ABC Warehouse

My wife and I are starting to look for appliances and just wanted a general feel for what was out there. We decided to hit up Menards, Lowes, Home Depot, Best Buy and a specialty appliance store: ABC Warehouse.
I knew going in it was going to be a ‘commissioned sales environment’. So my wife and I decided to play a game, how long can we walk around the store without being bothered. We played a game of Cat and Mouse. As soon as we walked in we noticed a gap and took it all the way back to the store. When we noticed the vultur… I mean sales associates descending on our location we used appliances to block them. They went down one aisle we would wait until they were at least half way then cut down another. Always keeping something in between us and them. Finally we thought we were alone and one creeped up on us.
At every other one of the stores we listed the conversation went like this. «Can I help you?» «No» «Ok, we’ll be right over here».
Not at ABC Warehouse.
«Can I help you?»
«Nope, just looking.»
«Well what are you looking for».
«We are just looking at appliances.»
«What specific appliances, we have some great specials on.» «Perhaps you didn’t hear us, we are JUST LOOKING.»
«Sure, so when are you going to buy your appliances»
«We don’t know, we are just looking» …
All the meanwhile the sales associates not understanding the standard Americans’ personal space. Had I owned a rape whistle this was the opportunity to use it.
If I was a college female I can imagine this is what the dancefloor of a club feels like.
Then we made the mistake of assuming that the associates talk to each other. Not the case. The above scenario repeated at least once more before we decided: Fuck it, any edge they had on being just an appliance store was quickly erased by the shopping environment. The last time we went used car shopping we had less problems than we had in ABC Warehouse. (Yes ABC Warehouse execs, your sales tactics are scummier than those of used car salesmen. If a rapist and a used car salesmen had a child they would be the perfect employee for ABC Warehouse).
Not just that, by time we got comparing prices to the big box stores the prices weren’t any better. Coupled with the sales environment I wonder how stores like this stay in business.
I have never been shopping anywhere that the experience of just setting foot in the store was so bad that it made me not ever want to set foot into a similar store again.
If there are any small non-​chain appliance stores in the area I apologize that I will not be patronizing your businesses based solely on my experience at ABC Warehouse. If you want to get my attention and possibly my business all you have to do is start an advertising campaign: «Muskegon Appliances: Exactly the opposite of ABC Warehouse». Put it on billboards. Make it your slogan.
Until then we’ll be shopping elsewhere.