Every time I visit the grocery store any more there is some group trying to sell me something as I enter. On Saturday it was a boy scout troop that was selling popcorn.
I usually am willing to buy a small item to help out the people trying to sell, because it is invariably a large group of kids with two or three adults. It's probably better that they are at the store than going door to door, for safety reasons if nothing else. I don't go out of my way, though.
Back to the story. I was given the typical, "would you be willing to buy..." line as I approached the doors. I commented, as I always do, that I prefer not to purchase items on the way in, but I might buy on the way out. I quickly forgot about the kids and went about my shopping.
On the way out I made sure that I had cash available so I wouldn't have to fumble with my wallet when asked to buy popcorn again. I usually like to make the process as quick as possible because, as far as I am concerned, I am still grocery shopping if I haven't left the parking lot yet. I don't like to shop for groceries for too long.
As I stepped out the door I saw two kids walk my direction. "Here it is," I thought. "It's time to buy the popcorn." Then, to my surprise, I noticed that the kids were walking not toward me, but toward a lady behind me who was trying to enter the store. The kids were apparently explicitly targeting people walking into the store rather than walking out.
What makes this story a little more humorous is that this is the second time in two weeks that something like this has happened to me. The last time I went grocery shopping some kids tried to make the sale on the way in, but not on the way out. Their loss.
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5 comments:
I've seen the black family a lot lately at different stores. They sill cookies and I recognize them because one guys is well dressed with a top hat.
I am sure that they figure if someone won't say yes before go into the store that they won't say yes afterwards.
I don't like to bother people or to be bothered, so my kids have a one no rule. If they ask/offer and then get a no then they just move on to the next. They aren't top sellers, but tha't okay! :)
Dust did buy some peanut butter cookies from some group when I was gone to see my family.
I purposely stopped going to Hy-vee when the girl scout troops were there. I try to avoid being asked.
I think it's just a matter of the direction they are facing. Most times the sales tables are facing out, toward the people coming into the stores. The smarter idea is to make the sales tables perpendicular with the entrance, then you are more likely to be able to make eye contact with both those going into and coming out of the store. I'm not a big fan of people selling things outside of the stores, though, so I'm not going to make any suggestions to them!
You'd think with so many of us not carying cash anymore they'd come up with a "get some cash back for brownies" campaign .... prepping folks on the way in to make purchases on the way out.
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