Accosted By Retail Credit
It's happened to all of us more than we probably realize. You're unloading your cart at (pick your favorite) any retailer, and the cashier says- "Do you have our (blablabla add name and bullshit benefit) credit card?" You look at her blankly and shake your head no. Or maybe you nod yes. This blog is for the person who said no. I really have no problem with anyone asking me if I have the card, or if I want the card. But when I say no, I don't have it- followed by a no, I don't want it- please stop right there. Unless you want a whole rash of hell opened up in your ear canals- please don't you dare ask me why. It's not any of your business. I'm getting to the point with these stores that I am going to begin calling them out. You see- many stores reward their sales and customer service staff for getting customers to open store credit cards. That's all fine and good. But many of them also have minimum requirements that sales staff have to meet in order to keep their jobs. I think this is where the problem begins. If you're incentivizing the opening of charge accounts by providing bonuses to associates, I understand the little extra push on their end. For some, that extra few dollars can really add up or become a whole other paycheck in and of itself. For that, I'm sure these associates are grateful. But there just has to be boundaries on the level of pushing they can or should be allowed to do in the name of a bonus. Requiring any number of new enrollments from any staff member will eventually set up every single one of them to fail. Presumably, most of a store's business is from regular traffic. Most folks that shop at Express, for example, have been to Express before. If every regular customer were enrolled because every employee did an impeccable job of enrolling- you'd run out of regular customers and make it that much harder to find new potential enrollees. Next, giving a bonus- or a termination based on credit card enrollments is applying extra and unnecessary pressure to retail staff that already has a very tough and often thankless job as it is. There's no poetic way to say it. Retail sucks. It's an industry that requires long hours, open availability, overtime, short and sometimes restricted breaks, and so much more. But hey, let's add on the requirement that you have to seek out and enroll 3 new cardholders on every shift just to keep things extra fresh and stressful for them. I don't know about you, but I've worked retail in a past life,. Let me tell you that there's a special gate in hell that opens at 9 p.m. on a Friday during the holiday season. There's nothing like having to clean out fitting rooms and fold go-backs when there's no overtime allowed and you have an hour to get the store sparkling. Add in that you have your regional manager visiting at 9 a.m. the next day, and that one girl that seems to always have period cramps called off for tonight's shift- leaving you understaffed. It's just you and your manager and the wreckage from busloads of shoppers that think there's money folded into every shirt- otherwise why do they need to open every single one of them??? You've removed and folded 700 shirts, hung 1000 skirts, peeled off two used maxi pads from the floor and wall of the fitting room, found 5 item tags from presumably shoplifted merchandise, and hey! A shit filled diaper under the most expensive outfit on the store thrown on the floor of the family fitting room! JOY! They just don't pay you enough to do this job sometimes! But worry not! You have to deal with all of that AND open 3 cards tonight or it's your ASS. It's 8:30 p.m. and you have none. I do NOT miss retail. Is it conceivable to you, oh powers that be, that this level of pressure on your sales staff also shifts to the customer? Can I just tell you that if you stress me out while shopping in your store- I'm not coming back. I'm going to give you a few examples of what brought me to writing this blog post. All very recent, all very unnecessary, and all very common. The first is Wal-mart. I begrudgingly shop Wal-Mart often because it's what's close by in my rural town. However, my experiences at this particular location have induced my traveling farther to shop for daily needs, and to pay a little higher prices- or just get it delivered from Amazon. Aside from the credit card debacle, this location is just horrible. I have had an employee literally cry on me because the day before Thanksgiving, she was made to cancel her plans for the holiday or lose her job. She was told that her request that was put in 6 months earlier to see her grandchild she had yet to meet because neither her nor her daughter could afford to travel had been overridden due to staff members with seniority taking the day off. She saw my baby and just collapsed on my shoulder bawling. I hugged her. Professional? Nope. Human? Absolutely-and also understandable. Wal-Mart is well known for treating their employees like dirt. Beat a person down enough and they will crumble. In this situation, she crumbled on someone who understood at least.
Then there was the time I overheard a male employee discussing with another male employee IN GRAPHIC DETAIL the sexual prowess of a female staff member- while standing IN the women's clothing department no less. (By the way, that dick faced cock knocker still has a job even though it was reported several times, and another female staff member also complained about him herself) Let me tell you how much I didn't enjoy hearing about "how hard his dick gets when she walks in", and how much this man "fantasized about eating her pussy". Yeah. Graphic. But fear not, this asshole still has his job in spite of several complaints I filed.
I guess he opens a lot of charge cards... Probably the least dramatic example, but even more recently, I was DENIED access into the fitting room because my son was in a shopping cart. I either had to allow him to crawl on the floor while trying on a swimsuit, or not try it on at all because the attendant would not make an accommodation for me- and then went so far as to tell me to pre-plan my clothing shopping and either leave my son at home or bring someone that can watch him. Yes, I told her off. This complaint got me an apologetic phone call from the store manager. The pussy monster above? Nada. If these examples weren't irritating enough to make you want to scream, add in the kid at the register that asks you repeatedly to open a Wal-Mart card. Or the elderly cashier that is probably the nicest human being EVER that almost insists you apply. When you ask her why the hard sales pitch, she tells you she's been written up for not making her card quota. Wal-Mart, please tell me why any of this crap happens, but more importantly why credit card enrollments are more important than a female customer experiencing a conversation fit for a porno while shopping or being denied the ability to try on clothing because I have a small child with me... Absolutely disgusting. But let's focus on what really matters to you. Money. Get that interest, Wal-Mart. Get it. (Side note: Did you know that Norway banned Wal-Mart entirely from the country due to "serious and systematic abuses of human and labor rights." High 5, Norway. ) Wal-Mart, you might just become my new pet project. Next is one of my favorite stores. TJMaxx. Dear GOD I love that store. And I love it so much that I often spend a day going from one to the next in search of a great deal. Many of them have high end designers, and one or two in my general vicinity have super high end makers. Nothing like being able to buy that last season Prada bag you were eyeing for 60% off. Last week, I was in my favorite location near me, buying the staple items I go only there for: a few packages of my husband's Nike socks, boxer briefs for my step son, black truffle oil, and Coney Island popcorn. (If you haven't tried it- DO IT.) TJMaxx gets a LOT of my money. Without fail, they always ask if I have the card. I always answer honestly- "No, I don't. And no thank you, I don't want it." Occasionally, I will get a little pressure that I can save 10% for opening it, and I can get rewards, etc. When that happens, I explain a little further, but in a tone and with a look that clearly communicates not to push any further.I say- "I don't do credit cards. If I don't have cash, I don't buy it." And that's the truth. I have one credit card for emergency use or small little purchases like gas or lunch. But I don't like carrying balances, I don't like having to remember to pay bills, and I don't like running my credit in hopes of saving $5 on a small purchase. I said no. Leave it there. (Friends suggest lying and saying yes, I do have the card. Why should I have to lie when NO should suffice?) Last week, there was a woman at the register in front of me with easily over $1000 in merchandise. Her cashier asked her if she had the TJMaxx Rewards card. She said no, and clearly stated- "And I don't want it, thank you." The employee pressed on- "But you will get 10% off and a coupon. This is easily a $10 off coupon!" The customer repeated that she wasn't interested. Another associate walked up next to the cashier and addressed the customer. "You really should consider the card. You could buy so much more and not have to worry about paying cash." That aggravated ME now. Watching this, I look at the customer a little more closely. She's got on a very expensive pair of sunglasses. She's carrying a $5k Louis Vuitton handbag. I recognize some of her jewelry as Charriol- also every expensive, and a Cartier watch. The woman has got money. She's dressed impeccably, and carries herself professionally. My guess is she's like me. She will buy it retail if she's in love, but she likes a good deal. Why pay full price if you don't have to? You keep hold of your money longer if you're smarter with it, right? I chime in- "I don't buy anything without cash either. It's so much less to worry about that way." She turns to me and smiles thankfully. "Yes! I hate paying bills! I don't like interest! So I just pay cash." The manager saunters over to us now. "You ladies really should consider the card. (Looking over at me) "You're here all the time. That can add up for you." I retort- "And I tell you all the time that I pay cash. has my card ever been declined?" The other customer giggles and says- "Yeah, all money spends, not just your brand. Not interested." Enter the bad and unwarranted financial advice- "Well, it's just like paying your mortgage. If you pay it on time, it helps your credit. Opening a charge card doesn't hurt your credit." The customer responds- "I'm in banking. Your statement is very wrong. I'm not interested." I chime in- "Did she really need to be tag teamed by three staff members over this? That's kind of unnecessary." So then it was my turn to pay. Would you believe that the cashier actually asked me if I would open a charge? I looked at her blankly and said- "Were you not just here- just now? You're a sucker for punishment. NO I do not want the card." And so I paid and went on my way- making note that I was going to blog this and write a letter about this experience. There was just no reason to harass that woman, and I'm fairly certain that she had second thoughts about returning to that location because as much as I love it- watching that spectacle gave ME reservations about going back there. Last, and most recently was my trip to Best Buy yesterday. My husband has a PS4 and was bothering me for a while to upgrade to the PS4 Pro. We have an electronics rule in the house- You can have whatever you want so long as you sell the previous one first. So, a friend of mine committed to buying our preowned one, and I told my husband that I'd pick up his Pro while running errands yesterday. So, here I am in the one store I can't find my way around to save my life. I have little interest in electronics and I only go in Best Buy when something breaks or needs replacing. It's about as exciting as shopping for a clothes dryer to me. Zero interest. I ask at the front door if they could point me to the gaming consoles. He points, and radios for an associate to meet me by the PS4 Pro. The associate is holding one as I approach. I ask him a question about an additional set of speakers for our home theater system, (hubby mentioned wanting those too at some point) and I elect to hold off and just get the PS4. Sales guy pushes a little for the speakers, but not convinced those were the ones my husband wanted, and not wanting to spend that kind of money, I decline. So far, we're ok. Then the associate asks me why my husband isn't with me, or why didn't he come himself to get his console. What an odd question. I respond that I said I'd pick it up while running errands. I enter my Best Buy Rewards number. I don't know if that populates a purchase history, or if the guy looked me up somehow while I was standing there, but he made a comment about how many purchases we make and do I have the credit card? It's so common to hear that, half the time I don't even look up when I say no. So when he started telling me the benefits, I cut him off politely, and said- "I'm sorry, I know, and I'm really not interested." How many of us have children? Raise your hands. You know when your kid asks you for a cad bar before dinner or a second bowl of ice cream, and you say no? That dejected and betrayed look they give you? That. He gave me that look. I return his look with the same one I give my kids. It's the "are you fucking kidding me, you're pouting over this?" look. He says- "You really should get it. You get 10% off and..." "...And I'm not interested (his name here). Thank you though. I only pay cash." Now he's mad. "That makes no sense." I look at him, clearly becoming irritated. "I'm sorry, what doesn't make sense? The fact that I don't like debt, don't make impulse purchases on impulse cards, or the fact that you apparently don't like to hear no?" He says- "You can use it, and walk right over to customer service and pay it off. Why wouldn't you get it???" "(Name), I'm very busy. I'm not going to add to the list of things I have to do in life because I might save x amount of dollars here and there. I also don't really like being badgered about my finances or my choices when I'm patronizing a store." "Yes, but, you will SAVE MONEY." "Thank you, I'm certain I'm not interested in taking financial advice from a teenage salesperson over that of my financial planner." I grabbed my box and snatched the receipt from his hand, and stormed out. Absolutely uncalled for. Just unnecessary. So here I am. In writing this blog, I can feel my blood pressure rise, and I am fighting off the urge to share other experiences that came to mind as I was typing out these three. I understand the store's interest in gaining credit card customers, I do. I understand the interest and the consideration from various banks adds much money to a company's bottom line. But I also understand that I am shopping more and more frequently online because I don't want to be harassed at every turn. I don't like to be made a spectacle of when shopping. I don't like attention being drawn to my purchases. I understand that many people may need to charge the PS4 Pro, but I shouldn't have to explain the way we save to afford things like that in cash. It's simply not anyone's business, and as redundant as being asked to open a charge at every single store, every single time you shop there is, I can deal with that. But I can not, and simply refuse to tolerate being harassed by a team member over my purchases. As for the lady in TJMaxx, being a spectator to her harassment was extremely uncomfortable. I was worried for the amount of attention being brought to what she was spending. How many people were around and noticed her bag and her jewelry, and that she paid in cash. You store employees don't have the right to act this way, and if your stores are punishing you to the point where you feel you need to do this to customers, then something needs to be done. I started a petition to help change this nonsense. Please sign and share! CLICK HERE
Here's some further reading for anyone interested in the topic: Pros and Cons of Store Credit Cards