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Business will always be business, and in a dog-eat-dog world, a salesperson will always do whatever they can to land a sale. It might not be the most ethical approach—one that pushes the boundaries of human decency—but, who cares, screw that, it gets the job done.
But being over-the-top confident and persistent does not mean success. It ups the success coefficient (or whatever other fundamental business term you might want to use here), but it doesn’t make it a clutch.
Especially if the client catches on to their business tactics and ends up taking them up on that overdone upsale offer quite literally. Through malicious compliance.
More Info: Reddit
Salespeople can be hard on customers, but customers can be hard right back at them, and all it takes is to take their words literally
Image credits: machu. (not the actual image)
So, years back, this one Redditor managed to snag some tickets to a Formula 1 racing event in Silverstone, a circuit racing track in England. Since the track is big, and viewing it live can be problematic, OP decided to get some binoculars to facilitate and upgrade the spectating experience.
One trip to the local optical retailer later, OP was greeted and served by a lovely sales lady. Not only was she helpful in fleshing out the right pair of binoculars for the good gentleman, but also seemed genuinely excited for the race as well. All in all, a pleasant purchase experience.
One Redditor shared a story of how they turned an arrogant binoculars salesman’s words right back against them with malicious compliance
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Image credits: u/DanceLikeItsOuchy
Image credits: Chase Elliott Clark (not the actual image)
Well, actually, no purchase was made due to an inconvenience of about yea height and one that had too many words in their mouth. Yep, enter another salesperson, a guy who unpleasantly butted into the conversation by effectively pushing away the nice sales lady and started the process of selling the product all over again. Except he did so poorly.
Think cutting off the client and trying to sell the same binoculars the client already discounted together with the nice sales lady in the previous conversation kind of poorly.
OP was starting to get a bit annoyed at this point. Not only was the sales guy disrespecting his coworker, pushing her away and calling her “just a trainee”, but he kept on making the already stereotypically awkward sales process even more problematic by trying to not only upsell OP with better binoculars, but also upselling with insurance.
In short, OP needed binoculars for convenient F1 viewing, but the nice sales lady was pushed aside by an arrogant one and ruined it for everyone
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Image credits: u/DanceLikeItsOuchy
“At this point, I really just want to walk out the shop, but I suffer from the occasionally debilitating condition of being English, and that kind of embarrassment is just too much to take. Instead, I’ll buy them, and go home, fantasizing about all of the cool things I should have said,” wittily remarked OP.
But here’s where the sales-dude started stumbling. After OP agreed to the more expensive binoculars just to make the problem go away, the salesman suggested insurance. That was a no from OP, but the salesman couldn’t take that as an answer and persuasion mode kicked in. “They are very delicate […]. You probably shouldn’t buy them without the insurance.”
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Click. Malicious compliance. OP agreed. The salesperson, without truly understanding what kind of Jedi mind-trickery had just happened, rushed off to get the paperwork in order and came back, asking for OP’s name to finalize the deal. Only to be slapped with a well, actually, I wasn’t agreeing with the insurance, I was agreeing with the delicacy, I’ll probably break them because I’m a butterfingers.
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Robertas Lisickis
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Robertas Lisickis
Writer, BoredPanda staff
Having done teaching, translation, and copywriting work in the past, I now spend my days watching how deep the imprint in my chair will become as I write for Bored Panda. Wrote about pretty much everything under and beyond the sun. Plan on doing more of it. And when I’m not writing, I’m probably playing Gwent or hosting Dungeons & Dragons adventures for those with an inclination for chaos.
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Monika Pašukonytė
Monika Pašukonytė
Author, BoredPanda staff
I am a visual editor here. In my free time I enjoy the vibrant worlds of art galleries, exhibitions, and soulful concerts. Yet, amidst life's hustle and bustle, I find solace in nature's embrace, cherishing tranquil moments with beloved friends. Deep within, I hold a dream close - to embark on a global journey in an RV, accompanied by my faithful canine companion. Together, we'll wander through diverse cultures, weaving precious memories under the starry night sky, fulfilling the wanderlust that stirs my soul.
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Hey pandas, what do you think?
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Ryan-James O'Driscoll Ryan-James O'Driscoll Community Member Follow
Unless the product is universally expected to be delicate, it's not a good idea to use that word. "Precision equipment" or something to that effect would have been better.But regardless, the moment he came barging over, I'd have put my foot down and made it clear I was speaking to someone already and did not need additional help.
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Nathan Wolfe Nathan Wolfe Community Member Follow
Precisely. "She knows my needs and my thoughts already. Either she finishes this sale, or I walk. Try to butt in again, and I'll have words with your manager that you tried to snipe a sale, THEN I'll walk".
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Kim Kermes Kim Kermes Community Member Follow
In the US, a lot of retailers demand staff, excuse me, 'team members", push insurance or credit cards in order to keep their hours or even jobs. For electronics, I recommend Micro Center or B & H Video. I've seen people line up before the store opens at Micro Center. I went in and told the guy to pretend d been under a rock for ten years and tell me about e-readers. He was polite, patient, and kind, and I went home with a great deal on a refurbished tablet with which I was happy with for years. This was when the Kindle was newis.
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Corey Smith Corey Smith Community Member Follow
Yes, that s**t drives me nuts. I just want to purchase something. Stop asking me about insurance, extended warranties, credit cards, do I want to make a donation, etc.
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Paulo Freitas Paulo Freitas Community Member Follow
Never did this type of c**p to my cliente, my boss always told that gaining the cliente trust was more important than doing a big sale, i actually use to go out of my way to get the best cheapest option for a client problem, i remember a day, a man went to the store to buy a circular Saw, an angle grinder and a drill hammer, and he went straight for the professional models, i started talking to him, and he told me he just wanted to do some minor works in his house, só i told him not to buy that line, because they where for profetionals an a lot more expencive, and i had a really good Bosch line for amateurs, dudes looks at me and goes, thank you, but i have the mind set that if Im gonna buy equipment i rather just spend money once and have those machines last for a life time, só i ended up selling him the machines he wanted ( almost 600€ more that the amateur green line )
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Ryan-James O'Driscoll Ryan-James O'Driscoll Community Member Follow
Unless the product is universally expected to be delicate, it's not a good idea to use that word. "Precision equipment" or something to that effect would have been better.But regardless, the moment he came barging over, I'd have put my foot down and made it clear I was speaking to someone already and did not need additional help.
Vote comment up
24points
Vote comment down
reply
Nathan Wolfe Nathan Wolfe Community Member Follow
Precisely. "She knows my needs and my thoughts already. Either she finishes this sale, or I walk. Try to butt in again, and I'll have words with your manager that you tried to snipe a sale, THEN I'll walk".
Vote comment up
10points
Vote comment down
reply
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Kim Kermes Kim Kermes Community Member Follow
In the US, a lot of retailers demand staff, excuse me, 'team members", push insurance or credit cards in order to keep their hours or even jobs. For electronics, I recommend Micro Center or B & H Video. I've seen people line up before the store opens at Micro Center. I went in and told the guy to pretend d been under a rock for ten years and tell me about e-readers. He was polite, patient, and kind, and I went home with a great deal on a refurbished tablet with which I was happy with for years. This was when the Kindle was newis.
Vote comment up
12points
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reply
Corey Smith Corey Smith Community Member Follow
Yes, that s**t drives me nuts. I just want to purchase something. Stop asking me about insurance, extended warranties, credit cards, do I want to make a donation, etc.
Vote comment up
10points
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Paulo Freitas Paulo Freitas Community Member Follow
Never did this type of c**p to my cliente, my boss always told that gaining the cliente trust was more important than doing a big sale, i actually use to go out of my way to get the best cheapest option for a client problem, i remember a day, a man went to the store to buy a circular Saw, an angle grinder and a drill hammer, and he went straight for the professional models, i started talking to him, and he told me he just wanted to do some minor works in his house, só i told him not to buy that line, because they where for profetionals an a lot more expencive, and i had a really good Bosch line for amateurs, dudes looks at me and goes, thank you, but i have the mind set that if Im gonna buy equipment i rather just spend money once and have those machines last for a life time, só i ended up selling him the machines he wanted ( almost 600€ more that the amateur green line )
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