if you were a cashier....(i just analyzed my walmart experience)?

Question

i am in customer service for a veterinary hospital - our company has high expectations that area - as do i ! so when i go to places - i am always aware of how i'm treated.

i had this weird thought while i was in walmart the other day.

Do you ever remember what the cashier looked like when you got home - have you ever thought about it?

Does the cashier make conversation with you? or is it the
same old "hi how are you" "total is 152.32" "have a good day"
("have a good day" is optional if not rare)

If you are buying groceries - would you be annoyed if
the cashier (being a very nice/sincere person) made small
talk with you about the things you were buying?
- assuming that -
everything she would say - would be a positive thing, for example "ohh i love this ice cream- it's good" or.."my husband loves these razors" or "this is a great eye shadow - i'm going try it too"

if i worked as a cashier , i would be the girl making small
talk, does the average grocery shopper want that?

Answer 1

customer service/relations is my background. good customer service is the cornerstone of any business. the rule to remember is if the customer stops shopping or calling, there goes the business. i remember each experience i've had with an associate good or bad, and unfortunately today, customer service training is not provided. the functions and tasks of the job are taught, but no one tells the employees the customer is the reason they've got their jobs. since you mentioned walmart in your scenario, walmart is one place that i've received and seen the worst customer service although a huge banner is displayed stating "we love our customers". the best way to make or break a business is by its customer relations and the customer's word of mouth. i don't mind the pleasant banter as long as the cashier can work and talk.

Answer 2

I'm not very good at remembering faces in general, but I roughly remember people's looks, including a cashier's. I could recognize again the cashiers I've been to lately at local supermarkets.

Where I'm living right now, cashiers rarely make any conversation with me. Where I lived before there were smaller supermarkets where the staff sometimes made a conversation with the customers.

It really depends on my mood how I take such conversations. Most of the time I don't mind them and might even enjoy them, but sometimes I'm just really not in the mood to talk or don't have a clue what to say back, so I prefer not having to talk to a stranger then.

I think the cashier should just use their judgement to tell whether a person is likely to mind a conversation or not. I've worked in service and it was usually easy to tell if people were in the mood for some conversation and you'll get hints if they mind the conversation.

Answer 3

I'm the same way about paying attention to how i am treated, either in person or on the phone because i worked in customer serivce before as well. I feel that the majority of the time, grocery cashiers do the basic hi, total is...., bye talk; I like it when they small talk with me, it makes the whole grocvery shopping chore a little less boring. I admit that if i am in a hurry and/or in a bad mood i would rather just pay for my stuff and get out. But, generally, i would want the talk to me....however, i don't ever start the small talk because i never know how they are going to react to me talking to them. Sometimes, it seems that the cashier doesn't want to make small talk with every freakin' customer. I think it would be better, more friendly and personable to make small talk. If i were a cashier, i would be starting the small talk too. I think that we are exceptions though, over all most people just want to get their groceries, pay and go.

Answer 4

Well I work in customer service in a up-scale neighborhood, so I think those kind of people probably like the small talk less, however I also try to make each customer feel like they are getting specialized attention, and making small talk can do just that. I have found that I can get a pretty good idea of which customers like to talk and which don't. I have gotten increasingly more aware since working in customer service and I critique every single time I encounter a cashier,waiter, etc. Personally I like it when they make small talk, like the examples you made in your question, however what I don't like is when your behind someone in line when and the cashier is having like a 5 minute discussion about dumb stuff with the person infront of you. There has to be a good balance. Well I hoped this help, and take care!

Answer 5

Here is my 2 cents. I am a talker But I do watch to make sure any conversation I start can end when the transaction is over. I had a cashier ask me if I tried this particular product I was buying. I said I have and she asked me how it worked for me. It was quite nice to give a little comment about this and she said she would try it. Another time a cashier asked me where I bought my glasses (eye glasses) I told her and she said they looked good on me. It actually made my day. I thought it sincere. The thing I hate most is going anywhere and having the person that is helping me complain about their job or other co-workers. I can't do anything and I didn't hear the other side.

Answer 6

Small talk is good. I have realized that even if I am in a hurry, if the cashier will make comments like "what a cute shirt" or "I have been meaning to buy one of those" I immediately feel comfortable with the cashier. Now if they are bad multi-taskers, I get aggitated. But if they talk while they work, the whole checking out process is a lot more bearable. Then before I know it, I am out the door and the time has flown by! (And I made a new friend!! lol) To me, that is GREAT customer service!!

Answer 7

The secret is to know how much small talk is good and how too much can be as bad as none.You have each end of the spectrum from a cashier that treats you like you are invisable to one who wants to tell you her history in four minutes or less.

Last week I was checking out on a Saturday and had a day of chores, etc. to still accomplish. I am lining my cart full of items up on the conveyer belt. I kept piling higher and higher. The cashier had finished with the person in front of me and they are standing there finishing their conversation! The cashier has her arms folded and leaning back like she's on break! I couldn't help it, I just stood there and stared at her like she was an idiot. She started checking me out and neither of us said one word. That was fine with me.

For the most part I find rude people working in service jobs. I asked someone in Wal Mart where to find something and she looked at me like I was crazy. I said, "don't you work here?" And I just walked away..........

Answer 8

I think it would be nice if the cashier made small talk, in a well-meaning way of course. It disturbs me when a cashier won't even acknowledge me because they're too busy chatting with another cashier. More than once this has happened and each time I just leave the store.

Answer 9

If it's positive, I think it's perfectly fine.
At a local grocery store, the cashier (male) was always so negative. One morning I said "Good morning" and he said "glad you think so". Thinking maybe he was having a bad day, I returned a day later. I said "How are you today?" He said "There's more places I'd rather be". I said "Well, at least you're not in the hospital." He said "Maybe that'll be better".
It got to the point that he was starting to depress me. I know people I've worked with said something to the management, only to later find he's been moved...to the customer service desk!

I thought "They're joking, right?"

Answer 10

I'm a restaurant manager, so I notice how I'm treated when I go out shopping or out to dinner (my bf laughs at me for some of the stuff that I get irked by). If I'm in a hurry, I'd rather not have a cashier making small talk, but wouldn't be so bothered by it if I wasn't in any rush to leave. I hate it the most when they flat out don't say a word to you and leave you guessing with how much you owe. I went to walmart the other day and on my way out, the greeter was chatting to somebody. I didn't know she was talking to me when she told me (rather rudely I might add) that she needed to see my receipt. She just made a highlighter mark on it, never checked my cart, and went back to chatting. I was a bit mad after that one.