Had to go to the Apple store in the mall last night, and it turned into a long visit while Bob sorted out some issues with windows on his Mac. I left and wandered around the mall, an activity I normally detest.
It wasn’t crowded at all, despite the time of year. No surprise. What surprised me was the aggressive behavior of the sales people, especially at the kiosks that litter the walkways. A glance at the wares piled on the carts and in the booths, even while on the move, garnered at least a beckoning call. Veering too close guaranteed a come-on. But some sales staff were worse. I heard one man ask a long-haired woman if she used a blow-dryer. The woman wasn’t even looking at his kiosk, just walking past. She stopped and answered the man (positive reinforcement of his behavior).
By the time I’d gone to one end of the mall, I was fed up with being accosted. Walking back, I looked at no one and nothing. I wasn’t grouchy but I probably looked it. I just didn’t feel like being harassed. Then a bright-eyed man took a few fast steps toward me.
“Can I ask you a question?” he asked with urgency, as if I could suddenly enlighten him.
“Absolutely not,” I replied with spirit, not slowing down at all.
The mall in Las Vegas is like being in a third-world market, where every stall owner begs for the attention of passersby. I feel for them. And many of the sales people are from struggling nations. We are now a struggling nation, too. So I guess the hard-sell is the new rule. You don’t want to be rude to the ropers and the barkers. You start off smiling and polite. But after five minutes, or an hour, or a week, depending on your tolerance, it becomes exhausting. Courtesy becomes exhausting.
If I never hear the “can I ask you a question” come-on again, it will be too soon.
And I really despise the hair-care hawkers. I have long hair. Somehow this means that I *must* need a (insert prodcut here).
They’re like that everywhere. ‘Over there’. I hate it. One way around it is to not go to a mall! Think also of the mall owners who are so cynical and rent out the floor space that was supposed to be used by you for walking between shops. They don’t care – they create congestion, the stalls irritate, you get grumpy – and they dump more money in the Caymans. Everybody’s happy.
It’s the sign of an increasingly crass and cynical bipedal species. ;)
Only the food court in our mall seems busy. There are no customers in most of the shops. We see very few pedestrians in our “Old Town”, and almost no one carrying a package. Our country is in deep trouble. Thomas Friedman is the only one who seems to understand, and knows what to do.
How true, Courtesy becomes exhusting….. Great idea for a tee shirt? Great blog.
YELS