Qex, why do your managers think you need to interact with the customers, anyway? Maybe this is a cultural thing / regional thing, but I thought supermarkets were moving towards speed and productivity rather than out and out friendliness. In other words, I thought that at least some of the chains were putting emphasis on getting people through the checkouts as quickly as possible.
Chris, it's definitely regional/cultural: in North America shop assistants and cashiers are absolutely trained to interact with customers. Typical interaction at my local vegetable/bakery store (Italics, cashier; normal, customer):
"Hi, how are you today?""I'm good, thanks, how are you?"
I'm good, thanks. Did you find everything you were looking for today?""Yes, I did, thanks."
"That's good.Perhaps some interaction on the weather (especially if it's snowing/ice-storm/really sunny) or the time of year, if there's a holiday weekend or something coming. Then the usual interaction over the bill, and then:
"Thank you very much! Have a good day.""Thanks! You too."
The odd thing is - odd, because I wouldn't have imagined it before living here - the interaction
appears totally genuine, not false or assumed.
People working at certain types of retail outlets - fast-food or concession stands - are trained to interact in a different way: they must tell customers all about daily specials, they must ask
would you like a drink with that? or
Is there anything else I can get you? - and since this interaction can double or even triple a sale it's considered very important. Personally, I just want my coffee and I don't want to be asked if I want a doughnut with that
but it's what people are trained to do...
Wendy
