Thursday 22 September 2011

Sell, sell, sell................


Ever felt like this ?????

Two experiences this week have left me feeling like SCREAMING VERY LOUD !!

We have a policy with British Gas to cover our water and heating system which includes an annual service of the boiler and we've found it well worthwhile as it has saved us pounds over the years when parts need replacing.  The engineer was booked for Tuesday morning and he hadn't been in the house for two minutes before he went into his selling spiel ..... did I know my boiler is getting old ya-di-ya-da ....... yes I know the heat exchanger is corroding ya-di-ya-da (actually not covered in the policy) ..... no I don't want to book a Powerflush at around £350 thank you ...... no I don't want to book a salesman to talk me into a new boiler as I can't bliddy afford it!   I politely explained that we would have to keep everything crossed that the boiler lived for another 12 months before heading for that boiler heaven in the sky and if it did pass then I'd just have to chuck a few extra cardigans on!  Did he submit .... did he heck as like .... I booked the salesman to shut him up and that was probably enough to get him an extra Brownie point and I will be cancelling the visit next week.  I expect a service engineer to do the service not try and flog me something I don't want or can't afford.

Then in the Nationwide Building Society this afternoon the poor guy in front of me who was only withdrawing some cash was questioned by the cashier about other services and policies he may or may not have with them.  This held the queue up ....  I was on a tight schedule and could feel my hackles start to rise .... it embarrassed the poor bloke as he had to discuss his finances with a line of people listening ..... I felt like shouting at the girl just get a bloody move on and give him his cash .... he obviously wasn't interested and wanted a quick getaway the same as me.  Again cashiers just do the cashiering and forget the selling .... she must have looked at me and decided I didn't have two halfpennies to rub together and left me alone thank goodness! 

Phew .... needed to get that off my chest .... thanks for listening xx

8 comments:

  1. Most days I feel like that picture lol. The bank are always annoying my mum telling her she isn't getting enough interest in her account. They don't bother annoying me because I don't have two halfpennies to rub together either lol

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  2. My friend hated working for a high street bank because they were forced to harass customers trying to sell all sorts of stuff, to meet their 'targets'. She took early retirement in the end.
    xxx

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  3. I know how you feel, they seem to do it even when there is a massive line of people waiting in the busy lunch period.
    Ann x

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  4. WHEN will these companies (and other organisations) learn that these tactics aggravate the customer and put them off rather than the other way round? It's just counter-productive.

    My big gripe would be the excessive advertising that we all have to put up with these days ... again counter productive in many ways. Wherever we turn there's an ad for something!

    A good word here though about my local garage where people are treated like people and not ripped off .... that attitude gives people confidence and the desire to go back.

    And a word too for Sainsbury's whose customer service in a recent online shopping blip (too long to describe) was exemplary.

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  5. I once made a badge to wear when I went into the bank - it said, "I dont want any other products or services - thank you". Banks, repair engineers etc all have very high targets to reach and its a real turn off when you are given the hard sell. I hope the old boiler lasts. xxx

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  6. Never had this from the Gas service man since we moved here, but it was relentless at our old house in Croydon. Unfortunately, after we rented that house out we were forced into having a powerflush and the gas man accused us of being bad landlords! I fear a new boiler will be next...

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  7. All to do with hitting targets, makes you mad. I blame shoe shops, they started the trend..... we recommend this polish, would you like to buy some?

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  8. I've got the bank ringing me back about house insurance and last week a gas company offered to charge me £1 a month extra, but it would be cheaper in the long run and a new telephone/TV package could save me money AAaaaarh - know exactly how you feel!!!!

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