You know how you walk into a clothing store and there’s that bored girl (sometimes a guy if you’re at say, Urban Outfitters) standing off to one side folding shirts and just as you cross the threshold of the doorway she mutters “hi” (sometimes a half-hearted “how are you” follows) before she looks back down at the t-shirts before even waiting for a reply from you? Yeah, that girl. Well, that’s her job. She’s been positioned there to ensure that you feel welcomed into the store while simultaneously ensuring you know she’s there so you won’t shoplift (although I doubt she’d notice if you were skilled at such defiant acts).

And do you ever stop to think about why it is she is so bored with her “greeter position”? Perhaps it’s because nobody greets her, or looks her in the eye, or smiles at her, or asks her how she’s doing back, so she gave up.

At my store we make a point of greeting every guest who comes in the door (although we are much more skilled at it at my store than at the larger retail chains), so I have experienced the disregard by so many shoppers when entering the store. And let me just say that it sucks.

All I did was say hi and ask you how you are. And there was absolutely no response or acknowledgment. So, I get closer and say something else, like, “such a beautiful day, today, right?” because it is and I’m trying to be friendly, because you entered my store, after all, and you reply “I’m just looking.”

Ok. Fine. I’ll leave you alone in your unwillingness to just say hi. And I won’t try to make myself available for help should you need it later when you think we don’t have your size in that fabulous pair of pants that you find as you’re just looking.

This is why I like it when men come in the store, because they are way nicer, way more interested in what I have to say about anti-stink technology and actually engage in friendly conversation, even if they are “just looking”.

So just say hi. Would it kill you to acknowledge the nice girl who has been standing on her feet for 6-8 hours? Next time, surprise her and ask her how she’s doing…
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