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[NF] Other NF's hate salespeople's fake Fe?

Lily flower

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We just had a sales lady over at our house the other day, and I have to say that it is just torture for me to be with someone who is pretending to think I'm fabulous, and pretending to think everything my children do is charming, when clearly she is just faking it all to make a sale. I can't stand inauthentic people and that drives me crazy. Does it drive you crazy, too?
 

CuriousFeeling

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I hate it too. It feels unauthentic to me, and is quite manipulative. Things like this raise the skeptical/cynical flags for me.
 

Adasta

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I struggle with dominant Fe.
 
A

Anew Leaf

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Yes, I hate salespeople. It's like, just tell me the facts without hyperbole or complimenting me, and I'll make up my own mind. I find I more often say no because I get annoyed and immediately want to deny them.
 

AphroditeGoneAwry

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I don't think anyone likes to be apprehended and manipulated into purchasing something, therefore, most do not 'like' salespeople.


Dom Fe is great in nurses and service-oriented professions, that's for sure though.
 

chickpea

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i've always hated salespeople. they make me want to buy stuff less because i want to get away from them as fast as possible.
 

Vasilisa

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I hate the hard sell in whatever form, articulation, or embodiment it takes.

This is why I cannot do it to others. This is why I cannot work in retail.

I don't hate the people necessarily, its a gift and some have it. My brother is ESTP, I think, and they can have a wonderful way with promotion and getting a person matched with something that improves their condition. But I don't like liars of any stripe. And pressured sales make me want to run.
 
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mmhmm

meinmeinmein!
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salespeople love me.
i buy everything.
i like when they follow me like a puppy dog.
 

SilkRoad

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I can't say it bothers me too much unless it's incredibly fake and incredibly pushy. Otherwise I just think they're doing their job.

I live in Europe and many Europeans never miss a chance to bash an American. Customer service in Europe on the whole ranges from poor to appalling. (I'm from Canada, btw.) I've heard many Europeans say things like "I can't stand how fake Americans are when they want to sell you something, they're just doing it for tips" (or even just "I can't stand how fake Americans are.")

In response to this, I tend to smile and say "so you prefer it when people give you 'real' service which is also appallingly sullen, misinformed and bad, which is the norm here? I'd rather have 'fake' customer service which at least gets me what I want and doesn't leave me wanting to kill the customer service representative and burn their corporate headquarters to the ground."


EDIT: BTW, I love Europe, and would probably rather live over here than North America. But the bad customer service is one of the things I allow myself to rant and rave about. :D
 

Qlip

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I mostly don't view sales people as actual people. They're combatants, or maybe knowledge sources to be used with some caveats. Their responses are usually not human, you are their food, they're little cannibals. Which is not to say that I'm not polite with them.
 

Crescent Fresh

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I can't say it bothers me too much unless it's incredibly fake and incredibly pushy. Otherwise I just think they're doing their job.

Seconded.

I happen to like those sales people who are not pushy nor fake but just being polite and helpful only when you asked them for help. Honestly, I know most sales people have quota to struggle with, and it does reflect to their overall pay check (some might even get fired if they're considered ill-performed by management), I just thought they're still doing their job to survive. Working based on performance level in customer service area is certainly not fun, I would say.

The only problem are the ones who give you "the look" or poor attitude (playing invisible) just by judging what the customer wear. I thought that's pretty lame.
 

Mal12345

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I don't see "fake Fe" as a dominant trait. It sounds like an ability people bring out as the situation requires it, drawing on the Fe function's social awareness and way with people.
 

Turtledove

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:shudders at bad Mary Kay job fair representative experience:
 

Kyrielle

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I generally don't like salespeople who try to make a hard sell or try to win me over with compliments. Once they do that, I'm immediately on guard and on to their game, and even if they were selling me the whole of Dubai for a dollar, I'd be suspicious and probably say no anyway. I hate it when they follow me around, too. I don't care if they might lose their job, by following me around, they've already lost a sale.

However, I have nothing against salespeople who are friendly, nice, and ask me if I found everything okay. I might wave them off, but I know it's just part of their job. And I have nothing against salespeople who are informative and look willing to respond to my queries. In fact, I get a little annoyed if a salesperson ISN'T polite and interested in my business. But that doesn't mean they should be fake. They should just be themselves, only a slightly nicer version.
 
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011235813

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I don't hate salespeople. Having to do a job contingent on insincerity and fake enthusiasm while knowing full well that you're an object of dislike and contempt to many potential customers can't be pleasant.

That said, they terrify me and I try to avoid eye contact as far as possible, because the minute I make it, they realise that I'm a sitting duck and swoop in for the kill.
 

Istbkleta

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I can't say it bothers me too much unless it's incredibly fake and incredibly pushy. Otherwise I just think they're doing their job.

I live in Europe and many Europeans never miss a chance to bash an American. Customer service in Europe on the whole ranges from poor to appalling. (I'm from Canada, btw.) I've heard many Europeans say things like "I can't stand how fake Americans are when they want to sell you something, they're just doing it for tips" (or even just "I can't stand how fake Americans are.")

In response to this, I tend to smile and say "so you prefer it when people give you 'real' service which is also appallingly sullen, misinformed and bad, which is the norm here? I'd rather have 'fake' customer service which at least gets me what I want and doesn't leave me wanting to kill the customer service representative and burn their corporate headquarters to the ground."


EDIT: BTW, I love Europe, and would probably rather live over here than North America. But the bad customer service is one of the things I allow myself to rant and rave about. :D

Interesting.

Which part of Canada are you from and where in Europe are you right now?

I think there are differences between customer service in different provinces in Canada and countries in Europe.

Also, can you describe how the CS is bad: are the people not smiling/polite or is it about the job not getting done and them lying about things.

I am curious about the world in general and would love to hear and INFJ's opinion since you seem so good at understanding people.
 

SilkRoad

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Interesting.

Which part of Canada are you from and where in Europe are you right now?

I think there are differences between customer service in different provinces in Canada and countries in Europe.

Also, can you describe how the CS is bad: are the people not smiling/polite or is it about the job not getting done and them lying about things.

I am curious about the world in general and would love to hear and INFJ's opinion since you seem so good at understanding people.


Some might say that technically I don't live in "Europe". ;) I live in England - have lived in London for six years. I also lived in Dublin, Ireland for a few years. Originally I am from the West Coast of Canada - British Columbia.

I've found that over here people tend to look sullen; they will often make you feel as though you're inconveniencing them when you are simply asking them to do their job and help you out; etc. They'll give you wrong info because they can't be bothered to check, or they don't know things that they really should know, and I think lying is probably fairly common too. If you ask in a shop if they have something in another size, they almost never say "let me check that for you." They almost always shrug and say "if it's not on the shelf/on the floor, we don't have it." Ie. you have to do all the work. (And often they wouldn't offer to order it in for you or whatever.)

I've had customer service agents be extremely rude to me on the phone when I had a valid complaint and was getting a bit upset (I don't mean screaming and swearing upset, just sounding annoyed.) One guy told me once to stop raising my voice at him and not interrupt or he'd hang up on me. He was, of course, interrupting me constantly, making me feel like an idiot and I was wasting his time. That was an extreme example but it was so bad I expected someone to jump out and shout "you're on Candid Camera." I've worked in customer service (reservations for a major airline, and also customer relations - ie. complaints - for another airline) and I ALWAYS tried to be professional even when I wanted to pull my hair out. I would never threaten to hang up on someone unless they were really abusive, which I certainly was not.

I have had major problems with my bank - simple things like getting a new credit card sent out, then it gets lost, and I end up talking to ten different people and every person says "oh, the last person gave you wrong info." Literally. I end up in situations where I have to shout to get people to do something for me. I'm sure they're calling me a bitch when the phone call ends but by then I don't even care...

It just seems like the training is poor here, or there's not an ethic for customer service like there is in North America. I know a lot of those jobs are badly paid and tough, but honestly, especially in this economic climate you should be glad to have a job and try to do your best - and hopefully move on to something better in time...

I find it's bad enough here that if people in coffee shops, banks etc etc smile and ask you how you are, you're like "wow - that person was so nice and polite!" It really stands out. Of course, I think London is worse in many ways than other parts of England (although I don't think Londoners in general are as rude as reputation would have it, a lot of people in London are very respectful of each other - it's mainly the customer service.) But I've travelled extensively in Europe (also, my mom is from Finland) and generally find Europe is worse than North America, often much worse. France and Italy, for instance - haha. Ok, that might be a little unfair. I think France is pretty bad for customer service (and I speak fluent French - apparently it can be hell if you don't speak French) but when I went to Rome a couple of years ago it was much better than I might have been led to expect. But my Canadian friend who has lived in Italy for more than ten years and speaks Italian like a native (and generally loves Italy) says that customer service is pretty awful generally - sometimes we swap stories about our banks, and suchlike :D
 

FDG

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Customer service is absolutely horrible in Italy. The only exception being nice restaurants, especially if family owned. Banks are especially awful. Transport (especially by rail) reaches the peak of awfulness, generally it feels like they'd want to punch customers in the face.
It might be good, however, if you're an attractive woman.
 

SilkRoad

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Customer service is absolutely horrible in Italy. The only exception being nice restaurants, especially if family owned. Banks are especially awful. Transport (especially by rail) reaches the peak of awfulness, generally it feels like they'd want to punch customers in the face.
It might be good, however, if you're an attractive woman.

:D I think this is EXACTLY what my (female) Canadian friend says! Especially about banks and transport! But in all honesty, Rome was better than I expected. Maybe I was just lucky, or my friend who I travelled with and I are attractive enough ;)
 
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