Tales of daily life from a 20-something Student from London.

Monday 13 June 2011

"Smile for the camera, now..."

As I perused a busy Lakeside shopping centre earlier on this afternoon, it came to my attention I needed (/wanted) a new pair of shoes. The current pairs I owned were all a bit garish, so a new, less colourful pair, were definitely on the cards. As I strolled into Schuh to find said pair, I was greeted by an enthusiastic "Hi, how are you?" "erm...yeah, ok thanks", I replied as I walked towards the Vans. I had a look. My fancy was not tickled, so I opted to leave. "Bye, thanks for coming, see you again soon!" beamed the smiling shop assistant.


Am I missing something? Why is everyone so happy? Well, okay, that's wrong of me to say. There could be any number of reasons. They could have won the lottery, but only won enough to go on a cheap night out where they can only afford Carlsberg, and so still had to work the day job. Or found out that Asda are yet again doing cheap Ben and Jerry's (I'm not guaranteeing that as fact though). But in particular, shop assistants. A hello is fine, nice even. But some of them treat you like you're a long lost relative who they haven't seen for ages and happens to be rich.

"Jack! How are you? SO glad you've chosen to shop in HMV, really I am, is there anything particular you need today? I'd be more than willing to delve into the small cabinets under the CD racks and have a look. Anything? Anything? Please let me help!"



As someone who used to work in retail, I know that managers ensure you greet the customer when they walk in. My weapon of choice when I was planted at the front of store was always a "hey man, how you doing". Notice the lack of question mark. It shows I acknowledge your presence but don't give a shit as to how you actually are. They know that, I know that, they know I'm there to help, everyone's happy. Not like those I saw today. If I'm honest, it put me off a bit. Greet me at the door if you like, but that's it. Having some fake-caring teenager at the front of store just lets me know I'm being watched. And I don't like that. Especially when I'm browsing the underwear section of Debenhams.


That was a lie by the way.


I prefer BHS.


Over and out.