Bell ringers, perfume sprayers and the steady drumbeat of holiday music may be annoying to some shoppers. But what really brings out their grinchier instincts are stores that fail to open all the checkout lanes and then use pushy retail tactics when shoppers finally make it to the cash register. Customers don't like being pressured to open store credit cards or being asked for personal information. And they really object to being hounded to buy extended warranties, according to a nationally representative survey by the Consumer Reports National Research Center.

The survey was conducted as part of Consumer Reports' annual "Dear Shopper" campaign that highlights holiday gotchas and shopping traps. This year Consumer Reports had an assist from its sister Web site, Consumerist, which collected a list of annoyances from its readers. When the list was taken to the public at large, those surveyed were in agreement. Here are the top gripes about retail practices:

• 72% Stores that don't open all the checkout lanes;
• 68% Fake "sales". If something is always 20% off, it's not on sale;
• 67% Coupons that exclude almost everything in the store;
• 62% Being hounded with the extended warranty sales pitch;
• 58% Cashiers that ask for your phone number or other personal information;
• 56% In-store prices that do not match the same company's on-line prices;
• 53% Employees required to up-sell you at the register;
• 52% Pushing store credit cards at the register;
• 50% Mail in rebates;
• 48% Stores that require loyalty cards to get discounts;
• 43% Stores that have a minimum purchase requirement for credit cards;
• 26% Receipt checkers.

 “Consumers have told us that they just want a hassle-free and convenient shopping experience," said Jim Guest, president and CEO of Consumers Union. "We really hope this list of holiday annoyances is a wake-up call for the retail industry.”

Tomorrow's USA Today will feature the latest "Dear Shopper" ad about "pushy holiday-season practices." In previous years we've tried to educate consumers about gifts cards (too many go unused), consumer debt (13.5 million consumers are still carrying debt from last year's holiday) and extended warranties (usually not needed—or recommended).

When we asked shoppers about the number one non-retail practice that made them grumpy almost a third said the crowds (29%) followed by difficulty parking (28%), sales people spraying perfume (16%) and bell ringers outside stores (13%). Surprisingly, few folks are annoyed by that holiday music—only three percent said that was their top pet peeve. Fa-la-la-la-la indeed.

What you can do

• Don't get snagged by those gift card gotchas
• Resist sales counter store-card pitches
• Just say no to giving personal information at the checkout
• Why you don't need an extended warranty

—Mary H.J. Farrell