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I just had the most amazing hard sell retail experience of my life, where it took all of my self control not to burst out laughing at the sales lady. While wandering through the casino shops, I stopped off at one that had high-end flavored olive oils and vinegars. (Blood orange olive oil with pomegranate vinegar = yum.) The Very Posh Salesgirl ushered me over to the mirrored Gratiae skin care section (clicky-link!), exclaimed over my wonderful skin, and then went into her "I'm not saying this to be rude, but your eyes are puffy and dark. Do you know why that is?"
Me: "Because I've spent the past five days in recycled casino air and haven't been getting enough sleep."
Salesgirl: "No no no. As we age, there isn't enough circulation to under our eyes. You need to stimulate and nurture that area."
Me: "Oh." (While thinking, lady, I bet I've done more study of skin care products than you ...)
So with my permission, she slathers on the serum on one side of my face, under my eye and on the brow area, then shows me in the mirror. "Look at how much better the serum makes your eyes. You have such lovely eyes! They just need a bit of lift!"
She then goes on to explain about how the serum is a once-a-week product, there's no chemicals, and a bottle will last two years. The matching (and necessary!) eye cream is a twice-a-day product. The price for the serum on the website is $349, but they're doing an in-store special of just $175 for the serum and the cream, and because I'm SO sweet and SO pretty, she will make me a special present of the skin cleansing milk!
I murmur non-committal things and look at the ingredients. ( List! )
She ramps up the sales pressure. "The difference between the two sides is just amazing! When people ask how you look so good, you have to tell them about the product. Promise me!" (All of this delivered in an accent that wavers between thick "Italian" and "Spanish", and was almost certainly an affectation required by the store.)
I say it is a lovely product, but I'm not going to spend that much money without at least waiting overnight to see how my skin reacts to it. "Oh, but it's all organic!" she assures me. I again say no, but thank you.
She goes over to the cash register and pulls out some receipts to show me how much other people have spent on this miracle skin product (being careful not to show me names or credit card numbers, I'll give her that much credit). I say "Gosh, no, I really need to check my household budget before I think about spending that much money."
She takes the products over to the cash register. I again repeat that I'm not making a purchase. She looks around, then says, "For you, I make extra special deal because you're so sweet. The serum, the creme, and I give you the cleansing milk AND toner.". She starts to set the products on tissue paper to wrap them up.
I look at her completely straight-faced and say, "That's a wonderful offer. I'm not making a purchase right now." At which point she leans toward me and whispers, "For you, $149."
I again repeat that I'm not going to make a purchase this instant, thank her for her time, and leave. As soon as I got back to my room, I looked up the company. Yep, prices on the company website are insane. And the reviews on Amazon are VERY enlightening. (clicky-link!) It turns out that this sort of over-the-top hard sell is the norm for Gratiae Organics reps, and that a bottle of the serum sells for $36 on Amazon.
Now, I have a mean, petty streak; I keep it pretty locked down, because I know it is not a thing I should give into. But I am so tempted to go back to that store, see what other sales reps are there over the next few days, and after they (inevitably) go through the hard sell song and dance inform them that I've researched the product, and why should I buy from them when I can get the same thing for THIRTY-SIX DOLLARS on Amazon.com?
I probably won't do this. But it's tempting to think about. Or to think about asking very earnestly if she thinks it's any better than gently moisturizing one's skin with the blood of virgins, because sourcing virgins is getting so difficult in this century ...
Me: "Because I've spent the past five days in recycled casino air and haven't been getting enough sleep."
Salesgirl: "No no no. As we age, there isn't enough circulation to under our eyes. You need to stimulate and nurture that area."
Me: "Oh." (While thinking, lady, I bet I've done more study of skin care products than you ...)
So with my permission, she slathers on the serum on one side of my face, under my eye and on the brow area, then shows me in the mirror. "Look at how much better the serum makes your eyes. You have such lovely eyes! They just need a bit of lift!"
She then goes on to explain about how the serum is a once-a-week product, there's no chemicals, and a bottle will last two years. The matching (and necessary!) eye cream is a twice-a-day product. The price for the serum on the website is $349, but they're doing an in-store special of just $175 for the serum and the cream, and because I'm SO sweet and SO pretty, she will make me a special present of the skin cleansing milk!
I murmur non-committal things and look at the ingredients. ( List! )
She ramps up the sales pressure. "The difference between the two sides is just amazing! When people ask how you look so good, you have to tell them about the product. Promise me!" (All of this delivered in an accent that wavers between thick "Italian" and "Spanish", and was almost certainly an affectation required by the store.)
I say it is a lovely product, but I'm not going to spend that much money without at least waiting overnight to see how my skin reacts to it. "Oh, but it's all organic!" she assures me. I again say no, but thank you.
She goes over to the cash register and pulls out some receipts to show me how much other people have spent on this miracle skin product (being careful not to show me names or credit card numbers, I'll give her that much credit). I say "Gosh, no, I really need to check my household budget before I think about spending that much money."
She takes the products over to the cash register. I again repeat that I'm not making a purchase. She looks around, then says, "For you, I make extra special deal because you're so sweet. The serum, the creme, and I give you the cleansing milk AND toner.". She starts to set the products on tissue paper to wrap them up.
I look at her completely straight-faced and say, "That's a wonderful offer. I'm not making a purchase right now." At which point she leans toward me and whispers, "For you, $149."
I again repeat that I'm not going to make a purchase this instant, thank her for her time, and leave. As soon as I got back to my room, I looked up the company. Yep, prices on the company website are insane. And the reviews on Amazon are VERY enlightening. (clicky-link!) It turns out that this sort of over-the-top hard sell is the norm for Gratiae Organics reps, and that a bottle of the serum sells for $36 on Amazon.
Now, I have a mean, petty streak; I keep it pretty locked down, because I know it is not a thing I should give into. But I am so tempted to go back to that store, see what other sales reps are there over the next few days, and after they (inevitably) go through the hard sell song and dance inform them that I've researched the product, and why should I buy from them when I can get the same thing for THIRTY-SIX DOLLARS on Amazon.com?
I probably won't do this. But it's tempting to think about. Or to think about asking very earnestly if she thinks it's any better than gently moisturizing one's skin with the blood of virgins, because sourcing virgins is getting so difficult in this century ...
