Why can't store employees let me shop in peace?

In Asia culture difference. They ask. You say you need no help. You pick up something put it under your arm & here they come running with a basket or want to hold it for you so you can buy more. You look like a money spender to them. Solution when shopping wear your old flip flops & cloths. Dress down. Have a few mend spots on your cloths shopping. They consentrate on who they think has money to spend.

You are ACTING like a thief. Asking if you need help is an excuse to keep an eye on you.

They are under pressure to sell as well, and are given ridiculous sales goals every day; some are paid based on sales.

rnaybe they need to look busy, i would just say no thanks and keep shopping

Employees -are- trained in theft-prevention techniques. Some stores have a much bigger problem with shoplifting and their employees are even more careful.

Sadly, they are taught to suspect certain kinds of people more than others. That's what you call 'profiling'.

There used to be a huge used bookstore in San Francisco, in the Tenderloin district (bad neighborhood). I spent a lot of time there It was a big dusty, musky-smelling barn of a place with books of all kinds including old collectors' items. There was only one guy working there, behind the cash register. He never even looked up when I came in.

But I went there once with a friend, and for some reason the guy went crazy when he saw him. Don't know why. He wasn't black or anything. But he almost followed my friend around! He told him if he found anything he liked, to bring it up to the counter and leave it there, not to walk around the store with books. And when Rick (my friend) went way into the back of the store the guy got really nervous! I don't know what it was, but I didn't have it and Rick did!

You ought to be able to tell sales people that you're just browsing, and you don't need any help but you'll call them if you need help. And then they should leave you alone. But I don't know. Retail is crazy today.

They will watch people they suspect are thieves, yes.