Here's something you might be interested in.
I went into a Hallmark. The second I walked in, a lady in her 40s, from the other end of the store, yells "Hello sir, how are you?"
I didn't look up for a few seconds, until it dawned on me...she's actually yelling to me. I smiled.
Now, why would you greet someone so far away, when you have two customers?
I know, during their training, they were probably told to. But I think you have to realize, that probably means if you aren't helping someone and you're just standing there. But not yelling. It probably scared the crap out of the woman she was helping. And, it made me feel uncomfortable. Am I supposed to yell back, "I'm doing great. Just looking for Christmas cards. Do you sell cards here? Oh yeah, that's 80% of what you sell."
They don't greet me when I walk into Vons, and I like it that way.
I dunno. Women tell me I get mad at little things. But, it's just...well, here I go again...when I finally bought a card, and she's counting back my $16.74, she doesn't need to count out each penny, nickle, and dime. Just throw it all in my hand and say "Here's your change, thank you." I'll either assume you're right, or I'll count it myself. I don't need you to slowly do it.
And, just to show I don't complain about everything, I have no problem if I'm at the register, and they answer the phone. Some of my friends say "You should help the customers that are actually spending money, not on the phone." But, I assume it's more important to let a caller know they have reached the business they intended, and not a wrong number. And I take no offense. I just hope they make it quick, or tell the person to hold, and finish my transaction.
A childhood friend of mine has been working for the post office for the last 15 years. When he started working up front with customers, he said they tell him to ask "Do you need any stamps today?" I joked, "They always will, with the prices raised 3 cents every year." But what's weird is that they told him, "If the customer doesn't want stamps, you then ask them if they need any postal supplies, like tape or boxes." We both agreed this is ridiculous. Hell, when I worked at McDonald's in high school, they told us to "up-sell only one item, otherwise, you appear pushy. (and you don't want to ask 'would you like fries with that?' and if they say no, continue with 'what about one of those apple pies, that will burn the roof of your mouth so bad you can sue us for a million bucks.")
He decided he wasn't going to do that, after a few customers said "If I needed supplies, I would've told you!"
The 4th customer he didn't say that to, turned out to be an inspector. He was written up.
I went into a Hallmark. The second I walked in, a lady in her 40s, from the other end of the store, yells "Hello sir, how are you?"
I didn't look up for a few seconds, until it dawned on me...she's actually yelling to me. I smiled.
Now, why would you greet someone so far away, when you have two customers?
I know, during their training, they were probably told to. But I think you have to realize, that probably means if you aren't helping someone and you're just standing there. But not yelling. It probably scared the crap out of the woman she was helping. And, it made me feel uncomfortable. Am I supposed to yell back, "I'm doing great. Just looking for Christmas cards. Do you sell cards here? Oh yeah, that's 80% of what you sell."
They don't greet me when I walk into Vons, and I like it that way.
I dunno. Women tell me I get mad at little things. But, it's just...well, here I go again...when I finally bought a card, and she's counting back my $16.74, she doesn't need to count out each penny, nickle, and dime. Just throw it all in my hand and say "Here's your change, thank you." I'll either assume you're right, or I'll count it myself. I don't need you to slowly do it.
And, just to show I don't complain about everything, I have no problem if I'm at the register, and they answer the phone. Some of my friends say "You should help the customers that are actually spending money, not on the phone." But, I assume it's more important to let a caller know they have reached the business they intended, and not a wrong number. And I take no offense. I just hope they make it quick, or tell the person to hold, and finish my transaction.
A childhood friend of mine has been working for the post office for the last 15 years. When he started working up front with customers, he said they tell him to ask "Do you need any stamps today?" I joked, "They always will, with the prices raised 3 cents every year." But what's weird is that they told him, "If the customer doesn't want stamps, you then ask them if they need any postal supplies, like tape or boxes." We both agreed this is ridiculous. Hell, when I worked at McDonald's in high school, they told us to "up-sell only one item, otherwise, you appear pushy. (and you don't want to ask 'would you like fries with that?' and if they say no, continue with 'what about one of those apple pies, that will burn the roof of your mouth so bad you can sue us for a million bucks.")
He decided he wasn't going to do that, after a few customers said "If I needed supplies, I would've told you!"
The 4th customer he didn't say that to, turned out to be an inspector. He was written up.