Here is a transcript of my conversation at GNC today:
Employee 1: "Hi, how can I help you?"
Me: "I'm looking for Isopure."
Employee 1: "Okay, let me see... is it GNC brand?"
Me: "No, I think the brand name is Isopure."
Employee 1: "Okay, is it this maybe? *points at another GNC product*"
Me: "No, here it is." *picks vanilla Isopure*
Employee 1: "Have you used it before?
Me: "Yes, I have."
Employee 1: "Have you been working out for a long time?"
Me: "I was before, and I'm getting back into it. I really just want to buy this and get on my way."
Employee 1: "Have you heard of these GNC multivitamins?"
Me: "No, I think I'm okay with just the protein powder."
Employee 1: "These vitamins can really help get you started.
Me: Can I just buy this?"
Employee 1: "These GNC vitamins are just $45."
Me: "Can I just buy this?"
Employee 1: "These other vitamins are also really good?"
Me, more sternly: "Can I just buy this protein powder please?"
Employee 1: "Sure." *scans Isopure* "Now, what's your first name?"
Me: *provides*
Employee 1: "And your last name?"
Me: *provides*
Employee 1: "And your phone number."
Me: *provides*
Employee 1: "And your email?"
Me: "No, thanks."
Employee: "Without your email I can't sign you up for the program."
Me: "That's okay."
Employee 1: "You won't be able to get $5 back on your next purchase."
Me, wondering why anyone would come here more than once: "That's okay. Can I just buy this?"
Employee 1: "And if you don't sign up for our rewards program, you can't get 3% off on rewards."
Me: "That's fine. Can I just get this?"
Employee 1: "If you don't sign up, you'll have to use your receipt for any returns."
Me: "Can I just buy this?"
Employee 2: "Are you using this for post work out or meal replacement?"
Me: "Post work out."
Employee 2: "Okay, because you know you can't use it for meal replacement because it's an isolate."
Me: "Yeah, I know, can I just buy this?"
Employee 1: "Sure, total is ____. Insert the card when the green light turns on."
Me: "Okay."
Employee 1: "I hope you change your mind on the loyalty program."
Me: "Oh, that's okay."
Employee 1 puts flier in my hand and I walk away.
I just don't understand. I walked in knowing exactly what product I wanted. It should have been a 30 second interaction. Instead, we were there for 10 minutes, being hounded to buy products that I was clear I had absolutely no interest in. We ended up taking the product back, not because we had an issue with the product, but because we did not want to support this type of business practice. I have had good experiences with GNC in the past, but this experience has soured me on the whole brand. I don't know if the issue is at the local management level or a corporate level, or if I just happened to walk in during the shift of an extremely pushy salesmen that is not reflective of the business as a whole. But there IS an issue.