k1ng

I work at Gap as a sales associate. I work there part time and go to school full time.

We are encouraged to greet each customer as they come into the store. I try to mix up what I say, so that I don't sound too repetitive. Some of the most common phrases I use are:

"Hi, How are you doing today?"
"Hi, Welcome to Gap"

or if I missed them come in and I see them browsing already I will use:

"How is everything working out for you?"
"Finding everything ok?"
"Can I help you find anything in particular today?"

I know that I *should* be asking more open ended questions, but I don't always feel like actually helping people.

Anyways, back to the subject at hand. I often find myself reflexively responding to people without actually listening to their response. For example:

Me: "How are you doing today?"
Customer: "I'm just looking."
Me: "Good to hear that."

I responded to their answer automatically assuming that they would say the usual, "I'm doing well, thank you."

I'm not the only one that is guilty of this. The customers will do the same thing to me. Sometimes I will try and change the wording around on a phrase they are used to hearing to give it a different meaning to see if they are giving me an automated response or if they are actually listening to me. (I get bored sometimes.)

Is anyone else guilty of giving automated responses? Why do you think we do this? Is it because we just don't care what the person has to say? Any ideas on how I/we can break this cycle?

I don't feel that it is appropriate to respond to, "How are you doing today?" with, "Well, I'm actually having a bad day. You see, first off, I knicked my chin today while shaving, and then I had a fight with my girlfriend about whether . . . " Most people (friends excluded) do not actually want to hear about your day. I know, as a sales associate, I don't really want to.

How can we find the middle ground between automated responses and giving up too much personal information?

-k1ng

Cynthetiq

it's not about information. it's simple social graces we need to step thru in order to aclimate into the social setting.

it has nothing to do with withholding personal information.

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animosity

people are not ready for such genious. people really think you are interested in them when you greet them and smile. the best way to avoid this is to ignor the customer.... when i worked at gap you would never catch me saying, "welcome to "the" gap." i would just look at them and acnowlege them with a nod. or maybe say "can i help you find something?" this way there is no responce other than "no"

so... just stop being so nice and you will fix the problem from your end.

k1ng

Maybe "personal information" is not the phrase I should have used. Maybe something more along the lines of 'unnecessary information'. I hope you see my point...

Prince

From a non-American raised customer's point of view, I have had a hard time getting used to the "how are you doing?" question. I feel weird saying "fine, thanks" when my day's been shit so far. If they don't really want to know, why ask? Guess it's just one of these weird social quirks of our society...

I feel most comfortable when the cashier doesn't speak at all. Run the item through the register, I'll wipe my card in the reader, punch in my code, you hand over the receipt, and I'll be on my merry way.

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wilbjammin

The most self-depreciating experience of my life was working in retail, and the automation of social interaction was a large part of it. I did exactly what you did to try to push the envelope a little, and it invariably did nothing to change anything.

Also, people tend to leave you alone when you read Nietzsche's "The Antichrist" in the break room.

In the end, people want to feel safe, and strangers aren't safe.

So just buy your stuff and leave, consumers. That's how I felt as an employee, and that's how I feel when I go shopping.

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hu-man

Well, I like it if there's a connection with the cashier. A geniune connection, not just a fake smile and a howareyou. When the cashier's happy it makes me feel welcome, and there's nothing better than walking out of a store with a grin because it was a pleasant experience. I'm not talking about sharing your life story, just acknowledgement (sp?) and mutual respect. If I'm being friendly I most often get better service, and if I genuinely say thanks afterwards being helped, I know I'm leaving not only happier myself, but I've also made the day just a little bit better for the cashier.
This almost only applies to small stores, however. In supermarkets and big chain stores, the employee often don't have the time for a smile, and you want to move fast to get through anyway, so the customers behind you don't have to wait. You don't want to start a conversation with a supermarket cashier with an old lady, a woman with a 2-year-old and a couple of teenagers in line behind you...

Fearless_Hyena

I never realized how funny the phrase "have a nice day" (spoken by cashiers while you're checking out) was until I went to Europe -- all my non-american friends thought what was a strange custom. What does having a nice day have to do with completing the transaction?? Sure it's a friendly thing to say, but the customary time and place (at the cash register) does seem a bit strange when you think about it...

And on the flip side of the "automated responses" thing, sometimes when it seems the responses are going to be automated when a salesperson greets me, I'll say something strange just to keep them on their toes. Like you said, half the time they don't even notice

ShaniFaye

I know it messes with some people and I dont do it on purpose...but its not uncommon for me to do this....I will go in somewhere, store, resturant etc and the person working there will say their variation of Hi how are you today and I'll look them dead in the eye and say I'm just crappy today how are you? The looks on these peoples faces are hilarious....they have no response ready because as the original poster said they were looking for the standard, Im fine thanks

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high_way

i enjoy going into shops and having little conversations with the people working there. i will just talk about menial shit like how my day was and the like, or just have a joke and a bit of a laugh. if i am talking with a hot chick i will have a bit of a flert aswell... for you know, just incase i run into them later. when i worked in retail i hated the people that would make no effort at all or just say nothing.

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onodrim

I work in a bakery, not quite retail, but in the same general category. I've always tried to be genuinely nice to customers who come in, and carry on real conversations with them. I enjoy the interaction, and it makes work that much more pleasant for me when a customer comes in and you know their name, and they know yours and you actually care about the other person. However, I have often had people give me an automated response when they're responding to me, or just not respond at all except to take their product and leave.

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feelgood

Honestly, I've dealt with so many retail salesperson that I really wanted them to leave me fuckin alone. I'm browsing through clothes and electronics and I don't want anybody to come upto me and interrupt my browsing. If I want to ask questions or need help, I'll find a goddamn salesperson!

Back in the old days when a salesperson comes up to a customer and ask the customer how they were doing and if they needed help, it was geniue. But nowaday, it's required of a salesperson just so that they can enchance the image of the store and to me, that's just plain fuckin sad.

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ratbastid

Boy, especially places like Circuit City, where you can smell the commission desperation dripping off of them. I feel like the mark in a con game when I walk in that place. All the salesdroids are playing "who can separate him from his money first".

amonkie

Guilty as charged. In my defense, I'm almost completely deaf unless I'm wearing my hearing aid, and it's essential to my survival to use automated responses. My chances of actually hearing what a retail employee is saying are extremely low, especially around entrances and the register. Like you mentioned, there seems to be a series of canned responses that will arise in these situations. After working at Aeropostale, I was even better at predicting responses, which made me more prone to falling into the trap as well. So to all of you who I didn't pay attention to, my apologies.

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water_boy1999

Damn....a bunch of player haters in this thread!!! It is cracking me up!!! Salespeople in retail are typically at high school, college age where they haven't developed a sense of salesmanship yet. Go easy on them. They are just trying to earn a living too.

I have been selling for ages it seems. I have sold shoes, cutlery, sporting goods, people, and have sold in many types of environments. If one thing never changes, it is the automated response. When I worked at Footlocker while in High School, we were required to greet everyone as they walked through the door. We also had actual "sales-training" where we learned to be informative on the products we sold. If someone came in and I said, "Hello" and they replied with, "I'm just looking", I had to almost bite my tongue from answering back with, "I didn't ask 'WHAT" you were doing, I asked HOW are you doing". But, I would always follow up with, "Great, let me know if I can answer any questions for you."

Nowadays, I think it is more of a hassle because people aren't properly trained in the products they are selling. I too get annoyed with salespeople when they try to earn my buck and I know more about the product than they do. I feel that other consumers are having the same types of experiences, so the trust factor in salespeople is slowly sinking into the abyss!

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raeanna74

When people ask me "How is your day going?" or "How are you doing?" I really try to answer more candidly but not too negative. Something like... "Oh the kids are sure keeping me busy." or "Well the weather is terrible but at least...we're getting the rain we need/the snow is beautiful." Something that's relavant and breaks the other person out of their canned response. I hate saying "Good" as a response since it would not be grammatically correct. If I don't want to interact I try to say a simple "It's going well. Thank you."

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Charlatan

The Gap (and other stores) have "greeter" because it is a fact that people who are greeted will be less likely to shoplift than people who enter ungreeted...

I find that I get good service from small community based stores rather than corporate chain stores for the simple reason that in a community based store I am more likely to be meeting the store owner rather than a minimum wage employee...

As for automated responses specifically... it's all about social graces. I start a phone conversation with Hello and then ask how the person is doing and then either proceed to make a bit of small talk or head directly into why I called.

It is just the polite thing to do.

Ulitmately I don't think the shop person care if I'm having a good day or not...

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Lokus

I'm guilty. I don't really enjoy talking to salesperson so I just respond with whatever seems appropriate. They rarely seem to want to talk either so that's fine by me. Although, at my dining hall I get to know all the people working there since I go once or twice a day.

Oh yeah, if someone asks me how my day is going, and I'm having a bad day, I'll tell them but won't elaborate further unless they're a friend.

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teriaki

Coming from a retail background myself, and *especially* when I was cashiering, "Have a nice day" was a very polite dismissal-when a lot of times I'd rather had said "Fuck off now. Yes, you."

It IS a silly custom, but here in the states, that's what you do

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meembo

Automated responses show how much you DON'T care, IMO

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taliendo

I've worked in retail quite a bit, and I can tell you its very hard not to fall into an automated response if you're working in a large store during a busy time. The problem is that the corporations promote such behavior - it makes the customer feel as if they're getting some kind of quality service (with a smile) while they're really just getting dicked out of their dollars.

Having worked in smaller retail locations showed me how interpersonal the relationships between regular customers and the service or retail provider can be. In fact, I've made a couple of good, lasting friendships with people that I first met as customers of my place of business.

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Lunchbox7

I used to work in a pizzeria and as I would answer the phone I had a few weird greetings just to mess with peoples heads. These might include:
"Montes Pizzeria, God speaking"
"Montes Pizzeria, We're big and cheesy"
etc. I hvae only ever had a tiny handfull of people actually notice what Im saying. It cracks me up.

krwlz

I work in retail, and do the same thing... Doesnt bother me at all.

high_way

easy way to break automatic responses... start a convosation. i did it yesterday when i went to the cd store. i was looking for a cd and i happened to be next to one of the chicks who worked there (who was hot mind you), and she said the usual 'hi hows it going, can i help you?' and i said nah its all good (or something to that effect) and then proceded to have a good convo with her (cant remember exact dialogue). was very easy.... then contiuned when i went to make my purchase.

also, i went out on a job today and i struck up a conversation with the chick who worked there... again quite easy. just asked how her day was and talk about what we are doing on the weekend (was in another town or i probs would have made a move).

so yes, it is very easy to break automatic responses... in my opinion anyway.

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losthellhound

I used to do that all the time. I worked at Business Depot as a computer consultant, and company policy was that we had to greet everyone who stepped into the department..

From the customer's point of view that means that if they wander the store they get greeted with pretty much the same greeting five or six times, and if they wander around enough, they get greeted by several reps in the same departments.. Angers alot of customers

From my point of view it meant that I was saying the same thing hundreds of times an hour.. I hated it, and it sounded fake to me really quickly..

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Iliftrocks

I tend to auto respond to stuff, then I automatically feel like an idiot:

Waiter: "Have a nice meal"
Me: "you too"....
(You know, the next time you eat, ummm, grabs fork and stuffs food down to stop the stupidity)

Wife: "I wish you would listen when I talk to you"
Me: "you too"....
(snxxx, what's on TV?)

You get the picture, back to sleep....

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KungFuGuy

me-"can i have your phone number?

her-"ummm i have to wash my hair that night"

ok there's just a "little" bit of exageration there...