THERE was a time when shopping was a leisurely affair, a gentle stroll through the shops, perusing the wares on offer, buying new products from the supermarket to try out and perhaps ending the excursion with coffee and cake at a small tea-room or bistro.
Some women, and possibly some men too, would list shopping as one of their hobbies. No more. We are all far too busy to consider shopping a leisure activity and with most mothers having jobs and careers outside the home, shopping in now fraught with anxiety and stress.
In most cases it’s a mad dash after work to grab a few things for supper and school lunch boxes. There is little time to stroll along the aisles having a look at all the delectable offerings on the shelves.
Only those who enjoy high adventure willingly go shopping on a Saturday morning, and at the end of the month one needs to be tranquillised to survive the ordeal with ones nerves intact.
Knowing how busy most of us are and how we rush about getting everything done, is it asking too much to expect management to exert a little control on the people they allow to sell goods in the walkways of many of our malls?
The problem with these promotions is that the sales people do not understand the meaning of “no thank you”. I do not want a new cell phone contract, cleaning products, skin products and cosmetics from the Dead Sea, or a hair straightener or heated rollers (heaven forbid!), carpets or a vibrating chair or any of the other products shoved down my throat every time I go shopping.
To be cross-questioned and obstructed by a whippersnapper with an attitude is becoming more than I can take.
A colleague was backed up against a shop window by an aggressive sales girl who was intent on selling him hand cream.
All this is before even setting foot in a shop and negotiating a path through the milling throng or tackling the queues at the tills.
Everybody has a right to make a living but the shoppers also have a right not to be harassed from the moment they set foot in the mall. “No thank you” means just that and should be accepted with good grace. Perhaps what is needed is a code of conduct to be signed before being permitted so much floor space in shopping malls. It is also wondered how the regular shopkeepers who pays a tidy sum in rent, feel about these promotions.
There is no doubt that most of these products are of a high quality, judging by the price, and many people buy them, or as in one memorable case, are talked into buying them.
It was a 60th birthday and beloved had asked for a wish list to take shopping for a suitable gift. He was accosted by the Dead Sea people at the mall and as a result presented a jar of Old Lady bath salts as a gift on this milestone occasion.
When asked days later when the disappointment had subsided, why the wish list was forfeited in favour of Old Lady bath salts, the explanation was: “He was such a good salesman!”
