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AlexHolker wrote:I've never had this problem, thankfully. The guys at the local GW seem fine with an oldbie coming in and finding out for themselves what new stuff has come out in their absence.

Kanluwen wrote:You must not have ever worked in retailing.

It's called establishing a rapport with the customer.

WordWeb wrote:Rapport (noun)
A relationship of mutual understanding or trust and agreement between people.

Showing contempt for a customer by lying to their face and expecting them to fall for it is a poor method of establishing a rapport.

Except the majority of times they're not "lying to your face".

Swing and a miss, cupcake.

Kanluwen wrote:Swing and a miss, cupcake.

What does baseball and food have to do with this

Fifty wrote:

Cadichan Support wrote:I am kind of disgusted that that poor guy got fired for failing to sell you a battleforce. AT LEAST HE TRIED!!! The thing GW do not understand is before you make a purchase you have to make a decision. Am i going to start collecting? extending? for me this process takes time, its not something you can do in 5 seconds. I understand if its something little like paints or green stuff. But a Battleforce is ridiculous.

Also, I found out that if you melt all the plastic in a battleforce you get a lump that is about 2 litres. That lump is worth roughly idk, like $9 AUS. i Suppose 30$ for processing and $40 for delivery to nearest GW.
All together that's 79$ and a battleforce is 155$!!! 76$ profit!!! What is this !!!

Yeah, I've heard that the GW staff are all volunteers these days, and malls are letting GW have stores rent-free...

*sigh*

At the end of the day, GW need to make a certain percentage profit from a certain turnover. They are not in it to break even and just about pay their staff. Now, ideally they would not be a publicly listed company, but they are. That means they have to satisfy their investors. If investors don't get the return they are looking for, they take their money elsewhere. Believe me, there are lots of better shares to invest in than GW anyway...

ing capitalists! They should advertise more, when the ultramarines movie comes out everybody will buy warhamz. I think...

This is why i shop from the interwebs

jamunition wrote:This is why i shop from the interwebs

QfT

Ok, I must be lucky my Local GW isnt that bad, the guy in there can be a lil pushy but its not something I mind too much, he's too busy being confused that I bring my fiance in and she plays as well. May i just say this, if your being given the hard sell by a GW Employee

Your all thinking about this the wrong way.

Their annoying you (This advise goes for annoying street preachers, or survey people or charity people on the street) Play them a their own game, their goal (Seems to be) to waste your time, so waste their, ask them questions about things you dont really care about, be indesicive over sales desicions. And if you EVER need a way to stun a GW employee ask them how you would go about making a race of hamsters in black templar power armour.


In short, waste their time till they get the message (Make sure you have a lot of free time before attempting this, some people REALLY cant take a hint)

thats a great idea danp.
I might just go in and when a guy comes up to me say exactly this " have you ever seen a toaster swallow a bus whole at 2:23am on a tuesday morning??????"
then see what they have to say

The Hamster in power armour ive actually tried on my Local GW Manager, he sort of froze with a bemused look on his face....

From what I've seen the GW staff who seem genuinely friendly and talk to you about the hobby in a manner that engages you as a 'fellow hobbyist', rather than fodder for their sales figures by pushing all the latest stuff, don't last very long. Shame really, because the attitude of the latter I find repellent. I know only a couple that were genuinely nice enthusiastic people and who have been in the shop for repeated visits.

I suppose the worst example I can think of is when as a kid we went into the store just to browse and, while my dad was across the room looking at other stuff, a member of staff engaged me in a conversation which ended in him asking how much cash I had on me to spend (I had none on me chum but very rude of you to ask). Are these the tactics the employ today? How about you just surrender your wallet at the door and give you a credit note?

Howard A Treesong wrote:From what I've seen the GW staff who seem genuinely friendly and talk to you about the hobby in a manner that engages you as a 'fellow hobbyist', rather than fodder for their sales figures by pushing all the latest stuff, don't last very long.

Some people are good salesmen, and some are not. Those who aren't get under your skin, but in either case there is definitely pressure to push sales.

A couple years ago one of the nearby GW stores didn't hit their sales quota over the Christmas period. The manager, who was working mostly at another un-managed store at the time threw his staff under the bus and they all got canned.

I've never had this level of bad experience, even though I'm sure it varies by location and by one's individual tolerance of being sold to. On the few times I do go in a GW ( there isn't one within 4 hours of me) I'm usually, but not always approached by an employee. I don't think it is unreasonable to go up and offer a potential customer the new products and explain why they would want the new product. Occasionally, I've even had to initiate conversation with the GW employee. Perhaps it has to do with the age of the customer. Maybe they think I'm one of the fathers and not one of the guys buying stuff. I'm usually offered glue or paint after a purchase, and while that's technically an upsale, I don't think it is unreasonable.

Come to think about it, employees have followed me around the store, but I have been actively talking about the hobby with them, so I didn't really care.

The one time I've had a high pressure attempt was actually an example of an employee sticking to his training when he should not have. I had brought an adult friend who I wanted to introduce to the game. I fully expected a sales pitch, but I was dismayed that he used the same sort of pitch he was using for the teenagers that came in. It was a little embarassing.

Lanrak wrote:HI all.
I have found the answer to GW pushy sales men.
Simply tell them why you dont want to pay for thier overpriced product.

Pushy GW store person,' Have you seen the new WHFB rule book.'

Me, ' Yes I have, I am not interested thankyou.'

Pushy GW store person,' But its great value ALL full colour pictures and over 500 pages.'

Me , 'Thats why I am not interested, I can buy Armies Of Arcana rules for £20, that is better a better produced RULE set and includes acess to 23 BALANCED army lists for free.if I want to look at pretty pictues of minatures I can visit the GW web site for free in the internet.'

Pushy GW sore person,'Ah , ok would you like to buy some Green Stuff.'

Me 'No thankyou.'

Pushy GW store person, ' why not, have you got enough?'

Me ' Yes , I buy it direct from Kneedatite on the internet , £10 for a meter length, not £5 for 10 cm.'

I could go on , but I think you get the idea...

TTFN

Thats really not needed. Act like and adult.
Treat them with respect and act as a client.
They will do the same. If they don't then don't go there or complain.

Having debates blah blah is not needed. Simply use your Dad voice and note what you came for, or are browsing for the moment and don't need help at this immediate time, thank you.

This thread is just full of complaining nerds complaining about people talking to them. I mean really? You can't handle a simple GW staff member that keeps asking you questions? He is trying to be friendly and sell his product or maybe just get in a conversation with him. If he asks you if you have enough GS,say how I just bought some and it is working wonders for me and go on into detail about what your doing with it. Remember, this isn't blame the redshirts, this is their job, blame GW as a company which I hardly see from these posts. But truly, complaining about when people talk to you too much is just silly. I think we can all get over ourselves and get into a conversation with the guy. It is easy if you have an once of social skills. Say "No, not interested" is just a key for him to keep looking for what you are interested in.

I use this technique whatever they tell me I answer "I just came for [Insert item you want], I don't need anything else" it usually works after a couple of times and when I go back the same salesperson usually won't try to push sales on me again. On another note I have to "teach" new redshirts all the time since there seems an endless number of redshirts working there.

the problem with scar's and my local GW is the staff are in and out very quickly, and the longest i have seen one stay is a few months.

Mewiththeface wrote:This thread is just full of complaining nerds complaining about people talking to them. I mean really? You can't handle a simple GW staff member that keeps asking you questions? He is trying to be friendly and sell his product or maybe just get in a conversation with him. If he asks you if you have enough GS,say how I just bought some and it is working wonders for me and go on into detail about what your doing with it. Remember, this isn't blame the redshirts, this is their job, blame GW as a company which I hardly see from these posts. But truly, complaining about when people talk to you too much is just silly. I think we can all get over ourselves and get into a conversation with the guy. It is easy if you have an once of social skills. Say "No, not interested" is just a key for him to keep looking for what you are interested in.

I see you've never talked to a homeless person trying to convince you the CIA under the direction of the Chinese are running a secret eugenics program using abortion centers as cover.

I've been into a few GW shops and I have to say it's not the pushiness that puts me off (I've been in the military 10 years) it's the feeling of trying to be manipulated. I'll give you an example from one of the LA shops:

"Hi, looking for anything in particular?"
"Yep, where are your codexes?"
"Right there."
2 minutes pass
"Is that all you're looking for?"
"Yep"
"You sure you don't need any glue or green stuff?"
"Yep"
"Wow, just trying to make sure you don't have to get home and make a second trip back for something you forgot."

It's that last line that gets me. All the times prior I got the exact same impression--Manipulation. I hate that much more than the pushiness.

My new plan? The past three or four times I've went in to a store I bring my wife with me (Who's also jush as impervious as I am to pushiness) and send her to engage two or three of the floor people while I snag what I need and buy it. Works perfectly every time--And she always relays awesome stories about what they tried to sell her

Frazzled wrote:Thats really not needed. Act like and adult.
Treat them with respect and act as a client.
They will do the same. If they don't then don't go there or complain.

Having debates blah blah is not needed. Simply use your Dad voice and note what you came for, or are browsing for the moment and don't need help at this immediate time, thank you.

Wow Frazz, that's the most informed, mature, and thoughtful response that I've ever read from you on Dakka. Kudos, and I agree 100%.

Mewiththeface wrote:This thread is just full of complaining nerds complaining about people talking to them. I mean really? You can't handle a simple GW staff member that keeps asking you questions? He is trying to be friendly and sell his product or maybe just get in a conversation with him. If he asks you if you have enough GS,say how I just bought some and it is working wonders for me and go on into detail about what your doing with it. Remember, this isn't blame the redshirts, this is their job, blame GW as a company which I hardly see from these posts. But truly, complaining about when people talk to you too much is just silly. I think we can all get over ourselves and get into a conversation with the guy. It is easy if you have an once of social skills. Say "No, not interested" is just a key for him to keep looking for what you are interested in.

Couldn't agree more, see above.

Mosg wrote:I've been into a few GW shops and I have to say it's not the pushiness that puts me off (I've been in the military 10 years) it's the feeling of trying to be manipulated. I'll give you an example from one of the LA shops:

"Hi, looking for anything in particular?"
"Yep, where are your codexes?"
"Right there."
2 minutes pass
"Is that all you're looking for?"
"Yep"
"You sure you don't need any glue or green stuff?"
"Yep"
"Wow, just trying to make sure you don't have to get home and make a second trip back for something you forgot."

It's that last line that gets me. All the times prior I got the exact same impression--Manipulation. I hate that much more than the pushiness.

My new plan? The past three or four times I've went in to a store I bring my wife with me (Who's also jush as impervious as I am to pushiness) and send her to engage two or three of the floor people while I snag what I need and buy it. Works perfectly every time--And she always relays awesome stories about what they tried to sell her

Asking you if you have everything is hardly "manipulative", it's good business. They are trying to make you, the customer, happy, by being thoughtful and helpful. You did walk into the store yourself, ya know.

I bet as as soon as most staff got onto sales training at their induction a black wind shredded their hearts.

I would expect that any pushiness or overbearingness stems from the fact that these guys are not sales people and did not want a job hard selling a brand. (Most probably think Glengarry Glen Ross is a village in the lower reaches of the Empire).

That they do not know how to overcome common objections or how to approach their customers when upselling is not the staffs fault, blame head office instead.

Cut them some slack and stop being so petty.

A successfull salesperson is the one who learns to read & adapt to people. They ask the right questions, listen to the response and then move the conversation on, with the outcome being that they get a sale. If they don't, then hopefully the customer will come back another time and make a purchase due to the fact they aren't hacked off.

It's not hard, LISTEN to the customer. If you do, they may not buy the new £45 rulebook, but they could end up buying other items up to that value or more. Posters saying"they're sale people that's what they have to do" need to smacked on the nose and told sit this one out, sheesh!

Wolfstan wrote:A successfull salesperson is the one who learns to read & adapt to people. They ask the right questions, listen to the response and then move the conversation on, with the outcome being that they get a sale. If they don't, then hopefully the customer will come back another time and make a purchase due to the fact they aren't hacked off.

It's not hard, LISTEN to the customer. If you do, they may not buy the new £45 rulebook, but they could end up buying other items up to that value or more. Posters saying"they're sale people that's what they have to do" need to smacked on the nose and told sit this one out, sheesh!

sales people will do this. People working for a love of the game, hobby, minis, etc are not the best people to have 'hard selling' your products.

That they want to work in GW and play games all day does not say a lot about their potential to drive sales forwards in a target driven environment. Sure, some might be generally good, overall though most of GW's retail staff aren't going to give a crap about 'closed questions' and 'overcoming objections' and reading buying signals or whatever jazz they are taught out of a handbook.

Mr. Burning wrote:I bet as as soon as most staff got onto sales training at their induction a black wind shredded their hearts.

I would expect that any pushiness or overbearingness stems from the fact that these guys are not sales people and did not want a job hard selling a brand. (Most probably think Glengarry Glen Ross is a village in the lower reaches of the Empire).

That they do not know how to overcome common objections or how to approach their customers when upselling is not the staffs fault, blame head office instead.

Cut them some slack and stop being so petty.

Every business ( yes even GW ) need to display some sort of professionalism.
Its not about lack of sympathy for the red shirts ( or petty you say ) , no. We need to look at it as a whole , starting from the managers , and staff trainers.

Is there enough training done?
Will they be able to display positive results?

If not , what effect will it have on the business establishment?

I would like to see GW shops been useful instead of eating up rent ( which is really heavy )
We already know large amount of people purchase from online discount retailers.
If even the instore experience isnt good , then what else do the stores have left?

Sure we can stop "whining" and be sympathetic , but no tell = no learn.
At the end of the day who is the one really paying the price? not I :')

LunaHound wrote:

Mr. Burning wrote:I bet as as soon as most staff got onto sales training at their induction a black wind shredded their hearts.

I would expect that any pushiness or overbearingness stems from the fact that these guys are not sales people and did not want a job hard selling a brand. (Most probably think Glengarry Glen Ross is a village in the lower reaches of the Empire).

That they do not know how to overcome common objections or how to approach their customers when upselling is not the staffs fault, blame head office instead.

Cut them some slack and stop being so petty.

Every business ( yes even GW ) need to display some sort of professionalism.
Its not about lack of sympathy for the red shirts ( or petty you say ) , no. We need to look at it as a whole , starting from the managers , and staff trainers.

Is there enough training done?
Will they be able to display positive results?

If not , what effect will it have on the business establishment?

I would like to see GW shops been useful instead of eating up rent ( which is really heavy )
We already know large amount of people purchase from online discount retailers.
If even the instore experience isnt good , then what else do the stores have left?

Sure we can stop "whining" and be sympathetic , but no tell = no learn.
At the end of the day who is the one really paying the price? not I :')

I agree,

We should expect a professional service at retail level but there is obviously a gap between retail sales professionals and the fans that want to work , and do, for GW.

You can lead a horse to water....

I want to volunteer at a gw.....Sounds like fun! I probably wouldn't even care about not getting paid. At least it's something fun to do

Oh, sorry. I'm sure most of you wouldn't agree

Too much complaining here. If you guys know about their "tactics", why do you go back? You obviously know what's coming as soon as you walk in the door, so....

Hmm I've never had that problem at the GW stores I've been to. Last week, when I went in to grab a Hellhound, the guy asked me what I was getting, how I was going to build it (Hellhound w/Multimelta), and remarked that he liked that build. Generally, they'll ask if I need any glue when ringing up, but that's it.

Irdiumstern wrote:Generally, they'll ask if I need any glue when ringing up, but that's it.

Yeah, this is about all they push for. You plonk four sets of plastic kits on the counter and they'll ask if you've got enough glue. Nothing wrong with that, you are gonna need a lot of glue, in all fairness.

From reading this thread i see there are mixed feelings about the whole pushy sales thing, some thing we're being stupid and we should just deal with it, others find it infuriating. Being pushed isn't all bad, the guys at GW are trying to get sales and new people to join in the hobby, and from what i gather most of the things they push are actually useful. It starts to get annoying after they repeatedly push you even after you've made it clear you only came in for X.

I recently went in to my local gw wanting only a few paints and looking for a little something to add hoping to spend something like £20. Ended up spending more nearer to £40 but the lads there was giving me sound advice and were genuinly interested in what i was collecting and my paint schemes. Also the other customers there were great to. I even ended up staying and playing my first game of 40k while the missus was walking round other shops!! LOL.

When its good its good. When it's not so good....I don't really keep track.

I talk to the red shirts pushy and non pushy alike. I get my purchases and politely decline modelling sundries or the latest Dwarf Bolt throwing thing a me jig and merrily skip down the street.

Annoying know it all kids in GW. Now, they need a throttling!

You see, FLGS's don't have this problem... Which is why when GW wanted to put one of their stores in Minnesota the FLGS's banded together to keep them out. Gotta love 'em!

whitedragon wrote:

Mosg wrote:I've been into a few GW shops and I have to say it's not the pushiness that puts me off (I've been in the military 10 years) it's the feeling of trying to be manipulated. I'll give you an example from one of the LA shops:

"Hi, looking for anything in particular?"
"Yep, where are your codexes?"
"Right there."
2 minutes pass
"Is that all you're looking for?"
"Yep"
"You sure you don't need any glue or green stuff?"
"Yep"
"Wow, just trying to make sure you don't have to get home and make a second trip back for something you forgot."

It's that last line that gets me. All the times prior I got the exact same impression--Manipulation. I hate that much more than the pushiness.

My new plan? The past three or four times I've went in to a store I bring my wife with me (Who's also jush as impervious as I am to pushiness) and send her to engage two or three of the floor people while I snag what I need and buy it. Works perfectly every time--And she always relays awesome stories about what they tried to sell her

Asking you if you have everything is hardly "manipulative", it's good business. They are trying to make you, the customer, happy, by being thoughtful and helpful. You did walk into the store yourself, ya know.

It wasn't him asking about glue or green stuff it was what he said after I told him that was all I needed. His tone and body posture were pure manipulation--Everything he communicated verbally/nonverbally screamed "You're a bad person for saying 'no' to me". It was some sort of wierd guilt trip.