I was walking through a mall in Florida yesterday minding my own business looking down at my phone as I walked by a row of kiosks with people hard selling various goods and services. I heard someone say “Hey sir have you heard about our services?” aimed in my direction, and I pretended not to hear them. After I walked about a step or two beyond their kiosk, I heard them mumble under their breath “a–hole”.
I so badly wanted to stop and give this person a piece of my mind, but then realized it probably wasn’t worth the anger or the time. However, I decided to write about it and talk about how annoyed I am by this type of sales environment.
Malls have looked for ways to capitalize on using public spaces like this for these types of businesses, yet I don’t really understand how these businesses make money or do anything other than annoy people. I can imagine they are paid commission only or minimum wage, but it doesn’t excuse the type of intrusive customer relations skills they demonstrate.
What do you do to face the onslaught of kiosk salespeople?
