I found that was a big issue with retail too. The head office's policy screwed over the little tchotchke shop I worked in for a few months back in university. They insisted that we immediately ask customers if we could help them find something, which on its own is FINE...but they also wanted us to stick to customers like remoras on shark butts, try to up-sell as much as possible, FOLLOW PEOPLE AROUND THE STORE (and this was a small store so it was VERY obvious) - basically they had us acting like the worst kinds of aggressive asshole used-car-salesman-stereotypes.

In the end I got downsized (I sold plenty of stuff but it was large volumes of cheap stuff (incense sticks and holders, tea candles and pretty little boxes, etc.) , not the big pricey shit) and the store closed three months later.

tl;dr employees aren't the problem. Hell, I can't even call the out-of-touch eager-beaver of a damnfool manager a "problem" as such, because she was tying herself in knots to please the raging jerks at head office. I still think she was a cowardly shit for picking on me every time head office gave her grief, but she didn't deserve to deal with the grues on the phone no matter how much of an airhead she was.