Yesterday I decided to buy a Wii U game. I didn’t have any particular one in mind, I just wanted something new. (I ended up getting Super Mario 3D World.)
I didn’t go to Best Buy or Gamestop, two stores which specialize in electronics. I went to Meijer, which sells towels, toothpaste, kumquats, hamsters, LEGOs, and oh yeah, video games too.
Why?
Because a Best Buy purchase goes something like this:
Me: Hello, I want to buy this.
Cashier: Are you a Best Buy member?
Me: No.
Cashier: Would you like to be?
Me: No, I just want you to take my money for this purchase.
Cashier: Are you sure? You could save ten percent.
Me: No, I really just want you to take my money.
Cashier: What about –
Me: PLEASE JUST TAKE MY MONEY
(Of course, I realize it’s not the cashier’s fault, and in real life I am much more polite. But that’s the gist of what happens.)
Gamestop does the same thing. A lot of stores do. When you buy their stuff, that’s not enough for them. They want you to sign up, subscribe, become a member, buy extra stuff, and give them a back rub while you’re at it.
It’s not enough for them that they have a paying customer right there in front of them. They want more.
At Meijer, when you buy something, you know what happens? They take your money. That’s it.
It’s a novel concept. Something other stores might want to consider. You can call it the Buckley Model for business: take money and supply an item or service in exchange.
You’re welcome.
Brian D. Buckley 
I find if you pass them the product and then hold out your card, they stop waiting for you to answer their questions after a few minutes. 😉
Haha…I’ll have to try that next time.
We get used to this on the web (you’re buying a ticket, don’t you want to join our site? — you’re reading an article, wouldn’t you prefer to download our app?). but it is more annoying from a real person.
The first store where they did this sort of thing (ages ago) was Radio Shack, where I’d be buying a vacuum tube, with cash, and suddenly they’d be asking for my zip code. I’d ask why they wanted it, and it was clear that the cashier had no idea either, and I got a strong impression that I was the only person who’d ever asked the question.
Yeah, for some reason I don’t mind it when it happens online. Definitely more irritating in person.
Happens in China too only I get to use the language barrier to my advantage…love mom n pop shops because they don’t do that
I should try the language barrier thing here in the States. “Lo siento, no hablo ingles!”