I don’t shop at the mall much nowadays but when I went to Roosevelt Field (NY) to do some Christmas shopping, the experience convinced me never to go to the mall again, and I intend to email mall management and tell them exactly why—

Because of the hyper aggressive and rude salespeople at the kiosks. I am not exaggerating when I say that I could not walk more than ten feet without a kiosk salesperson yelling at me or shoving their wares into my face (“touch this! it’s so soft!” “Miss! try this on!” “what phone service do you use?” “is that your real hair color?” “Can I ask you a question?”). Being touched or grabbed at by these freaks is a definite no-no.

I agree with others that going to the mall nowadays is no longer a relaxing or even a fun experience. Sadly, the benches and rest areas full of plants and fountains to look at are long gone, but the endless harassment from the overcrowded kiosks serves only to drive me away from the mall. Malls have turned the shopping experience into a very stressful and loud third-world bazaar and it’s disgusting. This is America, not the Middle East. I want to go back to the days when we were allowed to shop in peace and given a small modicum of respect by salespersons.

If malls think kiosks is saving them extinction they are sorely mistaken. In a few years everybody will have grown tired of the endless harassment and stress and will gravitate toward shopping on the stress-free internet. Net sales grow by the billions every year and it won’t slow down.

Soon, the malls will be out of business, their giant empty shells polluting suburban landscapes, and they will have only themselves to blame for their own demise.

I was startled. I didn’t understand what he said until I realized he wanted to look at my nails so I showed him my fingers. He said ‘beauitful’. Then he let go, held up a buffer and said “something”. I told him no thank you and preceded to walk away and he was not happy about it.

I went back to the mall today. I wanted to look at the product he tried so hard to sell me (it is Christmas time). So I get sucked in by the Israeli lady who knocks the price down to $30. I felt the escape door close. I bought it, and later felt stupid about it. I feel manipulated. The product is also pushing atheism and evolution. I just don’t trust the product and I feel lied to, manipulated, and uncared for.

did not buy

fascinated by this practice

the heating pad, the aroma,
the salt sea people

at the queen kaahumanu mall, we have only two levels, and probably less than fifty stores, and somehow we have dead sea people, hair crap people, toy people, and verizon people.

the other day, i was stopped by a verizon salesperson, and asked about what provider i use. when i promptly answered, “yours.” and started to walk away, he stepped in front of me, i told him i had somewhere to be, and HE GRABBED MY ARM. i promptly told him i could easily terminate my service, and take my business elsewhere. therefore, i recommended that he let go of me (i say this loosely, as my words were really not as kind.)

now, ill admit that i rather like the “hair crap”, but i definitely dislike the people that sell it. i know i let my eyes wander to their product as i passed by, but i was interested! so, i tried a little experiment. this sweaty, hairy, heavily accented man with literally no respect for personal space began his tedious sales pitch, and i listened respectfully. the base price, he said was $250. i told him i absolutely would not pay that much. so he proceeded to have his lovely assistant straighten my hair. which i rather enjoyed. when he told me he’d give me a student discount, and drop the price to $150, i told him it was still too much, and that i wasnt stupid. he made up some more crap about how he would only be able to offer me this deal for ONE DAY, but hed take it down to $100. at that time, my hair was finished, (and quite beautifully done, mind you) so i told him that i was more informed than he gave me credit for, and that i had seen this same brand and model on amazon for around $50. he looked incredibly disappointed, but offered to match the price. i smiled, but said i wasnt interested. and i swear, he looked ready to spit on me..

this, i hope, can act as a testament to anyone that falls into the clutches of these people. if youre not interested, say so, damnit. and if you are, be sure to talk them down as much as possible. theyre trying to make a profit, but you work hard for every dollar you spend, and theres no reason to overpay.

good luck out there! =)

Yep, I was lured in by a beautiful woman at a kiosk. She ended up telling me she was from Israel and just out of the air force. She complimented me lots and demonstrated her product on me. Lots of pressure to buy but I told her no. I’ve gone to strip clubs and am use to telling beautiful women soliciting lap dances no.

The next kiosk down I met an old friend who was selling jewelry. I told him what had happened and he said there was another Dead Sea kiosk a bit further down. Sure enough he was between Dead Sea kiosks. He was impressed I had gotten out there without buy anything. He sales approach was more laid back and he said he doesn’t approach people unless they stop and start looking at his jewelry.

The things is I really liked the product they were selling, although there is no way I’m going to spend the $100 she wanted for it. I’m sure I can find similar products online for a lot cheaper. Someone mentioned Wal-Mart. I may look there.

1: Person # 1 would operate a remote control car or helicopter. In the mall, sometimes in oncoming traffic. I once saw a salesperson chew out someone in a motorized scooter or wheelchair for almost running over his toy, even though it was the saleperson’s fault

2: Person # 2 would use some stupid soccer ball on a rope. Lots of clearance but just once it could snap off or….

3: Person # 3, hawking some cheap NES ripoffs, too busy to play his games for his customers.

I’ve seen this mostly around Christmas.