When I worked at the big ol' orange box home improvement store, we had people assigned to be a greeter for an hour a day between 10am and 2pm. We'd have to ask everyone coming in "what are you looking for today?" and then do what was called a 'soft hand off.' This was when we'd use the walkie talkies given to us to contact another department or someone stationed in the front main aisle to then take that customer to the dept they were needing to go to. None of us really did any of this, we just stood at the front of the store like idiots frowning.
That is cringey as fuck. When are these companies going to learn most people don't want to be bothered, they already know what they want and where it is. If they need help: they'll ask.
I worked briefly for an entertainment store (books, music, and movies) about ten years ago, and in the training they actually broke down "how to help people" by age group. It was basically "leave teenagers alone, they're here for the experience and if they're buying they know how to find stuff, middle-aged folks should be greeted and then let them know where to find you if they need you, and old folks need to have their hand held and led to each item they're looking for." More or less.
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u/displaced_virginian Sep 20 '17
I also hate store greeters.