sf wrote:
> That's a practice called "up selling" if you didn't know the
> term already. It's done in all retail situations... that's
> why sales people push accessories when women buy shoes and
> if you try to buy lipstick, they show you eye shadow and
> blush - for men, that's why you don't end up with just the
> basic car you set out to buy.


I was familiar with the practice, not the term. It is another one of my
peeves. They may make the extra sale to a number of people who fall for
it, but for someone like me, I get so annoyed that I don't go back.

The waitress comes to the table and asks if I'd like a beverage. I
answer that I just want water with no ice. She asks if I wouldn't like
some ice tea or some lemonade. I answer that no, I'd really like water
with no ice.

Returning with the water, she asks if I'd like to order. I tell her the
entree I'd like. She asks if I'd like appetizers. I say no; I'd like
the entree I ordered. It goes on like that. No matter what I say I'd
like, she contradicts me by asking if I wouldn't like something else. I
say I'm ready for the bill. She asks if I'd like dessert. Then I have
to say that no, I wouldn't like dessert; I'd like the bill. By the time
I leave, I feel like I've been in an argument with someone who insisted
that I repeat everything 3 times before she'll believe me.

Not in restaurants, but in other retail situations, upselling loses
sales. I'll tell the salesclerk what I'm looking for. If they try to
sell me something else, I'll explain again what I'm looking for once or
twice more, but then I get impatient and give up.

I realize it is a business situation, but imagine it socially. Your
friend asks if you'd like to see a movie. You answer no. He says "are
you sure?" You answer that yes, you're sure, you don't want to go. A
minute passes, and he asks if you'd like to see a different movie. You
say no. Again he asks if you're sure. Again you say that you're sure.
Then he asks again. And again. It may sound like he's merely asking
an innocent question, but he's arguing. That's the sort of thing that
makes me lose my temper.

--Lia