I've said this before about the main Post Office on TonbridgeBlog but it needs saying again: STOP TRYING TO SELL ME THINGS WHEN I JUST WANT TO POST A PARCEL, PLEASE! I'm getting really sick of it. I have a credit card, but don't want another one, I'm sorted for household and motor insurance, I don't need travel insurance, I don't want another savings account, I'm happy with pay as you talk Vodafone for my mobile phone and I've got everything else you're trying to push on me. They'll be offering counselling services next! If I want any of these things I'll pick up a leaflet or make some enquiries myself or I'll ask you; afterall, in the queue, I've already seen that fat bloke from the TV programme, Early Doors, larking about on the instore screen while telling me about all these various fantastic services you offer. What I don't need is for some sheepish, embarrassed lady with zero sales ability to ask me questions she'd rather not, about products and services she doesn't really understand, and I'd rather not hear about. It's tantamount to hassling and abusing their captive audience of mainly middle aged and older folk, it's too pushy and it needs to stop. I'm going to get a big badge designed to wear every time I go into Tonbridge PO saying: REGULAR CUSTOMER, PLEASE DON'T TRY TO SELL ME ANYTHING OTHER THAN A STAMP! It wouldn't be so bad if I had a realistic choice of going to another post office, like Olive's shop which they closed down about a year ago along with all the other sub POs which actually used to offer you a good service rather than try to milk you dry. So my message to Adam Crozier, CEO of The Royal Mail, ex-Chief Executive of The Football Association, and employer of Sven 'The Philanderer' Goran Erickson, ex-MD of Saatchi and Saatchi advertising agency, ex-Daily Telegraph Advertising Sales Executive, where, allegedly, he was sacked for cooking the books and favouring a certain big ad agency, Saatchi & Saatchi with whom he, oh let's see, walked into a job shortly after this incident. Funny that! It's all on Google! (Yes he was a much younger man then but it showed what lengths this man would go to get on in business) is stop trying to milk us dry we've had enough of it!....
8 comments:
The Post Office is typical example of a business trying to diversify into all sorts of things and taking its eye of its core business. The basic postal service is laughable at times. Have you ever tried trying to track a Recorded Delivery item? Quite often it is still showing as undelivered days after it arrived! Oh, and the idiot who came up with the idea of different pricing for different size envelopes needs shooting!
I'll take first pop.
I absolutely agree with you Tonbridge blog and the two Anonymous posts. I often don't even bother to answer now if asked as I get sick and tired of saying no, no, no thank you, no. For example I was in M&S this week looking for homeware (they don't have anymore than two or three shilves of it) and some guy asked me if he could help, he then directed me towards homeware and then before I could take a step towards the few shelves I was interested he was trying to sell me house insurance. This was all legitamte and going on inbetween the men box shorts and socks and the cocunut crumbly biscuits. I again said no, no, no thank you, no goodbye and then he ran after me asking me if I was famous as he recognised me. I told him no, no, no but maybe I wasn't quite telling the whole truth there.
Delia: yes you're right there. You see they think they're being innovative and creative, making the best use of a fairly captive audience. But instead, for the most part, they just end up being bleedin annoying. It's getting a bit like the scene in the classic comedy film, Airplane, when the trouble shooter comes in to sort out the crisis, only to be met by loads of people collecting for various charities satnding in his path. You sometimes feel like doing what he did ie knee-dropping, karate chopping and judo throwing the annoying sods. That said if it's done low profile and subtley then this kind of sales approach can be effective. The problem is it most often is done very badly by hungry, commission-based, badly trained and inexperienced sales people who wouldn't know a buying signal if one flew in front of there eyes, waving and shouted "sell me something now I've just won the lottery!" On a slightly different note you seem to hint that you may be or have been slightly famous in your time. You're not Cheryl Baker are you? Cheryl Ladd? Tom Baker? Colin Baker? Alright, Henry Cooper? Jilly Cooper? Not Dame Kelly Holmes herself? Surely not. Can't be Delia Smith, she lives in Norwich doesn't she? Come on reveal yourself! At least to me anyway!...
The Post Office and M&S aren't the only businesses trying this sort of thing. Every time I pop into Superdrug for shampoo, razors, deodorant etc. I get asked by the person on the till if I am alright for stamps or mobile phone "top ups"?
Seeing as Superdrug are next door to the Post Office it seems rather pointless to be asking customers if they are alright for stamps. Also, like many people I am on a monthly contract for my mobile phone, so "top ups" don't apply. As the person on the till is normally a rather shy looking young girl, I don't normally embarass the poor young thing any further with a "Victor Meldrew" type response. However, I find the whole business extremely annoying; it's like being asked in a green-grocers whether you want to buy a joint of meat? or in the bakers if you want to buy a set of new tyres for your car!
Businesses should stick to what they are best at, and not try and poach customers from completely different businesses in this amateurish and, to my mind, pathetic way. My wife amd son, both of whom have experience of working in retail, think I am a "moany old git", but my argument is not with them, or the shop assistants behind the till who are forced to follow corporate policy. Instead, the people at head office, who are behind this latest piece of marketing nonsense, really need to ask what exactly they are trying to achieve?
I have to agree with you, Tonbridge Blogger, that the fat "Roy Kinear look-alike", behind the Post Office's attempts to try selling us credit cards and phone services, has to be one of the worst examples of this sort of practice, but unfortunately It seems to be a growing trend.
On a completely different subject, the Tonbridge Judian's Beer Festival was really good. I will be posting my thoughts regarding it on both this, as well as my own, blog in the bext couple of days.
This sort of thing is happening everywhere and it does make you wonder if the people running some big businesses know what they are doing (they don't in my opinion). I think we have many cases of "The Emperor's New Clothes" syndrome. It needs a few more people to tell it how they see it and not just follow the crowd and assume people know what they are doing. Sadly The City seems to have this syndrome worse than anyone - just look at the banks!
The Post Office has been run by a bunch of idiots for years. How much money did they spend re-branding it? What a pathetic waste of time and money! Many businesses would have given an arm and a leg (if businesses can have arms and legs) for a name such as Royal Mail - it does exactly what it says on the tin.
When you talk to the postmen (who are generally very friendly and helpful) they tell you what a shambles it is over at the sorting office.
The pricing structure for different sizes is such a negative bit of marketing. If I was one of their competitors I would use this as my biggest marketing tool - "We deliver post on-time no matter what size it is!"
Come on Post Office concentrate on producing a quality post delivery service and not on trying to sell your customers stuff they don't want!
Tonbridge Blogger why are you complaining. This is a good point of sale for businesses. In case any of you idiots out there dont realise we are in the middle of a recession and the retail industry is being affected by this!
I think all shops should try selling add on products or asking customers if they are ok for certain items because it helps there sales at the end of the day and is keeping people in work!!!
Tonbridge Blogger by the sounds of it you dont know anything about retail!
The last anonymous poster has missed the point. You may well feel that it's a good tactic to increase sales in this fashion, but if you piss your customers off too much, by pressurising them into buying things they don't really want, they will vote with their feet and go elsewhere. Tonbridge Blogger hits the nail nicely on the head with his alusion to the Airplane movie where, if my memory serves me right, the hero ends up flooring one of the annoying Hare Krishna people who are pestering him as he makes his way through the concourse.
By all means look for legitimate ways of increasing your sales, but please don't resort to cheap, vulgar sales tactics.
ps. I'm reminded of a joke about a trainee sales assistant who, after being persuaded by his boss to try selling customers something they hadn't originally come into the shop for, ended up taking the whole thing too far. I won't repeat it here, as it's rather rude, but I'm willing to tell it to anyone who knows me - preferably over a pint or two!
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