Mall Kiosks

[ShelbyAD]

Ok, today I went to the mall to pick up something for my mother for Christmas. I got bumbarded with rude sales people from those isle kiosks :thedolls:

OMG, you can't even walk through the mall without getting, some kind of sales pitch or having them repeatedly say "mame, mame, mame". I had one follow me past 3 stores. Finally I just went into the first store I saw. Thankfully it was Baby Gap.

The saleswoman asked if she could help me. I told her "no, I'm avoiding the salesman outside who is following me." She thought that was funny.

[DizneyRox]

XMas time is horrible at the malls. I try to be as rude as possible to keep them off my back. Snippy comments tend to make them back off quickly.

They are akin to common beggars in my book, unfortuntely, it's the employers that push them to push customers. That's never a good way to treat customers in my book of business, but maybe that's why I'm not in business.

[vicster]

I've had the same thing lately at the mall. Last nite someone wanted to give me a message for free. I'm learning to be very rude and I really don't like to be rude.

[LibertyTreeGal]

Last year some lady was trying get sell me some glittery makeup that looked like it belonged in the teen/20ish club scene. I raised my eyebrow and said, "I'm 37, are you seriously trying to sell me glitter?"

[disneydave4479]

DW and I went to the local mall the other day and experienced the same thing. We try not to make eye-contact but inevitibly they try to get in your way and grab your attention.

One guy started blurting out questions, so we started walking faster and kept blurting out "NO NO NO NO". Eventually he got the hint.

I own a small business and I would never treat potential customers like that. Very rude.

[Fallendroplet]

I was recently at the mall and had one of those "kiosk" people trying to get my attention. I didn't make eye contact...kept shaking my head...and went right on walking...the snippy little girl then made some nasty comments about me as I walked away...just loud enough that I could hear. Do they really expect to get your business that way?? :soapbox:

[KylesMom]

Ugh, I actually just got back from the Mall & was approached by no less than four "salesmen" while trying to get to the Disney Store. I even had one person try to grab my hand & put lotion on it! :mad:

[LibertyTreeGal]

Ugh, I actually just got back from the Mall & was approached by no less than four "salesmen" while trying to get to the Disney Store. I even had one person try to grab my hand & put lotion on it! :mad:

Next time, get a panic stricken look and gasp, "Is there aloe vera in that? Oh my gosh, I'm so allergic to aloe vera!" That usually teaches them as they consider the lawsuit being filed against them from the ER.

[caryrae]

We try to do most of our shopping around town at Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy. We can pretty much find most stuff at those places. I also do shopping online since a lot of places offer free shipping around the holidays. We also have this shopping area that's like a mall but it's outside. Kinda like a whole bunch of stip malls together. So here in Minnesota they won't have kiosks outside.

[BrerGnat]

Those people are the worst! I usually just completely ignore them. If they try to stand in front of me, I walk into them and keep going. Serves them right...My favorite is when they ask you "can I ask you a quick question?" to which I always reply "You just did" while I keep walking on. :D

One guy at a sunglasses kiosk SERIOUSLY tried to sell us a pair of $10 (or $7 each if we bought two pairs) by claiming that they would protect our eyes from the smoke (from the recent So. Cal wildfires). I was like, okay seriously??? How dumb do these people think we are?

[KylesMom]

Quote:
Originally Posted by KylesMom
Ugh, I actually just got back from the Mall & was approached by no less than four "salesmen" while trying to get to the Disney Store. I even had one person try to grab my hand & put lotion on it!

Next time, get a panic stricken look and gasp, "Is there aloe vera in that? Oh my gosh, I'm so allergic to aloe vera!" That usually teaches them as they consider the lawsuit being filed against them from the ER.
:rotfl::rotfl: OMG, that would have been HILARIOUS! Now why can't I think of things like that when they're happening to me?!

[Mousefever]

I've found a way to keep them off my back. Whenever I'm about to pass one, I whip out my cell phone and pretend to have a conversation. No one has approached me when I've done that, although I don't know if it would dissuade the really persistant ones.

Amy



:dory:

[brad192]

There's one of these obnoxious kiosks at my local mall as well. :mad: The employees working there constantly harrass the passerby with their spiel "Sir / Ma'am, can I ask you a question?" I usually respond with "Why, yes you can, but you're only allowed one, and you just asked it!" This is usually followed by a deer in the headlights look from them as I walk away smiling.:thedolls:

[wdw_bound]

I had the Dead Sea Salt lady chasing me the other day. Unfortunately, I had to pass her twice as she was positioned directly in front of my entrance to the mall. The first, I just shook my head and said no thank you, but she persisted until I went into a store. Then on the way out (and she remembered me because she kept asking "you try now?") she got even more aggressive. DD9 turned to me when we finally got away and asked if that "lady had issues?" No more mall for me until the New Year!

[drummerboy]

Top Five Ways to Handle Kiosk People:

5. Act like a panhandler and ask them for money.

4. Tell them, "Oh thank goodness, I've been so lonely," and then start telling them all your troubles.

3. Ask them a gazillion questions about the product, say "Thank you, I always wanted to know about those but I know where I can get it cheaper," and walk away.

2. Put on a very mysterious air, look all around you, and say, "The falcon arrives at daybreak," look around again in a paranoid manner and quickly walk away.

And the number one way to handle kiosk people:

1. Tip the kiosk over. :thedolls::D

[conorsmom2000]

I can't stand being bombarded by the people at the kiosks - I know they are only doing their job, but I hate it. :mad: If I hear one more time "Ma'am, your son is adorable! Have you thought about getting him into modeling..." I'll scream.....it's just to get you to pay for professional head shots! :nono:

[Disneyatic]

The worst kiosk in our mall is the lotion/nail one! They step right in front of you and ask to see your hands....
DD and I have a long tradition of picking up the pace and looking as busy as possible when we get near it! She usually says "oh no, here comes the lotion stand, hurry up" and then we kick it in gear and laugh about it! Now that it is holiday time I am sure they are going to be even more agressive.
I have also done the cell phone thing...isn't it sad that you have to have a ploy to get through the mall?

[Jenemmy]

OK -- I'll share my trick if you guys promise not to think I am crazy....

Before I start down the area with those type of kiosks, I get my cell phone out and have a VERY animated pretend talk on it while I am walking by. Sometimes I am laughing, sometimes I look panic stricken, sometimes I put my head down and whisper fiercely -- but always, ALWAYS I am too darn absorbed in my pretend call to even notice rude kiosk people!

It's actually a fun walk for me now -- LOL. ANd no, normally -- I do not talk to myself!

[mttafire]

I've found a way to keep them off my back. Whenever I'm about to pass one, I whip out my cell phone and pretend to have a conversation. No one has approached me when I've done that, although I don't know if it would dissuade the really persistant ones.

Amy



:dory:
Thats exactly what i do.:thumbsup:

[mickey&missy]

I can't stand being bombarded by the people at the kiosks - I know they are only doing their job, but I hate it. :mad: If I hear one more time "Ma'am, your son is adorable! Have you thought about getting him into modeling..." I'll scream.....it's just to get you to pay for professional head shots! :nono:


I can't stand that! Do they really think I'm stupid enough to think that some kid who looks like they can't be older then 19 has been hired by a professional modeling agency to spot the next child star at mall?! I wasn't born yesterday!

I can't stand the kiosk people! Like Jenn said, their just doing their job, but all I want to do is get in and out with what I need in the shortest amount of time possible!! Being harassed to try lotion, pillows full of rice and barley, massage devices, etc is not helping me get my errands done!!

[DisneyDudet]

OK, guys, I have worked in a kiosk in the mall before. There were many others around me that did that, and I know why.

Yes, they are pressured by their employers to do such. The owner of the company I worked for, didn't like me because it DID NOT go and drag people to the kiosk. My manager told me I didn't have to.

Now, most kiosks have it set up that you don't get paid much, unless you sell, basically working on commission. So, people really hard up for money, will pressure.

I do not think it is right at all. They do need to take no for an answer, and they should really speak to those who are looking at them or look interested.

I do the cell phone trick, or walk as far away as possible, and pretend to look in the stores. If they call out to me, I act like they don't hear me.

[pink]

Oh man I was just thinking about this today! I went to the mall to do some Christmas shopping and there is this huge cluster of kiosks and they just bombard you, it's crazy!
I just speed walk by and don't make eye contact but they never get the point.
I like everyones cell phone trick but I just think its sad that it's gotten to the point where we have to trick them to leave us alone!
Also, someone said before that a someone actually put creme on their hand and they used to do something similar to that to people in department stores a few years ago. They would actually spray perfume on people as they walked by but some people were allergic so they are no longer allowed to do that, so I can't imagine they're allowed to put creme on passerbys either. :mickey:

[RenDuran]

Fortunately for me, I don't have to go to the mall very often. And when I'm there, the last thing I want to do is try to figure out how to get past the kiosks, so I'm direct. I just give them the evil-eyeball and say "No". It's a lot more simple than what you're all going through! And it works!;)

[RedSoxFan]

I do find the people at the kiosks very annoying. I try very hard to avoid them when I go to the mall in Syracuse. The mall in Ithaca where I live doesn't have any of those annoying people.

[Mollywobbles]

I didn't know that they were at other malls too. I just thought that they hung out at our mall. We've got those kiosks all over the place. And now that the holiday season is here it's starting to get worse. It's really gets on my nerves.

The sales people apparently know that I'm not interested because they never come up to me anymore. I work at the mall and I'm always making a point to walk quickly past them and I don't make eye contact.

[SteveL]

The Dead Sea Secrets guy keeps approaching me and keep giving him the same two word greeting.
Sometimes if there is a crowd nearby I shout over how I can find it for half the price on-line.

[Sean Riley Taylor's Mom]

I dealt with this today. :mad:

Two of my friends and I took our three little girls to the mall to go to Build A Bear. My DD had to have the new Rudolph. :deer:
I am on crutches and wearing a big bulky knee brace from my surgery last week so, the plan was to get in, go to the store and leave.
Of course, we were nearly tackled by every kiosk salesperson we passed. One would just not listen when I repeatedly told her I was not interested in an aromoatherapy eye mask so I just kept walking.

It quickly reminded me why I really dislike going to the mall.

On a good note, we had a really nice "Girls Day" with our little Princesses. ;)

[PirateLover]

My brother AND boyfriend have been cornered by the lotion/nail lady before. My brother actually bought two kits! My bf bought one, I said I wasn't interested. He tried to give it to his mom and she actually took him back to the mall and returned it with him. And he was 23 at the time:blush:
But yea, they are super annoying.

[TheDuckRocks]

Yes, the hand lotion/nail girl :mad: silly me I thought our local mall was the only one with one of these annoying twits.
My DH and I walk the mall almost every afternoon about 4PM for exercise (according to AARP the mall is a great place for seniors as it is fairly safer than other places, has a level walking surface and climate control). Every single day this same girl leaps out from heaven knows where and demands to see my hands. I figured even in our not so very busy mall that maybe, just maybe she sees so many people each day that she can't remember just yesterday and the day before that and the day before that etc. I firmly told her "No, thank you!"
That excuse flew out the window on the day we had finally upped our walking to 2 laps. Yeah, you guessed it on the second lap the dimwitted, rude thing still wanted to see my hands.:shake:
I now put my hands firmly in my arm pits look down at the ground and ramp up to power walking when I come within view of her area.:D

[DisneyDog]

Ha! I thought our mall was the only one that had kiosks too! It definitely is getting out of hand. I always feel like I'm in the straw market in Mexico -- you know, the one from the ride at Epcot! They just keep chasing you.

I get my hair cut in the mall, and the girl who cuts my hair said that the same people approach her every single day.

I actually did talk to a girl working at one of this stands one time, and she had literally just moved here from Israel just to work at this stand. Many of these kids look like they are in the same situation. I can't imagine they can support themselves doing this type of job.

In our mall, one of the big "subjects" for a kiosk is a hair straightener/curler. There are at least 3 of these kiosks (it's a VERY big mall). I passed one last week and the entire hallway smelled like burnt hair. And, what's worse, the girl who cuts my hair pointed out that NONE of these "hair straightening" people are licensed beauticians. She begged me to go to the mall office and complain, but I can't see how it would really make a difference...especially now that I know this is going on all over the entire country.

[DisneyDudet]

In our mall, one of the big "subjects" for a kiosk is a hair straightener/curler. There are at least 3 of these kiosks (it's a VERY big mall). I passed one last week and the entire hallway smelled like burnt hair. And, what's worse, the girl who cuts my hair pointed out that NONE of these "hair straightening" people are licensed beauticians. She begged me to go to the mall office and complain, but I can't see how it would really make a difference...especially now that I know this is going on all over the entire country.

We have one of those at the closest mall by my house. They will straighten or curl only one section of hair... making the customer feel so silly for having that one piece look so different, they want to buy it. I think its horrible.

I know the mall where I was an employee at one the kiosks had a lot of rules, but they hadn't addressed that issue. I haven't been back to that mall for a while, so I hope they fixed it.

But if they get enough complaints, maybe they can regulate them.

[RedheadWriter]

I had to laugh at this post. I was at the mall today in Swansea MA and got "kiosked". I guess this is a universal American mall thing!
Rachel

[IloveDisney71]

Top Five Ways to Handle Kiosk People:

2. Put on a very mysterious air, look all around you, and say, "The falcon arrives at daybreak," look around again in a paranoid manner and quickly walk away.

THAT IS SOOOOO...FUNNY! I'll have to remember that the next time the "creepy" guy at the mall tries to talk to me about a manicure!

[tinksmom02]

I was just thinking the other day about how annoying those kiosk workers are! We have them all year round, not just at this time of year. The hand lotion guys are bad, but I think the worst is the hair straightener people. Their kiosk is right outside of our Disney Store, so there's no avoiding it. And DD and I both have very curly hair, and while I HAVE in the past straightened it, for her sake I am trying to come to terms with my curls, so to have the woman at the kiosk try to convince us to straighten it is very annoying and almost rude. For the love of Pete, my daughter's 5 years old!

There should be some kind of guidelines for the kiosk people. Store employees aren't allowed (or encouraged) to chase after their potential customers; why are the kioskers?

But what's funny is that every time during the summer I would stop at the Gekko kiosk (knock-off Crocs), I could NEVER find the person who was supposed to be working there LOL

[IloveJack]

I've done the "I'm allergic" thing with the lotions before. It really works!

As for our most aggressive ones, they're the jewelry cleaners, hair straighteners, and massages. As for the cleaners, I'll be very rude with them, and say, "I paid extra for the ESP on my rings, you think I'm gonna mess it up by letting you use that "pink water" on them? Don't think so." And as for the straighteners, I just laugh and say, "It couldn't get any straighter, honey." I refuse the massages, strictly because I've watched them before, and no one other than my husband touches me in some of those places!

[MNNHFLTX]

Okay, I am a social abberation, but I almost never go to the mall. We live about one mile away from the the biggest mall on the north side of Houston and I have only been there once in the last two years. And now, hearing about the kiosk people, I will probably not be going to the mall any time soon!

In fact, another situation that bothers me a bit are the soliciters at the entrances of some major stores--Walmart, for example. I know they are collecting for charitable causes, but I don't want to be asked to contribute every time I go in and out on every single trip to the store.

[Crystal Palace]

Ugh! I hate those kiosk people. They are so pushy and rude! My mom and I were at the mall yesterday and they wouldn't leave us alone! This one girl kept shouting "Excuse me" over and over again. We just ignored her. Something needs to be done about these people. They shouldn't be allowed to act that way. I don't care if they're on commission or not. It's rude!:mad::mad::mad:

[Stan]

Isn't it interesting that so many of the most irritating things in our lives (think telephone solicitation, spam emails, pop up windows, junk mail, flyers stuck under your windshield wipers, your favorite sport stadium being renamed after a major corporation :rolleyes:) are somehow connected with someone trying to sell us something? ...and isn't it true that the more obnoxious the approach, the less likely we really want the product or service (at least from that seller)?

And it's frustrating that most of the really guilty parties are decision makers far removed from the actual dirty work (think Star Wars episode 1- slimy viceroy says, "I thought the battle was to take place far from here- this is too close.")

Those of us who need to promote our businesses walk a fine line between letting people know what we offer and not letting them escape our pleading. :blush: Too bad so many sellers don't even recognize that such a line exists. :(

[harlowandthemermaid]

It seems that the aggressive kiosk has invaded every mall in america. I always act like I'm power walking when I get close to them. And as I'm breezing past I can hear ...."Can I ask you a question?"...No, No, No you can't is what I'm thinking. At least with the stroller it is much easier to pass by quickly and ignore them...I usually just talk to the baby and make no eye contact. They are annoying for sure!

[Stan]

How about some T-shirts... SAY NO!!- TO AGGRESSIVE MALL KIOSK SALES TACTICS!!!

You could sell them at a mall kiosk. :D

Actually, you'd probably be told by mall security to remove the shirt or leave (like it was some kind of offensive political thing). :rolleyes:

[J9]

I'll actually get downright mean with them after a bit.

Usually I'll be nice at first and give them a polite "no thank you" (I can't just ignore them - part of me thinks its rude)

But then if they won't take my no for an answer I will actually get in their face and say "do i look like i'm interested? I just said no. Believe me, if I wanted whatever junk you're selling, I will approach YOU."

And then they usually go away.

(PS - I'm allergic to nuts and I have had the lotion lady come up to me and just attack. Yeah, it had almond oil in it. That was not a fun time...)

[snowflakegirl]

I work in the mall part time and the kiosk people drive me crazy. When I'm in my street clothes I'll walk fast, talk on the phone, avoid eye contact, anything to get by them without having to have the inevitable, "I'm REALLY not interested" conversation. I have to say I actually had someone at a cell phone kiosk attempt to interrupt my (fake) conversation to sell me on a different cell service! Otherwise those usually work.

This time of year I stop leaving the store to take my breaks because even with those tricks and wearing my apron, they still attempt to stop me and sell me something.

[tinkerbell04]

I just had this same conversation with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law last night! It is always crazy but gets even crazier around the holidays when the mall is more crowded then usual! It is just so annoying. The common way for them to do it at our mall is to offer a sample, when you say no, they ask if they can ask you a question. I always say no, but it is just so annoying!:mickey: