We weren't encouraged to be outright fraudulent BUT we were asked to.be REALLY shady in our tactics to get people to sign up. We had to ask three times EVEN IF a customer sternly said FIRST THING before we even got a word in edgewise that they would walk out if they were asked at any point in the transaction--and they did. Word got around about us and our hard sell tactics with the cards and PA's. We only pulled this sick stunt if there was a manager nearby, otherwise, we respected their wishes if they were upfront with us about not wanting to hear about the card like a decent human being. We had to be careful because people were written up if they did not ask EVEN IF the customer explicitly said "DO NOT ask me about the card". It did not matter!
We also badgered our customers who didn't have or didn't know their SSN for an IRS tax ID. These people were usually immigrants who didn't speak English. That was a "bright idea" from the district manager. I was like, who carries around their taxes? The sad part was that some of the people who didn't have a SSN dutifully came back a day later (or even an hour later on the same day) with their taxes. Because of the language barrier, it would often take about a half hour for them to do the credit app. We were just wasting their time and the time of the customers lining up behind them, which quite often, would leave their cart and walk out in frustration of waiting so long. Almost all of them signed up and very few of them were approved. They probably didn't know what we were doing but I can assure you that they probably were thinking, "why do I have to bring my taxes or personal information to Sears when I don't have to at other stores?".
The managers licked their chops when back to school season rolled around, because we were around a lot of community colleges with votech programs. Lots of impressionable young minds. They wanted us to talk about how these students could build their credit with a Sears card. Almost all of them signed up and few were approved. We were just wasting their time too.
Senior citizens on a fixed income were nothing but dollar signs to management. Talk Grandma in to getting her $15 Laura Scott shirt for free if she applied for and got approved for a Sears card. Or, senior citizens who were caught in a bind because their refrigerator or some other appliance died after 20-30 years of faithful service. Ooooh, the managers saw OPPORTUNITY! Get them to sign up for the Sears card. Get them to finance it! Get them talked in to buying the protection agreement which is HALF the cost of the appliance for a 5yr plan and a THIRD of the cost for a 3yr plan!
It was quite embarrassing. Sometimes we were called out by another customer waiting nearby about how shameful it was that we were asking a frail old lady for her social security number or trying to get somebody who didn't speak English into signing up for a credit card. I totally agreed with them, but we had to ask REGARDLESS and PUSH REAL HARD to get people to apply or our job was on the line.
Is it any wonder why Sears went down the drain? I mean, there are many other reasons, but NOBODY liked the hard-sell tactics with the credit, rewards and protection agreements. People want their shopping experience to be pleasant and easygoing. They don't want to be badgered, they don't want to be asked to buy or sign up for things they do not want, and they don't want to argue their case or explain their reasoning when you ask them to sign up for or buy something when they have already said no.