The Two for Three Deal of Suck

[Mike Taylor]

Yeah, we got the skincare kiosk tossed from our mall some time ago. I used to work for the local Build-A-Bear Workshop and their kiosk was not twenty feet from our storefront. Anybody who had to pass them was NOT in a cheery mood by the time they got to our greeters. What made it worse is that they used their hard sell pitch on our store employees as they were coming in or leaving work-- every damned day!

Enough complaining from us, other stores, and mall customers got them tossed when lease renewal time came up.

[Dreamstalker]

The Dead Sea kiosks I've seen (Coronado Mall in ABQ, Cambridgeside Galleria here), they will chase you down even if you're obviously otherwise occupied (phone call, music). I had one guy a few years ago actually grab me; it was awkward so I probably could have easily hurt him by twisting slightly, but I just pulled away and skedaddled.

Why in the name of Hastur's nightshirt do these companies think their HardSellXTreme(tm) tactics will actually have a positive result? ...well, a certain number of people might buy something just to get them to go away.

[evileatinggrasshopper]

ARGG!!! I hate those dead sea stalls. There's another stall with similar tactics near it selling these heated shoulders things. Lady was trying to massage my shoulders as I'm saying I really don't want to try it. I really really hate being touched by strangers. It's right by the store I shop at most too, so I try to walk by on whichever side is already occupied by a victim

[Dreamstalker]

I really really hate being touched by strangers.

Me too. Touch me uninvited and my next action may be something you will not like (usually I "accidentally" lightly hit them with a shopping bag as I'm dodging--dude, you put yourself in my path).

Most of the stalls at the malls I've dared to venture into are fairly unobtrusive (as in they won't try to catch you--good tactic if only to prevent someone else nicking everything while the salesperson is occupied). Skincare of various types is the worst.

I will stop and browse at the unobtrusive ones (jewelry, ornaments, etc)...maybe the are the rare few that know the less you bug people the more likely they are to stop?

[Misanthropical]

When I worked security at the mall, I had those guys try to get me stop and buy their shit, while I'm in uniform and patrolling.

They got a write-up. I don't play that.

My husband got one pissed off at him, because he let her do the whole spiel and rubbing the stuff on his hands and refused to buy anything from her. I have taught him how to be evil when the situation calls for it.

[Broomjockey]

My husband got one pissed off at him, because he let her do the whole spiel and rubbing the stuff on his hands and refused to buy anything from her. I have taught him how to be evil when the situation calls for it.

I was totally going to suggest that! Waste their time. But only on a day that you're not busy, of course.

[Primer]

I had one guy a few years ago actually grab me; it was awkward so I probably could have easily hurt him by twisting slightly, but I just pulled away and skedaddled.

If somebody grabbed me, my response would depend on if I saw it coming or not. In either case, the LEAST that would happen is s/he would wind up with scars in their arm from me grabbing and digging in fingernails as I ripped their hand off me. I've done that one before. If I did not see it coming, I'd be likely to let out an ear-splitting shriek, swing around and punch them in the nose with the heel of my other hand, or kick them in the balls, depending on what was easiest at the moment.

Can you tell I despise being grabbed?

[Dreamstalker]

My dad used to travel all over the world for his job in the seventies, and he's said that souk/bazaar merchants were never quite as pushy as some mall kiosk people. Haggling in those days where he was involved generally polite discussion (plus tea and sweets in multi-day negotiations for higher-end items like rugs or fine jewelry) and a "no thank you" was respected.

[loveisuneven]

whenever a panhandler approaches my mom she makes some kind of annoying noise
like
waaaaaah
(like from that annoying waaaazup thing that people used to do)
it's quite effective

[malmalthekiller]

My most effective tactic in these situations is not making eye contact with anyone.

I make myself as unapproachable as possible. And when I'm with someone else at the mall, I just try to focus my attention on them, so they can't get a word in edgewise.

I can just tell when someone is going to talk to me, so I'll also take out my cell phone and pretend to be listening to it.

[Becks]

Please don't hate me, but I loves me my Dead Sea salt stuff.

[Dreamstalker]

I do have a thing of the hand lotion that someone gave me ages ago, and it does work miracles on my hands which typically start cracking immediately in winter. I don't particularly have anything against the product, just some of the salespeople.

I noticed in another almost-dead semi-local mall* that there's now a Dead Sea storefront. Said mall doesn't allow any kiosks though so that's probably why.

* Is it a bad thing that I can walk into a mall and envision it with no foot traffic and no working stores? methinks I've been spending too much time on deadmalls.com *_*

[Akasa]

On the day I lost my favorite aunt I was in the mall to get something to eat from the food court. There are of course kiosks outside the food court. I of course had been crying and my eyes were of course red and puffy. A kiosk person thought they could make a sale by telling me my eyes were puffy and they have a cream to help with that. "I've been crying you idiot! OF COURSE my eyes are puffy!"

[fireheart]

I hates those stupid kiosks. Of the lot we have in one of the malls, most of them are fairly unobtrusive, in that they don't keep grabbing your attention on the way down. The jewellery one of them sells is nice...

but on the other hand though, there were two kiosks that drove me batty. One of them is gone and has long since been replaced by another annoying kiosk. One of them sells stuff similar to the Dead Sea stuff described above, the other one is for photo shoots....gahh, I hates those booths. The other one which is OK, they don't chase you down so much, is the cancer council booth.

[Imogene]

in a really snotty English accent, "Miss, Miss, you seem to have dropped your smile on the floor!"

"Your face is about to join it..." *curl up fist*
But keep walking.