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'Please leave me alone to look at menu! Overseas restaurant touts' blog discussion

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Comments

  • Tinks74
    Tinks74 Posts: 201 Forumite
    edited 29 June 2011 at 2:38PM
    Drives me away, if I have seen something I would've liked to buy I look for it elsewhere. Absolutely hate it, is there anything wrong with browsing?

    Another thing that annoys me, I went to the cinema last week, it was last minute decision, only 6 minutes until the film started so I thought I'd be helpful and state my full order in detail -

    Me: Can I have a REGULAR popcorn combo with DIET coke and SWEET popcorn please. (I had every option covered to save time)
    Assistant: Do you want to go Large for an extra 30p?
    Me: No, just Regular thanks.
    Assistant: What drink would you like?
    Me: DIET COKE please.
    the drink machine, positioned right next to the till where the transaction could quite easily have been entered and I could have been paying whilst the drink was still pouring), is attended during the entire automatic pour, lid carefully applied and drink is presented to me
    Assistant: Is that sweet or salted popcorn?
    Me: SWEET please.
    Bag is carefully opened and filled with popcorn
    Then the question I couldn't have thought of, would you like a large bag of sweets for just £2?
    Me: No thanks.
    then the transaction is entered into the till, I wait till it processes my card payment and am passed the reciept.

    I missed the start of the film.
  • ilesmark
    ilesmark Posts: 151 Forumite
    Tinks74 - hahaha - I can just picture it! Those fast food people just don't listen, do they? Mind you, if I was working in one of those places on starvation wages then my brains would turn to mush too - or at least mushier then they already are:p

    vikingaero - I remember I was walking along in Patpong in Bangkok years ago, with a then-girlfriend who was 4 or 5 feet behind me. Local pimpette comes up to me - "you want f**ky f**ky? I love you long time cheap plice"

    Me - "no, I've got my girlfriend"

    Pimpette goes to girlfriend behind me - "we can do the 2 of you!"
  • Seakay
    Seakay Posts: 4,267 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    As I understand it the people hassling you to come into restaurants abroad earn their money that way, ie the more people they bring in the more they earn. I think it's the same as getting nabbed on the phone or in real life by a commission only sales person in this country - they probably know that it's annoying and I can't imagine that they enjoy the abuse that so many people on here say that they hand out, but obviously it must be getting them a living or they wouldn't carry on.
    Think of the boiler room scams - they are basically super hard sell conmen and they are on the phone - we could easily put the phone down but obviously a large percentage of people don't judging by the amounts of money that have been scammed.
    Perhaps we are all more susceptible to pressure than we like to think
  • Dave_C_2
    Dave_C_2 Posts: 1,827 Forumite
    Couldn't agree more, this really winds me up.

    If in a busy place with lots of restaurants we always refuse to go in any place with "pullers" outside. This way we have found some really nice places.

    The places where a waiter is stationed outside are normally "food factories" with pre-prepared rubbish meals and obviously one less waiter to serve.

    Dave
  • Ron_McDon
    Ron_McDon Posts: 13 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10 Posts Combo Breaker
    Like most other posters it makes me want to run in the opposite direction. I've noticed it in clothes shops recently. I went into Monsoon in Bath and within 10 minutes I had 5 different sales assistants coming up to me asking if I needed any help, was I looking for anything in particular etc. It's really intrusive - if I need help I'm perfectly capable of asking for it!

    I then went into Banana Republic just down the road. There was a lovely leather bag I was interested in buying but as soon as I put out my hand towards it a man appeared at my shoulder 'Oooh, that's a lovely bag isn't it? It will go with so many outfits. Let me get it off the shelf for you (which was not in the roof of the shop but just in front of my chest!). I stepped away and said 'I'm just looking, thanks' and walked over to the clothes. I saw some folded tops on the shelf and moved the label on the top one to see the price. This man then appeared next to me again, reached over me and said 'I'll just get your size for you so you can try it on'. I felt like saying to him 'I know my size, I'm capable of lifting it out of a stack of tops if I want to try one on - just back off!'. Instead I just walked out of the shop, and they lost a sale.

    We've just been on holiday to the US and it's endemic over there - literally as soon as you are seated in the restaurant the server appears wanting to take your drinks order. Several times we got funny looks because we wanted to take the time to actually look at the menu and decide what we wanted to drink!

    I don't know who has convinced all these outlets that being pushy will encourage people to shop with you, but they've definitely got it wrong!
  • tara747
    tara747 Posts: 10,238 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Tinks74 wrote: »
    Drives me away, if I have seen something I would've liked to buy I look for it elsewhere. Absolutely hate it, is there anything wrong with browsing?

    Another thing that annoys me, I went to the cinema last week, it was last minute decision, only 6 minutes until the film started so I thought I'd be helpful and state my full order in detail -

    Me: Can I have a REGULAR popcorn combo with DIET coke and SWEET popcorn please. (I had every option covered to save time)
    Assistant: Do you want to go Large for an extra 30p?
    Me: No, just Regular thanks.
    Assistant: What drink would you like?
    Me: DIET COKE please.
    the drink machine, positioned right next to the till where the transaction could quite easily have been entered and I could have been paying whilst the drink was still pouring), is attended during the entire automatic pour, lid carefully applied and drink is presented to me
    Assistant: Is that sweet or salted popcorn?
    Me: SWEET please.
    Bag is carefully opened and filled with popcorn
    Then the question I couldn't have thought of, would you like a large bag of sweets for just £2?
    Me: No thanks.
    then the transaction is entered into the till, I wait till it processes my card payment and am passed the reciept.

    I missed the start of the film.

    Ughhhhhhhhhhh!!!! :eek: That, along with the prices, is why I bring my own sweets/toffee popcorn and a bottle of water (I hate fizzy drinks) to the cinema. But my friends usually insist on going to the kiosk for some overpriced, oversized junk so I have to wait anyway. :rotfl:
    ilesmark wrote: »
    Tinks74 - hahaha - I can just picture it! Those fast food people just don't listen, do they? Mind you, if I was working in one of those places on starvation wages then my brains would turn to mush too - or at least mushier then they already are:p

    vikingaero - I remember I was walking along in Patpong in Bangkok years ago, with a then-girlfriend who was 4 or 5 feet behind me. Local pimpette comes up to me - "you want f**ky f**ky? I love you long time cheap plice"

    Me - "no, I've got my girlfriend"

    Pimpette goes to girlfriend behind me - "we can do the 2 of you!"

    PMSL!!!! :rotfl: I have seen this happen as well.
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  • eezer
    eezer Posts: 348 Forumite
    No different than the chuggers who accost you in any high street throughout the country. This "only earning a living argument" doesn't wash with me. Most of these these nice, friendly helpful people I suspect aren't really interested in me as a person, but how much I'll spend. And for that reason, I never, ever allow myself to be touted.
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