MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. Would you flog hideous store cards to keep a job?

generaloneill

Its in our contract to sell the damn things, but I dont anyway. OUrs is 27.9 percent apr, however they have BNPL options, so for instance, if you spend over £500 on a telly, you can have 9 months interest free, so good if you can make payments on time, heck, ive got one myself.

Ive sold 2 in 8 years, lol. But most of the time customers come in and ask for one so....

Archaeopteryx

coddie wrote: »

unfortunately it is often in the small print of your contract that you have to promote the store card.

Well if it's there, fine, that's the point where I would be saying 'thanks, but no thanks'.

I know people don't always read contracts of employment, but it's so important!

kwyken

Yes I would, but I would likely be bad at it as I know how awful they are!

However, it is a bit like the furniture salesman who sells a table and chairs for £200 when down-the-road they are on sale for £150 - does s/he feel quilty? Or take a look at all the MSEs who have reclaimed unfair bank charges, if these store cards really are so bad then surely there will be an opportunity in the future to claim back unfair interest

Nelski

Yes I would in the same way that I would also sell cigarettes if I worked in a newsagent and alcohol if I worked in supermarket. Credit cards are in no way hideous - they are bits of plastic for goodness sake - in fact like stephsmith I have a couple of store cards which have got me very significant (and very mse if I may so) discounts on purchases and also get me continued discounts and free wine (debenhams yesterday:rotfl:shock horror alcohol and credit cards:rolleyes:) What people do with the products I may sell them is there business and more importantly their responsibility.

scowell61

I see nothing wrong with store cards. They are wonderful inventions I would and do encourage any and everyone to get one . I think it is great that you can have what you want today pay for it in very small monthly payments over a number of years. Who cares what the interest rate is? It is only a number. Credit is what gets the economy going. As long as everyone is in debt then I feel wealthy. I would of course never be stupid enough to own a store card myself..lol

But sell sell sell to the kids who thought maths was boring and of no use to them. See it as educating the masses by life experience. They will soon understand about credit and interest when the debt collector calls.
In the meantime the shops make money, the debt collectors make money, the legal people makes money. In fact most people benefit and even the customer gets an education out of it.

huggermugger

All I have to say to the previous post is ...

I work part-time for a home furnishings/clothing store, amongst other things.

They have a store card, not sure what the APR is at the moment but it's definitely not a good deal. I am supposed to "sell" it and they do have periodic drives to get us to do it. It may be in my contract/job description (but I don't think so). I occasionally (probably twice a month)half-heartedly ask people as they're paying whether they'd like to "open an account". They say no thanks, I say jolly good or words to that effect. If we do have a promotion (rare & usually not worth having), I try to remember to point it out but as far as I'm concerned, I'm not employed to badger people and the management know how I feel. Most of the people I work with have the same attitude.

I don't approve of store cards personally for all the reasons most of us already know. The leaflet is on the counter, customers can pick one up and fill it in if they wish. The incentives we are offered are rubbish (I think it's a pound per accepted account which is paid in some sort of strange vouchers) but that would make no difference - even if it was a large incentive, I wouldn't push them.

I did once get told off because a customer complained that I hadn't offered her the "opportunity to open an account"! Hah!

On a more worrying note, there was a temp girl in the store for a while who had an astonishing ability to get people to have a store card. When she left there was a procession of people coming into the store who clearly did not understand what they'd signed or how it worked. One woman was very distressed as she truely didn't realise that she had signed up for credit. She'd had the first statement and simply didn't know what to do with it. I still don't know what that girl said to get people to sign up but as far as I'm concerned she needed shooting.

frgerry

I'd flog them, but i'd tell people as I did so why I was doing it and what the costs and risks are. You'd be surprised how many people appreciate the honesty and sign up just for you. and then not use the card anyway. As long as you make it clear what's going on I can't see the problem

flipper_2010

If they are stupid enough to sign up for a store card and not pay it off then thats their own fault isn't it??

pineapple

Been in this situation before and I had to give up a job as a result. I'd be happy to offer the store card but it would be pointless me trying to actively sell it (you don't have to tell lies but there are certain sales techniques). I am simply unable to sell something if my heart isn't in it. So if my job depended on a certain number of store card sales, I certainly couldn't do it - for practical as much as moral reasons.

unieuph

Isn't this part of the reason we're in so much financial trouble? If you had been hired by a bank, the text could be almost identical for sub-prime mortages.

I would keep the job, not sell the cards, while looking for something that I could do with a clear conscience.