To wonder who decided that customers want small talk at the till in a shop?

[YouWonJayne]

Seriously I want to know their names. Which suits sat in a boardroom and said “Do you know what customers really want? When they’re stressed and frazzled trying the find a plain black shirt and black skirt for a 9 year old’s school play, which BTW are nigh-on impossible to find, when they get to the till they want the assistant to ask what they’re up to this morning and if they’re busy? That will keep customers happy!”

The poor girl on the checkout was trying her best not to look bored as she asked the woman in front of me “Have you got much planned this morning? Do you have a busy day” especially when the woman have details of all the wedding outfits she needed to buy for her grandchildren.

I hope the assistant was relieved when I just gave a “No” when she asked me the same. I really couldn’t be arsed.

I noticed this everywhere now. Is it just me who doesn’t actually want small talk, who just wants to buy my stuff and get on with me day without being a conversationalist extraordinaire? Don’t get me started on upselling! Or the people in Lush who pounce when you’re through the door. It’s completely insufferable.

The worst part is these poor people (probably on minimum wage) get bollocked if they don’t behave this way. I can’t imagine any of them want to behave this way.

I feel like it needs a serious platform, a campaign called Leave Shoppers Alone (half joking) 😂

When I've worked on checkouts over the years I've spoken to people as much for my own sanity far more than as a concern for someone else having no one to talk to.

In our business we encourage our staff to talk to customers, because most of our customers like it. we don't give them a script and not everyone is good at it. We don't force people though, but most people realise a day spent interacting goes faster than a day where you don't.

I work in 1 of the big supermarkets, in our training we are basically told to let the customer guide, always politely greet them then let them lead the conversation, I find around 80% of customers do want to make conversation, my mental health isn't great so it can be quite a difficult job when I'm having an off day and need to make constant small talk for hours on end😫

Very rarely we are asked to upsell things and I just don't do it, we aren't really watched over.

For some it’s the only person they talk to all week.

😂 drives me mad... listening to them fake laughing and waffling shit, I have to laugh sometimes as I seem to always pick that type of queue.

Why? Why is it sad that I prefer not to have pointless conversations with strangers?

Or when, after you order, they say “Wow that pizza is AMAZING”.

Yeah. I know. That’s why I’m ordering it 🤣

My policy to to make the checkout operator smile or laugh. And rarely fail. It's a job I'd hate so I try and be cheerful with them. They're not machines, they're humans.

And yes re Superdrug - it’s always the disgusting perfumes as well they try and sell. No I don’t want to spend an extra £19 to smell like a whore’s handbag

What works in one place fails in another. In our smallish town it works. There are a lot of people who are elderly, infirm, or mh, here, lots of people need that touch of humanity. Our shopkeepers often know our names, the names of the members of our families, our histories etc. I have had phone calls from shopkeepers, when dd was 7 or 8ish and just being allowed to run to the shops alone, to ask permission for her to go to another shop, or to stay a bit longer or what have you. I was once approached by our local bobby to say that dd had asked him tell me that though I had said I would meet her in such and such a shop she had decided to go home (I had been delayed).

I'm sure in a busy shop a teller will ve fine with a customer saying they're in a hurry and need to get on.

When I worked in a ship as a student I usually fake laughed to appease customers.

I work in retail. One of the biggest skills is to work out which customers would like a small talk chat and which don't.

This! We were taught that if someone looked in a hurry, have a dog, small children, or long line to just print their receipt or if they were purchasing something they would highly unlikely return (a greeting card), don’t offer a receipt unless they ask.

I won't ask how you know what a whore's handbag smells like...

See the Armstrong and Miller sketches 'the origin of small talk'.

For all those saying perhaps some people like the interaction--- surely the best "rule of thumb" would be for the checkout person to take the lead from the customer?
E.g. greet with a "hello, how are you?"
If customer just says "yeah fine" and isn't bothered about chatting checkout person doesn't make further small talk

If a customer WANTS that chatty interaction then they will jump on that cue and ask questions/bring up topics themselves.
No idea why it's so hard, seems like a win win to me!

The other thing i don't like is when they comment on your shopping - again this is obviously a way of making small talk because the poor sods have discussed the weather 100 times already that shift but I like to pretend the checkout person doesn't notice what's going through -them commenting destroys that illusion and I start wondering if they are judging me for my unhealthy shop or giant maxi pads or whatever!

Oh and when there was clearly a directive from management to ask "did you find everything you were looking for today?" Absolutely stupid question because if you answered no there was nothing they could do about it. Even if you said "oh I was looking for x but couldn't find it" and they said "oh it's on aisle y" it's too late by the time your stuff is going through the checkout and people are queuing behind you to go and get it!

I've only noticed shop staff engaging in conversation with those they recognise as regulars and I don't mind that. For some people it might be the only conversation they have that day e.g if they're retired and live alone. I would find it irritating though if all shop staff everywhere tried to strike up a conversation when all I want to do is quickly buy a pint of milk or whatever and get on with my day.

As for upselling I absolutely hate that. You're so right @Kolakalia about Curry's, I recently bought something there and it was just non stop questions of "would you like to add this to your purchase? Or this ? Or how about this?" If I didn't really need the item urgently I would have left and bought it elsewhere.

I wonder if it was on AMA on MN…

This is one of the many reasons why online shopping is so much better.

I am quite happy to chat about the weather etc but resent being asked specific questions such as “what are you up to this afternoon” Very intrusive!

This.

There is nothing wrong with Hello. Or 'is it still raining outside' or similar (good as often they can't see outside).

But interrogating the customer about their life, just no. You have no idea what's going on with them, and many people don't want to share personal things with strangers, or be put on the spot to make something up to keep the conversation going.

Due to practicality, I sometimes had to combine visiting terminally ill relatives in hospital with trips to the bank, supermarket etc so no, I'm not 'out treating myself' or 'doing anything nice later' and I don't particularly feel like telling you about my sibling with cancer thank you very much.

And YY to them asking if I’m off work. Just a weird intrusive question and not nice for people who don’t work for whatever reason.

If it makes them slightly happier in a job that must be a tad boring then why not? I'm all up for small talk, it can brightens up peoples day.

Oh ffs just seen my annoying grammar error

I prefer that to when they are on their earpieces to home checking the washer is on, I find that very rude . You can always use the self service check outs . Tgat little chat at the till might be some people's only human contact if the day.

I like it and always have. I find it very sad that so many people are averse to interaction with other humans.