"That's it" means "my order is complete and no I don't want a Pepsi."

I completely agree. If the customer hasn't said "that's it," "that's
all" or something suggesting they don't want anything else and they
may want to save time (especially at a "fast-food" place), then
wasting their time is not just a minor annoyance, but a major
annoyance because it not defeats the idea of a "fast-food" place, but
also makes you feel like you're being ignored. It's like going to a
seafood restaurant and all they have is land lubber food.

I honestly think I am being ignored sometimes due to how clearly I
emphasize "I want nothing else, thank you, how much is the total
(going the extra mile to change the subject, too)" and they ask "would
you like fries?" I used to work at taco bell too... When I did, I
spent all my money there and although they did give me a 50% discount,
they charged me taxes before the discount at 100%, then charged me
taxes again when the total was from the 50%. I wonder if they kept
that "accidental" tax money from their many employees or gave it to
the government for years (or still do?).

This message is turning into a bit about Taco Bell for me now... Just
ranting about how every time I ever checked my time with what they
paid me, they were always at least $20 behind, signaling to me that
they were intentionally ripping people off. Computer calculators don't
fail that often. That was part of the reason I quit, I shouldn't have
to worry about "oh I accidentally washed my last time slip in my pants
pocket, that'll cost me 20$ from my next pay check since I can't prove
that I worked that time." The computer shouldn't record the time wrong
at least once every two weeks (pay-check intervals). So you know, the
time slips I kept were computer generated, when adding them together
lets say it showed I worked 22 hours, but when getting paid it would
say I worked 19.

I still love the food, had great co-workers including managers, but
still don't trust the corporate company due to the double taxing and
consistently short paychecks. Those were computer software problems
and that signals corporate responsibility to me... I'm pretty sure the
individual franchises don't code and engineer their own
timecard/payment and register systems.

Hopefully their seemingly money-grubbing corporate offices don't try
to sue me for stating the facts here, since I didn't keep my time
slips to prove what had happen 8 years prior. Like I said though, the
foods still good, but for anyone working there, I'd check my paychecks
every time if I were you :) Also do the math to find out what taxes
should be on your discounted food, see if that's still wrong :)

It reminds me of another electronic payment system for work I dealt
with before, where if it were so busy I lost track of time staring at
a wall doing dishes and forgot to take my break, the people in HR
would deduct that half hour anyway, since it's illegal for me not to
have a break and they're supposedly afraid the govt. would shut them
down for a once a week 12 hour day (they were short staffed, which
made working hard enough to lose track of time common). I think the
govt. understands humans aren't perfect and forget to take breaks
sometimes... It's a hell of a lot worse for someone to work and not
get paid then for a company to save face and deduct hard-working
employees pay. I'm pretty sure they didn't do it because I was working
my minimum wage butt off over 40 hours a week for them anyway (not
because I needed the extra pay-mind you, I had no kids at the time,
but because I felt bad that they didn't have enough people)... What I
am pretty sure of though is that they were just looking for extra ways
to cut corners to make more money. Well, they cut my last corner when
they all sat, laughed, and joked while drinking coffee while I busted
my butt serving probably 100 people food/drink/water while doing
dishes by myself. I said something to the managers many times and they
did nothing. I said bye and they were even more short staffed... All
those laughing were put back to work! LOL!!! They still had it easy
though, 5 of them for 100 people just serving instead of 1 of me
serving and doing dishes at the same time. Their pay was better and
they were still so rude! Ah, the working world of America - The harder
you work, the harder you fall... Unless you're working for yourself :)
People say that's a terrible attitude to have, but I've experienced
few to no other examples in America (which is where I've been my whole
life)... Companies just take advantage of people working hard so long
that when those people finally quit, no amount of pay raise would get
them back, so they end up hiring people who don't want to work then
quit after a week, then needing people so bad because they screwed
over the good employees that they even offer the bad week-longer's
raises because they have no one else, then potentially good employees
join the company and are turned into bad employees who threaten to
outcast them if they don't follow along on the laziness, or the good
employees bust their butts while the lazy's sit around (often times
with the managers) and the good employee's feel the situation is too
unfair and not getting better so they continue to leave when they get
there. Honestly, I think I just have some resentment for America's
workplace because I as many Americans was taught to work hard to do
good and get ahead, but once you get there you're treated unfairly.
I've honestly tested out the theory, I've intentionally done a bad job
at a place before because I just couldn't believe it would work and I
was so tired of being cynical... Unfortunately, everything was so easy
when I was being lazy... I hated it because it was against my work
ethic... I think a good work ethic is FANTASTIC if your working for
other people who appreciate it, but most people don't. Maybe I'm wrong
though... Maybe working hard is BAD for the economy... Time will
tell... One thing I do know is the more effort I put into learning
something, the better I learn it... Maybe "work" and "effort" just
don't go together. I'm trying it out for the long-haul anyways. I'll
be a scientific experiment.

I hope you've enjoyed my fast-food (and work) rant Alexandra (I
actually thought a guy wrote this until I just read you're name...)
lol I'm not sure why though. :D

Maybe work is like poetry though... Too much effort and it could be
screwed up... Unlike learned knowledge which seems to be directly
proportional to positive effort. Maybe I'm too uptight! Screw the
scientific experiment as far as constantly working hard- I'll try half
and half and mentally track which goes right and wrong with each.
That'll be a scientific (observable) experiment.

David Rader II
http://chexed.com/

Suggestive selling is the food industry's version of the impulse sale.
The employee is only doing their job. Say, "Nope, that'll do it" and
move on.
Have you written to complain to all the grocery, department, and
convenience stores about their placing impulse items at the
registers?
I've seen employees fired from McDonald's for not suggestive selling.

Suggestive selling irritates me too, but not when it comes to Taco
Bell offering me a drink. You know, many times I've ordered my food
on lunch break and driven away. A few bites into my food I got
thirsty and said "CRAP, I forgot to get a drink again!"

I actually appreciate the reminder.

Yes, it's easy to say "no thank you" and move on. It's the principal
of the thing, though; that makes me and this person so mad. Doesn't it
make you all mad to be bothered by telemarketers at home even though
you can just as easily say "not interested" and hang up? Thank God for
the Do Not Call Registry!

You can't go anywhere now without cashiers trying to push something
more on you at the register. Go to many stores and you get hit up for
buying a discount card, or to join their savings club, or Reawrd Zone.
It's frustrating, when you just want to get what you want, and get the
hell out of there!

What's sad is the fact that it's not the fault of the poor guy/girl
behind the counter. They're being forced by management to pimp this
crap out. Often, if they don't sell a certain amount, they're fired.

I worked at Best Buy once during the busy holiday season. While
dealing with a line of customers that literally stretches around the
store, you're supposed to ask these frustrated, tired holiday shoppers
if they would: Like to join the Reward Zone, if they would please take
our customer loyalty survey, if they would like to complete their
purchase with a gift card "for that special someone this season," if
they would like to buy the $19.00 product service plan for that $40
espresso maker/video game/remote control, and if they would like to
try 8 risk free issues of a cedrtain magazine (because every
subscription sold is $11 in pure profit for Best Buy). That wasn't
all, though. If the customers turned me down, I was supposed to
present caunter arguments (ie Argue with the customer that it's in
their best interest to purchase this thing that they don't want!).

Is it any wonder why people get SO DAMN FRUSTRATED?!

What's more is that management is convinced that it is in your best
interest to buy these things! So they'll keep asking....Unless good
people step up and say "I'm tired of grinning and bearing this crap."

I completely understand Alexandra's frustration. Hopefully, more
people will stand up and put an end to this idiotic retail trend.

so what does this have to do with pepsi itself i guess i am lost

i like how at burger king, after ordering a value meal, they ask "will
that be large or king size?"
i always ask if they still sell medium size. its just all in good fun.
it's just their job and probably hate saying as much as we hate
hearing it. and by the way, you sound like a real bi*#$.

No one said anything about eye cue points or hearing ability as being
a requirement to work the counter or the drive-thru!

Or you can just say a pleasant, "No, thank you."

I understand what you mean. I say the same thing when I'm finished
ordering. And then they ask me if I want something else. But what
bothers me the most is when you're in the middle of ordering and they
cut you off and tell you your total and ask you to pull up. And it's
not like there was a long silence in between me ordering things. Or,
had they asked if I wanted anything else? NO.

All you have to do is say no Thank you. It's not that hard. I have
been a server for 6 years, working my way through school. I know that
the questions are very annoying that servers ask, but it's our job.
We are in the sales business and it requires questions and
suggestions. We have secret shoppers every month at the restaurant I
work at. If I was to have a secret shopper and i did not suggestive
sell, i would be suspended from my job for a week. So as annoying as
it is, just smile and say no thank you, chances are the person
suggestive selling is just as annoyed by you by having to ask, but
it's a job. . . it pays the bills.

I thought this might be the complaint of ordering a coke and getting a
pepsi with no warning...which by the way, they do taste different...
But this compaint makes no sense to me...As i told someone earlier
today...if this is all you have goign wrong in your life...more power
to you,....but i have bigger problems lol

I cannot believe all the scandal over something that is not done
maliciously and can be stopped with a simple "no, thank you." Good
Lord.

Brought up a practice I have adopted since being shortchanged by an
overworked frazzled Cashier. Every time I hand over cash I myself say
out loud "That's 14.95 and i'm handing you a TWENTY dollars and Ninty
Five cents(emphasis on Twenty dollars and Ninty Five Cents) so others
in line can hear). It's saved me waiting time and embarrassment while
others are in line waiting for the manager to settle the till before
refunding my correct change.And the correct change makes it much
easier for the cashier to figure out the right change (most times).

I worked in customer service for a long time. I wish that what a
customer said was what they actually meant.

Years ago, while working my way through college in a McDonald's
drive-thru, a customer placed an order, I asked, "Is that all for
today?" and they said:

"Yes, and I want a Big Mac."

Read that. The answer to my question of if that was all was "Yes".
They finished their order with the Big Mac, I gave them their total
and they pulled around.

Snappy Customer: "Since you cut me off before I was done, I
need...[additional items]

I asked her if that was all and she said, "Yes." What else was I
supposed to think. One of my customer service axioms has been since
that time: Never believe a customer when they say they're done.

I was never rewarded for suggestive selling. I had too. Period. I
would get marked off if I didn't offer an apple pie or a french fry.
Don't make it harder on the employee than it already is when he or she
is only doing their job.

How hard is it to say, "No, thank you" and move on??

i work at taco bell right now and we are required to upsell a drink. a
simple no dosent take too much breath. we get promotions and mystrey
shoppers. u of all people should know how taco bell works.

Its a combo Al Queda/Communist plot to bring down America, the fast
food workers upselling.

I happen to be a mystery shopper and these employees get rewards to
upsell. This is their job and they never know when they will be
mystery shopped. Sometimes they can even be fired if they don't do
what they are supposed to do. So give them a break - it doesn't take
that much longer to just say "No thank you".

LOL...i totally agree here. Chances are..if you are in a drive though
you are in a hurry. If i wanted an apple pie I would of asked you for
one.

Does this remind anyone of the scene in "Dude, Where's My Car?", where
they're going through the drive through, and the girl keeps saying
"And then?" and they get all pissed off and say "NO AND THEN!"?

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

what a petty complaint

please, get over yourself
there doing their job

How hard is it to have a modicum of civility and say "No thank you" to
the fast food slave who is required to ask you whether you want a
Pepsi? It's not a trick question. It's not like if you answer it
incorrectly your family will be summarily sentenced to death.

Just because you chose to be a rebel when you worked at TB and decided
not to ask the question doesn't mean that you get to make that
decision for anybody else who happens to work there--who may want to
keep the job. While such attempts to sell more product may annoy you,
I'm pretty certain that the folks at TB have done a cost-benefit
analysis accounting for the annoyed and figured out that they make
more money with suggestive-selling--or they wouldn't have it as
policy. So I suspect that you will continue to face this annoyance for
some time to come. If you want attentive, personal service, you may
want to go to a good restaurant with well-trained waitstaff who have
the time and freedom to handle their customers differently.

You know what's almost as annoying as that? When, after every single
item you order, the person says "Is that it?".

"Uh, hi, yes...I'd like a small coffee..."

"Is that it?"

"Um..no...I'd also like a large diet coke...a.."

"Is that it?"

"Uh...NO....I'd like two cinnamon rolls, and...let's see...."

"Is that it?"

It makes me want to rip through the speaker and scream "NO, THAT'S
*NOT IT*....I WANT TO ORDER MORE THINGS...JUST GIVE ME A MINUTE, FOR
THE LOVE OF CHEESE!!!!"

Of course, I usually experience that BEFORE my morning coffee,
so...that may account for my violent tendancies...

You know what's almost as annoying as that? When, after every single
item you order, the person says "Is that it?".

"Uh, hi, yes...I'd like a small coffee..."

"Is that it?"

"Um..no...I'd also like a large diet coke...a.."

"Is that it?"

"Uh...NO....I'd like two cinnamon rolls, and...let's see...."

"Is that it?"

It makes me want to rip through the speaker and scream "NO, THAT'S
*NOT IT*....I WANT TO ORDER MORE THINGS...JUST GIVE ME A MINUTE, FOR
THE LOVE OF CHEESE!!!!"

Of course, I usually experience that BEFORE my morning coffee,
so...that may account for my violent tendancies...

At my store if a customer comes in and I conclude a trnsaction with is
there anything more i can get you they generaly say no. But if I say
would you like a greeting card or a book of stamps most of the time
they say oh yes add a book of stamps or hey I didn't know you had
greeting cards. I'll bet the pepsi question is like that. You may
not have said it but nine times out of ten you will take it anyway.

waa waa call me a wambulance

When you worked at Taco Bell, did you get fired because you did not
suggestive sell? Are you mad at Taco Bell because of that.

I believe that the employees are just doing their job and its silly to
get upset over something SO minor. I would imagine that plenty of
people add onto their order after they say "thats it." Thats why they
ask.

Just think Alexandra maybe one day you might decide at the last minute
to add an item onto your order and then you'll be glad they asked!

In my company, suggestive selling can mean the difference of a
variance in our average ticket by $3 or more. In a week, that can
amount to several thousand dollars in potential revenue.

Just say no, we're not telemarketers or anything...

Maybe it is annoying, also you mentioned that you worked at Taco Bell
ten uyears ago. Did you have a bad experience working there. Does
that have something to do with your being annoyed. If the employee
did not ask the question that they were trained to ask then they would
be written up. You may have chosen not to follow the rules and ask
the suggestive question but the employee is just following the rules.
I think maybe your experience working at Taco Bell maybe have prompt
you to write this letter, unfortunately if you had a bad experience it
sticks. Anyways I agree these questions are annoying, but is it
really too much for you to say no thank you.

"you want fries with that"! What a joke you are. Maybe instead of
going out for fast food, you should stay home and cook. If you worked
in the fast food biz, then you should understand the nature of the
game. Its not the local management at KFC, Burger King, ect -- its
corporate pushing for sales. I hope everytime you go to that place,
they try to upsell you to a value meal. Kudos to that employee for
doing his / her job!

Today I went to Staples to get a new printer to replace our 6 year-old
deskjet. We have a 4-in-1, but it's slow and the ink is more
expensive than a regular, cheapo, plain old printer. All we NEED is a
cheap printer that will print stuff off the computer.

I told the guy at Staples that. We found one, but he asked if I
needed a PRINTER cable, paper, ink cartridges, and a warranty. He
tried to suggestive sell me FOUR extra items, all in a row. I'll
admit that I did say yes to the ink(which they were out of, so I get
$10 off my next purchase!), and paper, which was on sale.

Funny thing is, we each used the term PRINTER CABLE at least 3 times,
as he tried to determine whether or not we needed one. Uh, I told you
I'm replacing a printer, so we've got a cable.

We get home, and my kids go to set it up. Guess what? We need a USB
cable. Which I KNOW we don't have. If he'd have tried to sell me the
right thing, he'd have sold me 3 of the 4 items.

Suggestive selling is done all over.

I agree completely with this person's posting. I worked at Hardee's
for four years and only offered more food (did you want fries with
that? Would you like to try a hot apple pie today?) if a manager was
hovering.

I'm equally annoyed when I order something and before I can even get
the "and a small order of fries, and a small pop" out of my mouth,
they say "is that it?" Often times, I have to pause after my sandwich
order while the person hunts on their register keyboard for the right
button, so I don't want to keep on with my order when they're not
actually listening.

Over the years I read from various sources that suggestive selling
does work according to studies. I just never digged to see if it was
true. Well it is true but the study I'm about to quote supports what
Alexandra and Mr. Helpful have been saying.

In the "Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services", an Austraian
study was published about suggestive selling. The name of the study
was "The Effectiveness of Verbal Prompts on Sales". This was
published about 3 years ago and was the catalyst in a lot of major
corporations implementing and promoting suggestive selling at their
outlets -- especially fast food outlets.

Here is the paragraph before the conclusion which TOTALLY supports
what Alexandra has been saying. "From a managerial standpoint, it
should be noted that verbal prompts can be a promising and
cost-efficient sales promotion tool. Nevertheless, it should not be
forgotten that prompting can lead to resistance from both employees
and customers. Therefore, special care should be taken to overcome
this reactance. To mitigate employees' reactance to prompting, clear
rules as to when sales should be prompted should be given, while at
the same time allowing staff to use discretion when not to prompt
(e.g. in the case of regular customers, fellow employees or
children)."

Another example of using discretion is when a customer like Alexandra
says "and that's it". If that's not a verbal clue not to prompt then
I don't know what is. In this study, as it relates to Alexandra's
letter, the key quote here is "while at the same time allowing staff
to use discretion when not to prompt".

Here is the conclusion of the study. "In conclusion, prompts can
only achieve their full potential, if they are integrated in overall
human resource and sales training strategy. Nevertheless, they can be
a very valuable marketing tool. In fact, as a result of the obvious
effectiveness of verbal prompting and its efficiency compared to
alternative sales promotion instruments, such as price promotions, the
fast food company involved in this experiment has been using
suggestive selling ever since."

Im really excited here.

I missed the news. The war is over!

It must be if people are actually whining and abusing fastfood workers
because they had the audacity to take an extra half minute to ask if
they waned a pepsi.

WHAT EVIL PEOPLE THE FAST FOOD WORKERS ARE!!!

THEY MUST BE STOPPED OR THE TERRORISTS WIN!

I'd like to jump in and offer a perspective here borne of a veritable
ton of experience in this area.

I dont think the actual act of upselling is where companies miss the
boat. After all, it's been pointed out by a previous commenter that,
in a lot of cases, when done properly, suggestive selling actually
does the customer a service by reminding them of a product they might
forgotten to get. In addition, suggestive selling a new product does
have the effect of informing folks of a new product.

But companies do a HORRIBLE job of explaining this concept to the very
people who have to implement it--their employees. Most are told
exactly what MrStoneCold is told--that they have to do it in case a
mystery shopper comes along or, even better, in case the district
manager comes along. So, to the employees, it's just another thing
that they have to do so that someone other than themselves looks good.
And that's just plain wrong.

Suggestive selling is a service to the customer when done correctly.
The fact that the employee who helped Alexandra couldnt interpret and
work with the cues she gave him simply shows how badly this customer
service tool is managed in this particular outlet.

Imagine helping a customer who was really a secret shopper.

As a stockholder of this company I would be dismayed if this location
did not try to ad profit to their business...I'm not an economics
major but isn't that what drives a capatalistic society?

I remember complaining about suggestive selling when I worked at
Burger King several years ago. I was told quite succinctly, "That's
your job."

Don't get upset at the clerks who ask, 'would you likes fries with
that?' or 'is there anything else I can get you?' They are just doing
their job. Even expressing your upset to the managers won't change
anything, because they are simply doing their job, also.

A letter like this, however, sent to where hopefully someone in
marketing with see it, is a step in the right direction.

Just say "no thanks." There's no need to go into a tirade when 2
simple words will do.

I ate with a friend last night at a local bar/grill(not a chain). The
waitress asked us twice if we would like another drink(not a refill on
a soft drink), an appetizer, and dessert. We were not annoyed or
offended, because we come to expect this from a waiter or waitress.
We expect it so much that we can say, "No thanks" without even
breaking our conversation. We expect it so much that we perfect the
shake of the head while chewing--we don't even bother to use words.
Think about the last time you went to a place with servers. I'll bet
your server tried to suggestive sell you.

I do agree with OP, though. If you make it clear that you don't want
anything else, the order-taker should just give your total and get
your food.

I worked at McDonald's through college(over 20 years ago), and we were
told to suggest something that the customer hadn't ordered, such as a
dessert or a drink, or gift certificates during the Christmas and
Halloween seasons. We didn't have "upsizing" at the time, although if
the customer didn't specify which size fries or Coke, we were told to
ask "Is that a large?"

And we would have been throttled if a manager had heard us ask, "Is
that all?" We were told, correctly, that that is an insult to the
customer to suggest that their order isn't large enough. The
difference--with suggestive selling or upselling, you're pointing out
that the customer may have overlooked something that they might want.
At least there's the *possibility* that the customer just forgot to
order the fries or drink. Or didn't know about the new flavor of
shake.

I understand the concept of suggestive selling, and sometimes I'll get
the item suggested.

On the other hand, I HATE "Is that all?" I've just ordered food for
three people, and it would take you more than two hours to earn the
amount of money I'm going to hand over, but you have the gall to ask,
"Is that all?" ? Depending on my mood, I'll give an icy "Yes", or
"Didn't I order enough?" or "Am I not spending enough?"

Suggest, yes. I'll even settle for "Anything else?"
But do NOT ask me "Is that all?"

Oddly enough, I cannot recall one incident when another item was
suggested to me in a fast food restaurant. I wouldn't mind though, as
long as it took only one 'no' to end the suggestion.

In general, I really don't mind being offered other products.
Depending on my mood, I can be easily persuaded to purchase something
else. However, I cannot stress enough that if I say 'no', that means
I don't want to hear another word.

I agree that the employees probably hate this practice more than the
consumer, especially if they are not benefiting from it in any way.

Managers get their employees to suggestive sell because a manager's
outlet is graded, in part, if their employees do it or don't do it.
Like mentioned before it's because of the emergence of the "mystery
shopper" that a lot of businesses (including fast food chains and
retail outlets) are gravitating to.

I find it very annoying also. But, like mentioned before by another
commentator, it does work. It's considered an important added source
of revenue. I don't mind it too much if the suggestive sell relates,
in a way, to what I've purchased. What I can't stand is with it has
nothing to do with what I bought.

In retail some chains have what is known as "the item of the month" or
"the item of the week". This is the most annoying type of suggestive
selling because 95% of the time the items have nothing to do with what
the customer just bought. Corporate takes a dim view at stores and
districts that don't do well selling these items and they are "marked
down" for it.

Another annoying type of suggestive selling done at a fast food joint
is when, before you even order, they ask something like "would you
like to try a combo meal for the day?". If I want a combo meal I'll
order it. The employee should wait until the customer orders what
they want and if they are an item short of the combo meal then I can
understand doing a suggestive sell on that.

As much as you hate being given the "sales pitch", much more than
likely the employee hates doing it even more.

Studies have shown that upselling and suggestive selling does work.
If it didn't work they wouldn't do it as often. Obviously the
benefits outweigh the negatives.

The other poster obviously knows what he is talking about.

All you have to do is say "no".

hmm interesting topic and right from planetfeedback employees i am
assuming, so here goes:

I am an assistant manager at a burger king in canada and yes as
managers we are and we expect our crew to....UPSELL or SUGGESTIVE
SELL, now as you think it does annoy you (the customer) i can
understand that but i will explain why we do it now and as you said
ten years ago, maybe you as crew didnt get the whole story from your
managers, but in burger king land, we do have contests where we get
potential mystery shoppers that require you to annoy the customer
(j/k) i mean to upsell or suggestive sell as we lose points and can
quite possibly fail a potential mystery shopper visit, and believe it
or not, those contests come straight from our burgerking headquarters
in canada AND coca-cola!

Now as annoying as it may be, customers obviously wouldnt know this,
as this is just within the restaurant and if we pass we win prizes...
i.e. movie passes, potential trips.. and when coca-cola used to
sponsor that in conjunction with umbro (soccer sponsor), we used to
get cool prizes for the person who upsold the most king size combos ..
etc, etc!

And i would think that all fast food restaurants have similar
contests... and mystery shoppers actually go to more than fast food
restaurants, since they are mystery, we have to follow certain
criteria or hope we dont fail and thus have our jobs on the line!

Since most fast food restaurants have either coke or pepsi i would
think that even pepsi sponsors similar contests and can be a pass/fail
mystery shopper audit as well, because that is what it is, an informal
audit with which if failed can have someone from corporate offices
coming down to find out why you couldnt pass a simple mystery shopper
visit!

I hope this helps explain why fast food restaurants upsell and such
...