slcsteve]

The next time that you find yourself face to face with an overly aggressive sales person, just start telling them your life story, things that you own or owned, things that you just missed buying, surgeries planned and completed, ad infinitum. I guarantee that they'll leave you to yourself. Now you can follow them around, trying to engage them in conversation.

 

[Topgumby]

I may get flamed for this, but the thing that would have set me off as much as the cloying doggedness of the sales staff trying to help me after being warned off is that the experience sounded...feminine.

If I ventured in to a shaving specialty shop, I would want the ambiance and atmosphere to be more akin to a hardware or gun store than a mamby-pamby hipster boutique.

I would have no objection to a female salesclerk helping me, and I could live with the Tammy Fae make-up, but I'd want a personality and sense of humor more in line with a diner than a salon.

I'd want a sales staff that used manly shaving terms..."Razor Burn" instead of "irritated skin", and minimal use of "Skin Care" or "Exfoliate", and when they say "Bay Rum", I'd like there to be a slight hint of regret in the voice at the notion that the stuff can't be served up in a dirty shot glass.

To me at least, scraping the whiskers off my face with tools and techniques from a bygone era is an affirmation of manliness that is at least a token resistance to the emasculation of traditional male roles and values that modern society seems to favor.

The fact that it lets me pamper myself in an acceptable manly fashion should always go unstated...especially by someone trying to sell me the stuff.

 

[Tolduonce]

This approach works for me. Pull out wallet, remove tattered piece of paper and read: "Me am so, so, so, veddy, veddy, veddy, soddy (pause for effect) but no Englais."
Use a non discernible accent, smile and look at floor the whole while.

 

[SavantStrike]

Dammit. You beat me to it.

+1 .

 

[Tom C]

Dammit. You beat me to it.

+2! I've got to be glued to my screen if I'm going to beat this crowd.

 

[SRock]

I hate receiving poor service whever I go. I think that all personnel should, at the very least, adhere to these minimum guidelines for rendering adequate service to the paying customer.
minimum requirements for providing service

More Springs1 I see!

 

[Stubblefield]

If I ventured in to a shaving specialty shop, I would want the ambiance and atmosphere to be more akin to a hardware or gun store than a mamby-pamby hipster boutique.

You would have never had the OP's experience in a hardware store. Perhaps this is why I avoid AOS and Sephora. The thing these chain stores don't get is that guys want to be left alone when they are checking things out, and don't want to be chatted up.

Yes, well god help you if you are driving anywhere near that lady..

"I have even waited when cars on the highway honked on me to go when I was at a taco bell one time. I knew, they have RIGHT-OF-WAY by LAW and that "I" had to YIELD to them. I think that it was AWFUL that the truck honked on me to go ONLY thinking of "ME", the person pulling out, but NOT the LAW or ANYONE in the back of that person, which there were some people that that guy was being SO RUDE to. I do the RIGHT thing by waiting LONGER to go by LAW."

Mmmm, Taco Bell.

 

[Quickshave]

I think the salesperson must have been working for commission, because they tend to be relentless when it comes to making a sale, which I suppose is understandable.

I too like to be left alone and prefer to ask the sales people questions instead of getting put on the spot with a sales pitch. When it becomes too much to handle, I'll sometimes leave and come back when the annoying salesperson clocks out or takes a lunch!

 

[Azza]

More Springs1 I see!

oh no! not again

- Aaron

 

[joto]

I dunno- I worked commission sales in high school and college- it was good money, but I saw that the best (career) salespeople learned that you always try to make the customer comfortable- and one of the many ways to accomplish that is...

Don't talk to the customer if they tell you to buzz off. Politely of course.

 

[ouch]

This is probably the best response, but only after you've used the "Just Looking" tactic at least twice.

Most salespeople will shy away from any customer that knows more about the product than they do.

I try to always be polite, but occasionally it's a losing proposition. I'm at my worst in wine shops, where my patience is at a minimum. When a nod and a smile ceases to suffice, and I find myself no longer able to exercise restraint, the conversation usually goes like this-

Eager salesperson: Do you need any help?
Me: No. Why, do you? If there's anything you'd like to know, feel free to ask.

That usually leaves them sufficiently befuddled.

On a more shaving related note, Mrs. Ouch was once treated extremely rudely at an AOS store, to the extent that at least three mods volunteered to handle the retribution. After being kept waiting for more than ten minutes, the manager told the saleperson, in earshot, "Don't give her any samples." What shocked me the most about this, aside from the obvious, was the sheer lack of business sense they demonstrated. Selling high ticket items to men, of whom most fall into the "does this t-shirt stink too much to wear another day?" category, must be a hard sell. If I were in charge of one of their stores, my eyes would light up whenever a woman would enter for the simple reason that the average woman (who may wonder why you'd have to change the oil in your car more than once every 50,000 miles) has no compunction in spending any amount of money on toiletries.

 

[Tazbo]

To me at least, scraping the whiskers off my face with tools and techniques from a bygone era is an affirmation of manliness that is at least a token resistance to the emasculation of traditional male roles and values that modern society seems to favor.

No kidding. I wouldn't be surprised if they try to outlaw metal shaving tools and force men to wax their faces like women. Wouldn't want Billy to get the idea he's different in any way from Sally. It's no wonder this nation is a shadow of it's former self. It's now run by sissies.

 

[Stubblefield]

Well. I very nearly lost it and killed a salesperson. I was in an unnamed shaving outlet mall store a few weeks ago; it was my first time in their store, and the salesperson proceeded to irritate the hell out of me by nagging me repeatedly after being told I don't need their help. I know the majority of sheeple who herd into the store probably don't know their *** from their elbow shaving-wise and may benefit from some explanation, but... just... damn!! Every time I picked up a product to read the box or crack it for a sniff, they were back again... EDUCATING me... I get BBS nearly every day sans irritation, I don't require an unsolicited lesson in wetshaving from them or anyone else

I find the best thing to do, after I have told the person at least twice that I do not reqire assistance, is to ignore them completely. Most salespeople (most people, actually) operate under the assumption that all questions require an answer. Salespeople also take advantage of the fact that most people are polite, and have been trained to answer questions. In addition, most people cannot tolerate silence or a gap in conversation, and become uncomfortable when a person does not respond. Use that to your advantage by simply ignoring the person. If they ask a question, ignore it. The silence will make them uncomfortable and they will eventually go away. It is a variation of the broken record technique.

Sales is a tough job, but as other have pointed out, the best salespeople are always polite and more concerned with the needs of the customer than they are making any one particular sale.