This used to be such a fabulous mall. I have been coming here since it was an outdoor mall, and have enjoyed watching it grow through the years.
Over the past several years the folks at the kiosks in the mall have gotten more and more pushy. They offer you a "free sample" and then when you politely decline they continue harassing you. This places the customers of the mall in an uncomfortable position. We don't want to be rude, and they force us to repeatedly decline. For folks who don't know any better they reach to accept the free sample and the salespeople coerce them over to their kiosk where things get even more uncomfortable and pushy.
Don't go near Neiman Marcus or Dillard's on the top level! The people at the new Lioness store are just obnoxious. They call across the entire area where the floor opens to the level below to try to get people to come into their store. "Dear! Dear!" the guy calls out. If you ignore them they keep calling and calling. How sad is that? The Orogold store was the same. I always avoided that whole side of that level because I knew they would jump out at me as I passed. On the top level heading toward Charming Charlie's is a kiosk that is much the same, so I don't even go to that part of the mall anymore. On the lower level near the Walking Shoe store are two more that make people VERY uncomfortable. These people are relentless! It reminds me of a bad car dealership experience.
I simply don't understand why the mall leasing agents allow these pushy owners of kiosks into the mall. I remember when there were many kiosks and those folks wouldn't bother the shoppers. They were kind and waited for folks WHO WERE INTERESTED in their products to stop at the stations and inquire/purchase. And they always seemed busy. Now we are bombarded and put in an uncomfortable position!
I wonder how the larger fixed stores feel about people avoiding those areas because the mall is letting such rude, pushy owners into the mix? It truly cheapens the whole shopping experience. I have watched mall attendance decline sharply over the past few years. Painting the mall the latest fad gray and changing the flooring to gray won't fix the problem (now the mall looks cold and uninviting - what a supreme waste of money). The problem is the kiosk owners. I have so many friends and family members who no longer go to Scottsdale Fashion Square because of this.