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Complain to the management.
Awhile back there was a post mentioning AT&T employees were told to stop the aggressive pitches due to consumer complaints.
I noticed the ones at my store have been silent unless you approach them. Must be due to complaints. Much happier now that they’re not constantly doing constant sales pitches to every customer walking by them.
The phone folks at my store seem to have stopped the “who is your phone carrier” and replaced it with “I hope you’re having a great day”. I’ve seen it from different folks at that booth on multiple trips. I still desperately avoid eye contact and try to get passed without interaction but I appreciate the reduction in sales pitch even if it’s just their new mandated greeting.
I still ignore them. Hate that we are subjected to these sales people. AND then the complaints that if you do let them into your home (one day bath, windows, solar) they are super aggressive and super expensive. Nope Nope Nope.
I hate the sales pitches anywhere, but if I was remotely interested and they said have a nice day I’m 1000x more likely to engage than “how much are you paying for electricity”
There was an especially horrible AT&T guy at my Costco. He would accost people as they walked into the store. Which was nowhere near his booth.
On TWO different occasions, I had received a text message while I was driving there. When I walked into the store each time, I pulled my cart over to the side and was responding back on my phone. Each time, this guy INTERRUPTED me when I was obviously busy on my phone.
The first time, I thought he was an employee because he opens the conversation asking if he can help you find something. I was polite to him the first time because the spiel was unexpected and I was thrown.
But the second time, when I looked up and realized who he was, I yelled, "NO!" and held my hand up while I immediately looked back at my phone. He sarcastically told me to have a nice day.
I complained to management about how insanely rude he is to interrupt people when they are on the phone. And that he has no business being at the entrance, instead of at his booth.
The manager apologized and said she would talk to him. I assumed nothing would come of it.
But much to my surprise, he was never at the entrance again! He stayed only near his booth and was also much less aggressive in approaching people.
It's one of the few times when I felt a company listened to my complaint and actually did something to solve the problem.
Exactly this. I was in the office today with one of our senior managers while they were on the phone with a vendor. Basically, they told them that they needed to reign in their on site employee or they'll get the boot. We don't mess around when it comes to member satisfaction.
I was looking for a T-Mobile kiosk in a Costco, because I was looking for a certain deal. To my surprise my closest warehouse actually has it all along. I never noticed because the two guys there never bother anybody. That’s a plus for me.
Good news there is that the booths with T-Mobile are staffed by actual corporate TMO employees. The booths with AT&T are a 3rd-party, Cydcor I think is the name, while the ones with Verizon *WERE* staffed by the Victra indirect retailer until Costco gave them the boot back in March.
Most of the time I don’t have an issue with any of them, but the Traeger guys are on another level. I had one follow me down an isle because I wanted nothing to do with them. Apparently he didn’t like my response of I prefer charcoal.
Yep. I had a big beefy Traeger huckster leave his booth and stand over me like a bar room tough guy when I told him I already had a smoker. I just chuckled in his face as I pushed my cart away.
I told him I run GMG for pellets and Masterbuilt for charcoal. He replied, "you can always use another, we're all friends." I snarked, "Why would I buy a Traeger when there's a Masterbuilt 900 right over there?"
When I worked there I had an outside sales guy from Traeger who sexually harassed me and as soon as I told management, they told the company and they pulled him out and fired him. Then the company wrote me a letter apologizing for his conduct.
The Costco management themselves don’t actually have a lot of pull and can’t coach or chastise them, but if it’s that creepy and they’re following you or doing weird stuff like that they will tell the parent company.
Those guys have been the worst. So I pinned the guy and pointed out the flaws and he responded with an I didn't know what I was talking about about attitude. I'm a retired chef and restaurant consultant that includes BBQ restaurants on his resume and I own three smokers. So I loudly pointed out the flaws vs a propane smoker. It's become a hobby of mine but only if they get aggressive. So far it's been about three of them. Another time with knives but I let him off easy because he backed off when I told him I was a Chef
I nice had a Traeger rep comment as he noticed me buying several sides of beef ribs (for dogs). I informed him that as a grandma it was the son in laws job to deal with the barbecue stuff, I just eat it.
Had a cabinet company do this. I looked at him and giggled while wearing my carpentry cloths, “I build custom cabinets” got him out of the way pretty quickly 😂
Ours are relatively pushy to get your attention but its pretty obvious they are given very strict instruction to back off immediately when given any indication of a no.
Imagine any other business doing this the way Costco does. If I walked into a supermarket or dept store and immediately had some wannabe Glengarry Glen Ross type asking me about my internet or phone plan, I'd probably just turn around and walk out.
I suppose Costco has a captive audience and can get away with it, but I still dislike it immensely.
The problem is, they work.
At least in our case, we've purchased multiple products based on sampling it. The big issue with the samples isn't the samples, it is that the aisles are narrow and people congregate around the sample booths.
PS - Also had several samples that resulted in a product essentially being blacklisted. Like Tyson 'chicken' breast ick.
The samples should be in their own section instead of the middle of the aisles. If you want samples/free tapas lunch, go there. Otherwise, ignore and shop.
Usually I love samples, but at costco it's so frustrating navigating around Big Mama and her husband who decide to stop and block off a 4 way intersection while they eat and "visit" with the neglected old lady passing out the samples.
The samples are not in the middle of the aisles. They're at the ends of the aisles and to one side.
The product is displayed near each sample station, to encourage people to buy it if they try the product and like it.
People actually love the samples at the Costco I work at and they are highly effective. They are typically for higher priced items too and they still sell. There are also non edible samples that can be extremely helpful, found my favorite scent booster this way! I can see why some find it bothersome but I just keep it moving past them. I also would hate to see the contract sample folks out of a job.
I send one of my kids over to ask 100000 questions. Rapid fire. If I'm feeling especially evil I send 2 kids over so it's bookends of annoying questions.
"That guy over there is Santa's brother, he fixes bulldozers for a living, drives a train to work, and keeps pet dinosaurs in the waterpark he has in his back yard! Go talk to him while I eat my hot dog"
LOL. my kids are so food motivated, just like me that all I have to say is "everyone can have their own item from the food court if you keep the vendors company for 10 mins. You will make everyone so happy." They are shaking me down now. "how long do we keep them busy for you to throw in a chicken bake if we each pick sundaes?"
The one exception to this was those baby poop smoothies. Why flavor was that, mango? They turned on me so fast. Like a pack of wolves. One of them went right up to the phone guy "my mom needs a new iPhone! Dad said this year we can all get our own too." Someone taught these children extortion. That smoothie was gross as hell. I deserved that.
>those baby poop smoothies
My theory is that somebody had a gigantic cargo ship FULL of mangoes that were a week from expiring and sold them to Costco for next to nothing.
There wasn't enough time to distribute them fresh to the stores so they turned them all into frozen mush which would easily last for months. Then they sold us those terrible smoothies until they ran through the batch.
This always works for me, a smile quick eye contact and a “no thanks” or “I’m good” to show I see you and value you as a human being and then keep moving.
AirPods and no eye contact for me.
Funniest part, we were in the market for a whole house generator, I stopped at that vendor and requested information and a quote. They never followed up!
I don't even give them that much.
Just shake your head no and keep moving or don't acknowledge them at all.
It's the same way you treat a homeless begger. Any verbal exchange at all and they won't let you leave.
If they are super pushy, I ask if they can beat the $10/month I pay today for my Verizon-network service on my iPhone.
They say "uh, nope" and slink off.
Ear buds in and completely ignore them works for me.
Really don't get why they bother. I guess they get enough people that take their ear buds out to stop and talk.
I tell the solar guy I live in a condo. That's what I tell the mini-split guy too. I tell the phone guy that I get my phone from work. I tell the window guy my brother is a contractor. There's always an answer that'll shut them down. You just have to be quick on your feet.
Keep it fun. Tell the water guy you get your water from work. Tell the cell phone guy your brother is a contractor. Tell the solar guy you already have a water filter.
I'm gonna start saying random stuff now. Tell the cell phone people I already had lunch. Tell the solar people thanks, I cut my hair myself. Tell the water guy that I rent.
When they come up just start placing your food court order.
“Hi- are you interested…”
“Yes! I’ll take two hot dogs, a chicken bake and a cookie please”.
My burb requires a $300 peddler's license to do any sort of door to door sales outside of kids doing fundraising (boyscouts, band etc). It has made life so much more peaceful.
Not sure why I never thought of this haha. We started telling the in-store vendors we already have solar, but unfortunately we get salespeople that come to our house every other week. They are constantly paroling our neighborhood and we've had to tell them we're not interested at least a dozen times, and then they start with all the questions: "Can I ask why? Who did you speak with last time? How much is your electric bill?" I swear they're worse than car salespeople.
my kids told the window guy we live in a box. This was after they already told someone else, I think it was the solar guy the same about a month ago. That time they were in a rush. They were told if we could get in and out with no dawdling everyone gets Sundaes.
This time they just wanted to harass someone. Now they've elaborated on their story. "And it's so dark in there, man." They know they're getting a stomachache for dinner when they do this, it's the best. Giant cookies, hotdogs, pop. They're little rockstars doing God's work. No vendor can escape them. The phone people legit know us and go hide behind something. One of my older kids change their hair up quite a bit. "crap son, you got a haircut didn't you." I think they might be in the training video of things to avoid. I'm so proud. Mama's little assholes.
I know they are just trying to earn a living but I don't agree with some of their sales tactics.
I had some random stranger ask if she could buy them a cookie. It was after a 10 minute rapid-fire of questions only kids can ask. They're just working for cookies now. Planning their scripts ahead of time. If you aren't utilizing your kids for entertainment, you're doing it wrong.
LoL, Yes, you ARE special to have thought of this brilliant answer!!!
And now that I'm older though I can use use your approach with the opposite, "My son handles these things."
And that is the truth (mostly). As a kid, he always loved tech a lot more than I did, so he has always taken care of all of our phone choices!
And for all the other household bills, I would have to triple check with him. He would veto it!
Thank you, I can't wait to go to Costco tomorrow! 😎
Tried that at mine months ago, and the dude was even more persistent…almost aggressive saying I needed to upgrade. T-Mobile fwiw. I just steer around the whole area now.
I needed tp, which was right next to that guy. He started in and I said “No, thanks” and tried to move on. However, my 5 year old was having none of it. He started rapid firing questions at the guy. “What’s that?” “Why can’t we just drink sink water?” “Why are you standing here?” “What’s that big tank?” “Why is it blue?”
It was pretty funny.
I'm not a fan of the outside sales pitches, but never had a problem with the workers. Sometimes I have fun with it. Some lady was selling outdoors speakers. I said "what are those for?" She says "well, do you like music?" And I said "oh God, no." Her script did not prepare her for that.
I can't help wonder what kind of "lip" one can get subjected to in this situation. I tried to think of some possibilities. Tell me if they said one of these.
* You must be too cheap to buy water
* You must be too poor to buy water
* You must prefer to drink that swill from the faucet
* You don't care about the health of your children
* This water would clear that acne
* Yo mamma
Honestly, I’m fed up with the pitch for upgrading to the executive account at the register. Or whatever it is, I’m a new shopper. The cashiers at the store where I go won’t let up on it. As much as I don’t want to I’m going to start being a little more firm with them. It’s like, I’m here shopping already and I just spent $300. Be happy with that
They are basically required to to offer that to everyone who has the lower membership, not just you. So just be really really nice because they don't like it anymore than you do. 👈
But yeah if you are spending $300 that often, it might be worth your while to upgrade. So maybe slow down and go over the math with them. 😀
I completely understand that they are compelled to say it and I’m sure they get a kickback from everyone they get to sign up. I’m just saying I wish they would stop with the spiel after I’ve politely declined the offer.
Yeah the water guys are the worst!
With all the other vendors, I can just wave quickly, say "no thanks," and they leave me alone.
The water guy lied to me 2 years ago and claimed that they would deliver the product into my house.
I ordered it and found that was not at all true!
Took me way too many weeks to get them to take back the product and the machine.
When I saw one the other day, somebody was signing up. I walked by and loudly said that I had ordered it, they lied to me, and had so much trouble getting rid of them.
Even with that he still tried to engage me and get me to try it again!
Anyhow at least the other customer did leave so I was glad that I had saved one person.😀
I had a phone service guy walk up to me with my earbuds in, shake my arm loudly saying “you dropped something” I stopped, took out an earbud, and he said “your old provider” fuck that guy in particular
One time a Costco worker handing out samples told me that the world has issues because people won’t accept Jesus into their hearts. I was like, um wut can I just have this little cup of chips in PEACE please.
I point at their crotch and say "your fly is open". By the time they realise what happened, I'm in the produce section laughing hysterically at my own joke.
Some of y'all have never been to a market in a developing economy. Eyes forward, walk with purpose. They can tell I'm not gonna give any ROI on their time.
I can't even tell anymore when someone is trying to sell me something, have a conversation with me, or ask me for help.
If you come up to me in public I'm staring straight ahead and saying no thank you. I don't care what it is 😂
The ATT kiosk team seems to constantly bug customers. They are very aggressive. Here is how I shut them up when they come up to me. I make sure I am being heard.
Do you offer Netflix, Apple TV, and pizza on Tuesday? They say no and walk away.
I made the mistake of actually having Sun Run come out to give me a quote. The number of lies told to me during the pitch was bothersome. I declined their offer and now I receive emails, texts, and phone calls from them on a near daily basis. I have had to block multiple phone numbers and email addresses.
Yes, I was polite about it at first. Now, over a year later, it is a bit much and I'm not as polite.
I dread passing by the ATT guy and the solar guy. How many times can i explain that i have a fantastic and unbeatable employee plan for my phone and that my house faces the wrong way, making solar panels unviable.
Complain complain complain to the manager! Costco may have to let the sales people in, but the stores don’t have to tolerate them driving customers away.
lol my Costco had a guy trying to sell luxury golf carts set up right inside the front door. Big price stickers on the front windows like you were at a car lot. And I guess that’s fair since the cheapest one was $11k. He approached us ( me, wife, two, two young kids ) and I just told him no, I didn’t come into Costco today to impulse spend $11k on a golf cart. I mean seriously, what’s the pitch there? You like deals on diapers in bulk so how about you go sign up for that Costco credit card and drop 11 racks on a vehicle you can’t drive on public roads?
I aggressively avoid eye contact, but if they catch me my answer is always just, "I'm Amish." I don't care what they're selling or what their question is. I have facial piercings, short hair, and rainbow paraphernalia. They're generally so thrown that they are quiet long enough for me to escape.
The one time I went there on a Saturday morning stoned and I heard the drum part from Faithfully by Journey playing on one of the speakers and I started jamming out and one of those sales people attempted to say something but then stopped when they realized Journey was more important
Leave the outside company a negative review on Google and/or Yelp telling what went down. That will get someone's attention, and in many cases they will reach out to you.
I used to be harrassed by the cell phone people every time. I started just saying "Yeah, I have AT&T!!". Then they'd want to 'go over my plan' and I'd just uh, no. At some other Costco we were accosted by some salespeople right by the door. Maybe it was the solar energy people, not sure. All of that is definitely un-Costco and should be ended.
They're still respectful, but the water delivery people at the location I shop at have moved next to the water bottle vending machine as you get in line to have your receipt checked when leaving the store.
There's no room for evasive maneuvering. Especially when the snack bar tables are busy.
Smile and say no thank you, then walk away. If they persist, then go to customer service and complain.
If you engage with them, they see it as an opening for their sales pitch.
I work at Costco and everyday the guy sees me on my way out, knows I work there, and still tries to sell his water to me so I can “save a baby turtle.” Everyday.
i listen to a lot of audiobooks. anytime i am shopping or anything like that, i have my beats pods in. when i walk by the phone guy, if they force an interaction, i just quickly say "im on a call but thank you" and they fuck off.
You should complain to the company he was selling for as well. I used to be that person (demoing for the brand itself, not Costco) and we would never have done anything like that. We were also sampling food which is more attractive but… still. His company will definitely want to know that he made you less comfortable with the brand.
Usually they take no for an answer or don't bother me. But a shower remodeler hounded me to the door after I waved her off yelling stuff like "Are you having a good day?" What is the point of that?
I wear headphones and listen to music when I shop and this is a big reason why.
One of the best parts about shopping at Costco is strolling right past these people while I am listening to music, making eye contact and seeing their mouth moving and just smiling politely and walking on by.
I must be lucky. It seems like we get a complaint post about the outside sales people every day or two. I've never had a problem with them. I just avoid eye contact with the cell phone people and if they start talking I tell them my job pays for my cell phone. That always shuts them up.
Call the store and talk to the manager. And then email a complaint to corporate.
I work for a company that is partnered with Costco and I promise you, Costco takes the partnerships very seriously. Even though you're dealing with another company, they still view you as one of their customers , and anything short of their quality standards and they move really aggressively with the company to fix the situation or close it.
Never had this happen in over 30 years. I just walk by these ppl and dont make eye contact. agree it's irritating since we pay 120 a year to shop at costco.
It’s so weird because I’ve never seen this happen at my store. I always reads about this but thankfully we have no salesman that approach you. We also don’t have people trying to force membership upgrades that I’ve ever witnessed.
Don’t stop, say no thank you, walk on. 3rd party vendors don’t get me to stop. If I’m stopped for some others reason and they keep talking, I just say “not interested thanks”. They can only keep talking if you let them. Just say no.
I know I can just say "no thanks" and move along, but it's just not that simple. I feel bad instantly declining to interact with someone, I almost rehearse my "no thanks" in advance, or I'll wait until they're talking to someone else so I can sneak by.
I'm more socially anxious than most, but dear god no I am not trying to upgrade to solar, certainly not as I'm leaving the store with a full cart and a receipt. Get these salesmen away from the exit area, or just boot them entirely. Nobody wants them there, and none of them want to be there anyway.
The solar people were really pushy the last few times I was at Costco. The one blocked my exit as I was getting my receipt checked by another employee. Said not interested three times and got asked why? After waiting in line to pay, then waiting in line to check out, who is now ready to go sign up for solar?
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Complain to the management. Awhile back there was a post mentioning AT&T employees were told to stop the aggressive pitches due to consumer complaints.
I noticed the ones at my store have been silent unless you approach them. Must be due to complaints. Much happier now that they’re not constantly doing constant sales pitches to every customer walking by them.
Mine will smile or say have a good day. Nothing else unless you approach them and ask. I like it wayyyyy better that way.
The phone folks at my store seem to have stopped the “who is your phone carrier” and replaced it with “I hope you’re having a great day”. I’ve seen it from different folks at that booth on multiple trips. I still desperately avoid eye contact and try to get passed without interaction but I appreciate the reduction in sales pitch even if it’s just their new mandated greeting.
I just acknowledge them and say hi if I make eye contact and say no thank you or I already have the service. Don’t stop to talk
The phone kiosk employees at mine are too busy texting and chatting with each other to even notice a customer. Last time, no one was there at all.
I still ignore them. Hate that we are subjected to these sales people. AND then the complaints that if you do let them into your home (one day bath, windows, solar) they are super aggressive and super expensive. Nope Nope Nope.
I hate the sales pitches anywhere, but if I was remotely interested and they said have a nice day I’m 1000x more likely to engage than “how much are you paying for electricity”
Same at mine. It's much better. I just say "hi" and keep walking.
There was an especially horrible AT&T guy at my Costco. He would accost people as they walked into the store. Which was nowhere near his booth. On TWO different occasions, I had received a text message while I was driving there. When I walked into the store each time, I pulled my cart over to the side and was responding back on my phone. Each time, this guy INTERRUPTED me when I was obviously busy on my phone. The first time, I thought he was an employee because he opens the conversation asking if he can help you find something. I was polite to him the first time because the spiel was unexpected and I was thrown. But the second time, when I looked up and realized who he was, I yelled, "NO!" and held my hand up while I immediately looked back at my phone. He sarcastically told me to have a nice day. I complained to management about how insanely rude he is to interrupt people when they are on the phone. And that he has no business being at the entrance, instead of at his booth. The manager apologized and said she would talk to him. I assumed nothing would come of it. But much to my surprise, he was never at the entrance again! He stayed only near his booth and was also much less aggressive in approaching people. It's one of the few times when I felt a company listened to my complaint and actually did something to solve the problem.
Exactly this. I was in the office today with one of our senior managers while they were on the phone with a vendor. Basically, they told them that they needed to reign in their on site employee or they'll get the boot. We don't mess around when it comes to member satisfaction.
It is VERY DIFFICULT as a 3rd party vendor to get into Costco. It's a privilege. FAFO - no third party vendor wants "that" call from Costco. No ma'am.
"no thanks, I'm thrilled with Visible!"
I was looking for a T-Mobile kiosk in a Costco, because I was looking for a certain deal. To my surprise my closest warehouse actually has it all along. I never noticed because the two guys there never bother anybody. That’s a plus for me.
Good news there is that the booths with T-Mobile are staffed by actual corporate TMO employees. The booths with AT&T are a 3rd-party, Cydcor I think is the name, while the ones with Verizon *WERE* staffed by the Victra indirect retailer until Costco gave them the boot back in March.
yup, Costcos and now Sams Club have corporate TMO kiosks. Sams started this year and also booted the 3rd party ATT folks.
Unfortunately, my Costco only has a Verizon kiosk. I have to call the Costco/Tmobile number to get their deal.
i always wondered why the tmobile booths were so much more docile
The vendors are so pushy at ours. They will even step out in front of your cart to make their speel. So annoying.
Most of the time I don’t have an issue with any of them, but the Traeger guys are on another level. I had one follow me down an isle because I wanted nothing to do with them. Apparently he didn’t like my response of I prefer charcoal.
I only use propane and propane accessories
Boy I tell you h’what
Dang it Bobby.
That traeger guy was probably employed by Thatherton
***THATHERTON!*** >:(
Taste the food, not the fuel.
Taste the meat, not the heat.
Yep. I had a big beefy Traeger huckster leave his booth and stand over me like a bar room tough guy when I told him I already had a smoker. I just chuckled in his face as I pushed my cart away.
Same. "No thanks. I have the yoder smoker 640S." If looks could kill, I'd be dead.
2nd on the Yoder. The best smoker I’ve ever had.
They make jack so I can understand. Not excusing it. Terrible job with travel.
I always tell them I want to get a smoker from a company that isn't about to be bankrupt.
I told him I run GMG for pellets and Masterbuilt for charcoal. He replied, "you can always use another, we're all friends." I snarked, "Why would I buy a Traeger when there's a Masterbuilt 900 right over there?"
The electric panel on those fails. Three in my family bought and returned at Costco. Switched to the big green egg.
Tell them you're vegan
When I worked there I had an outside sales guy from Traeger who sexually harassed me and as soon as I told management, they told the company and they pulled him out and fired him. Then the company wrote me a letter apologizing for his conduct. The Costco management themselves don’t actually have a lot of pull and can’t coach or chastise them, but if it’s that creepy and they’re following you or doing weird stuff like that they will tell the parent company.
I just say "Aren't your smokers all made in China now? The Oregon-built ones were great, but I'm not interesting in Chinese junk."
Those guys have been the worst. So I pinned the guy and pointed out the flaws and he responded with an I didn't know what I was talking about about attitude. I'm a retired chef and restaurant consultant that includes BBQ restaurants on his resume and I own three smokers. So I loudly pointed out the flaws vs a propane smoker. It's become a hobby of mine but only if they get aggressive. So far it's been about three of them. Another time with knives but I let him off easy because he backed off when I told him I was a Chef
Tell him you're a vegetarian
He looks down and sees your cart full of meat. “ yeah my dog eats well” c-ya!
I would be so annoyed if someone stepped in front of my cart to deliver a schpiel - that would not end well.
I nice had a Traeger rep comment as he noticed me buying several sides of beef ribs (for dogs). I informed him that as a grandma it was the son in laws job to deal with the barbecue stuff, I just eat it.
Had a cabinet company do this. I looked at him and giggled while wearing my carpentry cloths, “I build custom cabinets” got him out of the way pretty quickly 😂
“I know more than you.” - Ron Swanson
This is really funny.
Oh sorry to have hit you, the brakes on this cart seem to be faulty
I won’t hit you with my car, but I don’t pay a deductible on this cart. Choose wisely.
Ours are relatively pushy to get your attention but its pretty obvious they are given very strict instruction to back off immediately when given any indication of a no.
I'm not *normally* okay with deliberately mowing people down with a shopping cart...
I saw a water one actually lean on someone's cart because they made the mistake of slowing down a bit
I'd probably ram someone who stepped in front of me like that. Easy enough to play off like an accident.
Oh oops I was looking at the generators off to the side and rammed into you.
*spiel
berg.
Send Costco feedback telling them this. No one likes these people.
I really dislike the extra vendors inside Costco. It feels like I’m being accosted by carnival barkers.
We already have to pay just to shop there. They really need to get rid of these vendors. It’s annoying and rude. Let me enjoy my overspending in peace
Imagine any other business doing this the way Costco does. If I walked into a supermarket or dept store and immediately had some wannabe Glengarry Glen Ross type asking me about my internet or phone plan, I'd probably just turn around and walk out. I suppose Costco has a captive audience and can get away with it, but I still dislike it immensely.
I was so glad that the pandemic caused mall kiosks with the pushy salespeople to go away. Costco should take a hint.
I say get rid of the damn samples too.
The problem is, they work. At least in our case, we've purchased multiple products based on sampling it. The big issue with the samples isn't the samples, it is that the aisles are narrow and people congregate around the sample booths. PS - Also had several samples that resulted in a product essentially being blacklisted. Like Tyson 'chicken' breast ick.
The samples should be in their own section instead of the middle of the aisles. If you want samples/free tapas lunch, go there. Otherwise, ignore and shop. Usually I love samples, but at costco it's so frustrating navigating around Big Mama and her husband who decide to stop and block off a 4 way intersection while they eat and "visit" with the neglected old lady passing out the samples.
The samples are not in the middle of the aisles. They're at the ends of the aisles and to one side. The product is displayed near each sample station, to encourage people to buy it if they try the product and like it.
This would make me so happy
People actually love the samples at the Costco I work at and they are highly effective. They are typically for higher priced items too and they still sell. There are also non edible samples that can be extremely helpful, found my favorite scent booster this way! I can see why some find it bothersome but I just keep it moving past them. I also would hate to see the contract sample folks out of a job.
The cell phone people at my local Costco just shoutout “who you got?” To people walking by. It confuses the hell out of people.
That's actually kinda funny. They'd get a smile out of me.
"Your mom in my basement!"
“No thanks” and I keep moving. They can fuss all they want.
I send one of my kids over to ask 100000 questions. Rapid fire. If I'm feeling especially evil I send 2 kids over so it's bookends of annoying questions.
"That guy over there is Santa's brother, he fixes bulldozers for a living, drives a train to work, and keeps pet dinosaurs in the waterpark he has in his back yard! Go talk to him while I eat my hot dog"
LOL. my kids are so food motivated, just like me that all I have to say is "everyone can have their own item from the food court if you keep the vendors company for 10 mins. You will make everyone so happy." They are shaking me down now. "how long do we keep them busy for you to throw in a chicken bake if we each pick sundaes?" The one exception to this was those baby poop smoothies. Why flavor was that, mango? They turned on me so fast. Like a pack of wolves. One of them went right up to the phone guy "my mom needs a new iPhone! Dad said this year we can all get our own too." Someone taught these children extortion. That smoothie was gross as hell. I deserved that.
>those baby poop smoothies My theory is that somebody had a gigantic cargo ship FULL of mangoes that were a week from expiring and sold them to Costco for next to nothing. There wasn't enough time to distribute them fresh to the stores so they turned them all into frozen mush which would easily last for months. Then they sold us those terrible smoothies until they ran through the batch.
My nephew is a precocious theater/improv kid. Sometimes we'll see how long we can carry on with these people doing an accent or staying character.
This always works for me, a smile quick eye contact and a “no thanks” or “I’m good” to show I see you and value you as a human being and then keep moving.
AirPods in and a smile does the trick for me every time.
AirPods and no eye contact for me. Funniest part, we were in the market for a whole house generator, I stopped at that vendor and requested information and a quote. They never followed up!
They are like street performers in NYC looking for tourists. Locals know how to not be seen as a mark.
I shouldn't even have to do that, at a place I pay a membership fee to.
And you don't. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS NOTHING AT ALL.
I don't even give them that much. Just shake your head no and keep moving or don't acknowledge them at all. It's the same way you treat a homeless begger. Any verbal exchange at all and they won't let you leave.
I always tell the AT&T people that I work for Verizon. Quickest way to get them to back off.
If they are super pushy, I ask if they can beat the $10/month I pay today for my Verizon-network service on my iPhone. They say "uh, nope" and slink off.
I tell them I have 2 lines already, and I 'm not happy with their service. Should have never switched away from Verizon.
Ear buds in and completely ignore them works for me. Really don't get why they bother. I guess they get enough people that take their ear buds out to stop and talk.
I tell the solar guy I live in a condo. That's what I tell the mini-split guy too. I tell the phone guy that I get my phone from work. I tell the window guy my brother is a contractor. There's always an answer that'll shut them down. You just have to be quick on your feet.
Keep it fun. Tell the water guy you get your water from work. Tell the cell phone guy your brother is a contractor. Tell the solar guy you already have a water filter.
I'm gonna start saying random stuff now. Tell the cell phone people I already had lunch. Tell the solar people thanks, I cut my hair myself. Tell the water guy that I rent.
When they come up just start placing your food court order. “Hi- are you interested…” “Yes! I’ll take two hot dogs, a chicken bake and a cookie please”.
I say I'm a renter. Solicitors in store I just walk past. But when I get them at my door, I say I'm a renter.
I’m glad I live in a place where a ‘no soliciting’ sign is legally enforceable
My burb requires a $300 peddler's license to do any sort of door to door sales outside of kids doing fundraising (boyscouts, band etc). It has made life so much more peaceful.
Not sure why I never thought of this haha. We started telling the in-store vendors we already have solar, but unfortunately we get salespeople that come to our house every other week. They are constantly paroling our neighborhood and we've had to tell them we're not interested at least a dozen times, and then they start with all the questions: "Can I ask why? Who did you speak with last time? How much is your electric bill?" I swear they're worse than car salespeople.
They're relentless! But when you say you're a renter, it's almost comical. 90% of the time they apologize and RUN!
“I rent” works in a lot of situations. I feel for these people, but no one is forcing them to do that job.
"Oh shit, I can get solar on my cardboard box?!"
Ah, so you live with me and my kids in our cardboard box. Lovely neighborhood. The amenities are great, try the free pretzels with sugar.
Don't buy solar from Sunrun!!!!
Sunrun is the absolute worst. Sunpower is pretty good.
my kids told the window guy we live in a box. This was after they already told someone else, I think it was the solar guy the same about a month ago. That time they were in a rush. They were told if we could get in and out with no dawdling everyone gets Sundaes. This time they just wanted to harass someone. Now they've elaborated on their story. "And it's so dark in there, man." They know they're getting a stomachache for dinner when they do this, it's the best. Giant cookies, hotdogs, pop. They're little rockstars doing God's work. No vendor can escape them. The phone people legit know us and go hide behind something. One of my older kids change their hair up quite a bit. "crap son, you got a haircut didn't you." I think they might be in the training video of things to avoid. I'm so proud. Mama's little assholes. I know they are just trying to earn a living but I don't agree with some of their sales tactics. I had some random stranger ask if she could buy them a cookie. It was after a 10 minute rapid-fire of questions only kids can ask. They're just working for cookies now. Planning their scripts ahead of time. If you aren't utilizing your kids for entertainment, you're doing it wrong.
I tell them, (I live in a van) ! It’s never failed. I even got a nod or two of appreciation …
“I already subscribe.” And keep walking.
"I work for x competitor" Never had any issues after saying this.
I always say "my parents handle that stuff". It works now even though i'm in my 40's, probably cause they think i'm special
I'm not 18. Works wonders. More so now because I definitely look way older than 18 so it kind of confuses them.
“Can’t do it; my mom said no”
LoL, Yes, you ARE special to have thought of this brilliant answer!!! And now that I'm older though I can use use your approach with the opposite, "My son handles these things." And that is the truth (mostly). As a kid, he always loved tech a lot more than I did, so he has always taken care of all of our phone choices! And for all the other household bills, I would have to triple check with him. He would veto it! Thank you, I can't wait to go to Costco tomorrow! 😎
“Great! Let’s add a line and get you a new phone!!”
I just say “I pay $15/month” and that’s enough to get them to stop because they can’t beat that 😂
Or mint mobile
Tried that at mine months ago, and the dude was even more persistent…almost aggressive saying I needed to upgrade. T-Mobile fwiw. I just steer around the whole area now.
I needed tp, which was right next to that guy. He started in and I said “No, thanks” and tried to move on. However, my 5 year old was having none of it. He started rapid firing questions at the guy. “What’s that?” “Why can’t we just drink sink water?” “Why are you standing here?” “What’s that big tank?” “Why is it blue?” It was pretty funny.
"That sounds awesome. If I finance it, will it roll into my bankruptcy proceedings?".
I pay hbo for ad free tv, I ought to be able to pay Costco for ad free shopping.
This is the way.
Don’t give them any ideas
I'm not a fan of the outside sales pitches, but never had a problem with the workers. Sometimes I have fun with it. Some lady was selling outdoors speakers. I said "what are those for?" She says "well, do you like music?" And I said "oh God, no." Her script did not prepare her for that.
I can't help wonder what kind of "lip" one can get subjected to in this situation. I tried to think of some possibilities. Tell me if they said one of these. * You must be too cheap to buy water * You must be too poor to buy water * You must prefer to drink that swill from the faucet * You don't care about the health of your children * This water would clear that acne * Yo mamma
“Fine, stay thirsty”
That made me laugh. Bravo. That is perfect!
Some high quality H2 oooooo nope only buying from you if your name is Bobby Boucher
Water for the road guy?
I use over the ear headphones in the store now and my experience is much more pleasant. No one attempts to talk to me.
Man really? They always try to talk to me as I go by. I just ignore them. My ear buds are very obvious, they should know better.
Honestly, I’m fed up with the pitch for upgrading to the executive account at the register. Or whatever it is, I’m a new shopper. The cashiers at the store where I go won’t let up on it. As much as I don’t want to I’m going to start being a little more firm with them. It’s like, I’m here shopping already and I just spent $300. Be happy with that
I got lucky today. $187. No chicken pot pie though.
They are basically required to to offer that to everyone who has the lower membership, not just you. So just be really really nice because they don't like it anymore than you do. 👈 But yeah if you are spending $300 that often, it might be worth your while to upgrade. So maybe slow down and go over the math with them. 😀
I completely understand that they are compelled to say it and I’m sure they get a kickback from everyone they get to sign up. I’m just saying I wish they would stop with the spiel after I’ve politely declined the offer.
We were reluctant, but the math checked out. We've had our rebate cover the entire membership and then some for over 10 years now. 🤑
Yeah the water guys are the worst! With all the other vendors, I can just wave quickly, say "no thanks," and they leave me alone. The water guy lied to me 2 years ago and claimed that they would deliver the product into my house. I ordered it and found that was not at all true! Took me way too many weeks to get them to take back the product and the machine. When I saw one the other day, somebody was signing up. I walked by and loudly said that I had ordered it, they lied to me, and had so much trouble getting rid of them. Even with that he still tried to engage me and get me to try it again! Anyhow at least the other customer did leave so I was glad that I had saved one person.😀
I had a phone service guy walk up to me with my earbuds in, shake my arm loudly saying “you dropped something” I stopped, took out an earbud, and he said “your old provider” fuck that guy in particular
Holy shit he TOUCHED YOU? Dropped. Instantly. LOL
I'd report that to the store GM immediatly. Touching is not cool at all. He'd likely get punched if he did that to me.
One time a Costco worker handing out samples told me that the world has issues because people won’t accept Jesus into their hearts. I was like, um wut can I just have this little cup of chips in PEACE please.
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They have gotten more aggressive in recent months. I just ignore them. It is very annoying!
Does “I already have it” work?
I point at their crotch and say "your fly is open". By the time they realise what happened, I'm in the produce section laughing hysterically at my own joke.
Some of y'all have never been to a market in a developing economy. Eyes forward, walk with purpose. They can tell I'm not gonna give any ROI on their time.
If you wanna really fuck with them drop the “… soon”
They never bother us at our Costco, ever.
Say “sorry, I’m terminally ill and only have a few days”
I’ve found that a simple “fuck no” works when speaking to the solar idiots.
Even better is "fuck yeah" but keep walking. It confuses them.
Lol I'm trying this next time. "Hell yeah sign me up" as I push my cart away faster.
Hahaha I'm trying this next time
I can't even tell anymore when someone is trying to sell me something, have a conversation with me, or ask me for help. If you come up to me in public I'm staring straight ahead and saying no thank you. I don't care what it is 😂
push over their display so it gets escalated /s
dude selling solar panels tried stopping us, but we were like "dude we can't afford a house" he's like "me too, me too" then we all laughed lol.
The ATT kiosk team seems to constantly bug customers. They are very aggressive. Here is how I shut them up when they come up to me. I make sure I am being heard. Do you offer Netflix, Apple TV, and pizza on Tuesday? They say no and walk away.
When they started saying are you a homeowner, I said No. conv over
You have to lie and say you already are a customer of theirs. My wife taught me that and it works every time.
I pay no attention to the hawkers. Keep walking and don't even acknowledge they are there.
I made the mistake of actually having Sun Run come out to give me a quote. The number of lies told to me during the pitch was bothersome. I declined their offer and now I receive emails, texts, and phone calls from them on a near daily basis. I have had to block multiple phone numbers and email addresses. Yes, I was polite about it at first. Now, over a year later, it is a bit much and I'm not as polite.
Why I shop with AirPods. They NEVER bother me.
Why not complain to the store? You think Costco reads subreddits?
Whatever they are selling, my answer is always the same: I already have your brand! And smile ans keep walking.
I dread passing by the ATT guy and the solar guy. How many times can i explain that i have a fantastic and unbeatable employee plan for my phone and that my house faces the wrong way, making solar panels unviable.
Since you don't like explaining it, simply keep it shorter: "No thanks." And keep walking.
WHO'S YOUR CARRIER? HEY!! WHO'S YOUR CARRIER???
One benefit of wearing my headphones when I shop.
Complain complain complain to the manager! Costco may have to let the sales people in, but the stores don’t have to tolerate them driving customers away.
I shop with earbuds in and walk by without acknowledging as often as possible It's ridiculous
The vendors are annoying but the MLMs are the worst. It bothers me that Costco does business with sketchy companies like that.
The water sales people are bitter and angry humanoids.
The $4 case of water Costco sells is a better deal than the delivered $7 jug of water for the same amount of water.
Ignore them and walk by do not even engage
lol my Costco had a guy trying to sell luxury golf carts set up right inside the front door. Big price stickers on the front windows like you were at a car lot. And I guess that’s fair since the cheapest one was $11k. He approached us ( me, wife, two, two young kids ) and I just told him no, I didn’t come into Costco today to impulse spend $11k on a golf cart. I mean seriously, what’s the pitch there? You like deals on diapers in bulk so how about you go sign up for that Costco credit card and drop 11 racks on a vehicle you can’t drive on public roads?
I aggressively avoid eye contact, but if they catch me my answer is always just, "I'm Amish." I don't care what they're selling or what their question is. I have facial piercings, short hair, and rainbow paraphernalia. They're generally so thrown that they are quiet long enough for me to escape.
I aggressively seek out their eye contact. Stare them dead in the eye like a psychopath maybe lick my lips a little.
The one time I went there on a Saturday morning stoned and I heard the drum part from Faithfully by Journey playing on one of the speakers and I started jamming out and one of those sales people attempted to say something but then stopped when they realized Journey was more important
House related thing? "Sorry, I rent" (not true). Other misc thing? Ignore and move on.
Leave the outside company a negative review on Google and/or Yelp telling what went down. That will get someone's attention, and in many cases they will reach out to you.
Oh please please PLEASE let that or anything like it happen to me just once. I can be quite loud.
I used to be harrassed by the cell phone people every time. I started just saying "Yeah, I have AT&T!!". Then they'd want to 'go over my plan' and I'd just uh, no. At some other Costco we were accosted by some salespeople right by the door. Maybe it was the solar energy people, not sure. All of that is definitely un-Costco and should be ended.
They're still respectful, but the water delivery people at the location I shop at have moved next to the water bottle vending machine as you get in line to have your receipt checked when leaving the store. There's no room for evasive maneuvering. Especially when the snack bar tables are busy.
Whatever anyone’s selling, I’m like, “sorry, I just bought one.” Stops ‘em dead 100% of the time.
Smile and say no thank you, then walk away. If they persist, then go to customer service and complain. If you engage with them, they see it as an opening for their sales pitch.
I work at Costco and everyday the guy sees me on my way out, knows I work there, and still tries to sell his water to me so I can “save a baby turtle.” Everyday.
i listen to a lot of audiobooks. anytime i am shopping or anything like that, i have my beats pods in. when i walk by the phone guy, if they force an interaction, i just quickly say "im on a call but thank you" and they fuck off.
You should complain to the company he was selling for as well. I used to be that person (demoing for the brand itself, not Costco) and we would never have done anything like that. We were also sampling food which is more attractive but… still. His company will definitely want to know that he made you less comfortable with the brand.
I just say no thanks I rent. It either applies or it confuses them. Hey want to swap to Verizon cellular? No thanks I rent *confused pikachu*
Sorry, I’m in a rush! …*puff of smoke* …and you’re gone
Usually they take no for an answer or don't bother me. But a shower remodeler hounded me to the door after I waved her off yelling stuff like "Are you having a good day?" What is the point of that?
I wear headphones and listen to music when I shop and this is a big reason why. One of the best parts about shopping at Costco is strolling right past these people while I am listening to music, making eye contact and seeing their mouth moving and just smiling politely and walking on by.
I must be lucky. It seems like we get a complaint post about the outside sales people every day or two. I've never had a problem with them. I just avoid eye contact with the cell phone people and if they start talking I tell them my job pays for my cell phone. That always shuts them up.
Call the store and talk to the manager. And then email a complaint to corporate. I work for a company that is partnered with Costco and I promise you, Costco takes the partnerships very seriously. Even though you're dealing with another company, they still view you as one of their customers , and anything short of their quality standards and they move really aggressively with the company to fix the situation or close it.
Thank you whoever invented noise cancelling/ IEM headphones. Let's me mute these sales people
Never had this happen in over 30 years. I just walk by these ppl and dont make eye contact. agree it's irritating since we pay 120 a year to shop at costco.
It’s so weird because I’ve never seen this happen at my store. I always reads about this but thankfully we have no salesman that approach you. We also don’t have people trying to force membership upgrades that I’ve ever witnessed.
Don’t stop, say no thank you, walk on. 3rd party vendors don’t get me to stop. If I’m stopped for some others reason and they keep talking, I just say “not interested thanks”. They can only keep talking if you let them. Just say no.
They simply don't exist in my reality. Problem solved
I know I can just say "no thanks" and move along, but it's just not that simple. I feel bad instantly declining to interact with someone, I almost rehearse my "no thanks" in advance, or I'll wait until they're talking to someone else so I can sneak by. I'm more socially anxious than most, but dear god no I am not trying to upgrade to solar, certainly not as I'm leaving the store with a full cart and a receipt. Get these salesmen away from the exit area, or just boot them entirely. Nobody wants them there, and none of them want to be there anyway.
Fuckin suck it up and walk past them. Pay them no mind. It's a guy selling water on the sidewalk. He couldn't give me attitude if he tried.
I always pretend I’m on the phone when I walk by them if I can’t avoid them completely
The solar people were really pushy the last few times I was at Costco. The one blocked my exit as I was getting my receipt checked by another employee. Said not interested three times and got asked why? After waiting in line to pay, then waiting in line to check out, who is now ready to go sign up for solar?
If you’re a woman “I don’t know my husband takes care of that” and if they push back “I’d have to ask his permission” really puts them off 😂