Subject: Aggressive Kiosk Sales People in the Mall

The subject of this week’s Pet Peeve was not something that I happened to stumble upon by chance. No, this week’s subject was shoved into my face as I perused the aisles of my local mall. We all can agree that pushy sales people are annoying. Coming from someone who worked in a mall as a sales rep. for 4+ years, I understand that there are targets and goals that you try to meet each day/week/month. I’m a firm believer that there’s a proper way to go about a sales pitch. A customer should not feel pressured to buy, but instead buys because they have received good service and actually want the product. But, even when the sales pitch is forced or I feel like the sales rep is pushy, I always keep in mind that it was my choice to walk into the store and it’s my choice to walk out empty-handed.

Now, it seems there is a new mutant breed of pushy sales people who dominate the hallways throughout the malls. They work at the random kiosks that sell everything from lotion to body jewelry to hair straighteners and curlers. At what point did it become standard practice to interrupt me mid-conversation to try and lubricate my hands with unwanted lotion? At what point did you think I was the type of person who believed you could ‘fix’ my balance with magnets? And, at what point did it become okay to chase me down the hallway with a burning hot hair straightener?

I can’t stand how this tacky sales strategy has become common practice in most (if not all) malls. If I want to try your product, I will approach you. With most stores, I choose to walk in if I want to see what you have for sale. If those employees greet me, fine. Those same employees don’t chase me out the door if I leave empty handed. The hallway used to be a safe haven where you could casually walk around, window-shopping to your heart’s content. Now it’s just another place I have to face awkward encounters.

I don’t need a new lotion, so don’t shove the bottle in my hand before I can say no. I have pin straight hair, so I’m pretty sure I don’t need the hair straightener designed for people with ringlets. And to the guy with the magnets…seriously buddy, come on.

**All images courtesy of Google.