Yo Pal, WTF ?

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

A few years back, I read an article about a customer service policy at WalMart called "Aggressive Hospitality". The article commented that "Aggressive Hospitality" sounds a lot like "aggressive hostility", and that isn't a coincidence: that it's motivation is not to improve service, but to deter shoplifting by pointing out to the potential shoplifter that you are watching them.

When management at my store was more anal about us greeting everybody in the store, we were also told it was a deterrent to shoplifting.

Yeah, okay, sure, whatever. There's always blind spots thieves can retreat to where nobody's around. Plus that sort of thing isn't going to deter the hardcore boosters who know to stay calm.

[MoonChild2007]

I can't believe I am saying this but it is very stupid to ask for the name. Companies get 1,000 customers per month, depending on the company of course,
some of which we never see again so why the need for the name?

Yeah, management can suck sometimes. some managers will force employees to stand everytime a customer walks in (This is a true story, at my bank, they wanted us to stand everytime a customer walks up to us tellers. Its really stupid cause standing in one place for 8 hours can be painful to the feet! (I was a cashier myself but there was a reason why we had to stand)

[cinema guy]

"You just said you were Orora Munroe."

Hello Storm.

[friendofjimmyk]

I'll add this to my list of the most retarded things I've heard of...today. Working in thy world of corporate, I start a new list everyday...it's easier for classification purposes...I can do it by date!

I am polite to greeters, I will return the "hello" or "have a nice day"...but I'm scared of strangers, unless they have candy...so, asking me my name in a store will merely make me run away.

[HawaiianShirts]

SMP, I think you may be working for the same company I'm about to leave (I still like the company as an employer, but it's time for me to move on). Getting the customer's name used to be on our mystery shopper score sheet. It might still be, but management at my store hasn't tried to enforce that since early '06.

I worked in Computers, and we had a form for the customer to fill out when they bought a computer system, so with the longer sales I usually ended up knowing their names anyway, but I never asked for it outright. That's far too invasive for my comfort, either as a salesperson or as a customer. Besides, I never remembered the customer's name for more than I needed to (except for two fun old ladies, one very regular bus driver who was always buying some new tech toy, one extremely wealthy customer, and one extremely annoying woman who had to ask the same questions over and over again), and as a customer, I rely on nametags to remember the associates' names, though I find that I rarely need to know them unless I need to pass either a compliment (occasionally) or complaint (rarely) on to management or unless I want to make sure the commission for the sale goes to the person who helped me most.

[HowMayIHelpYouToday]

If you asked for my name I'd give you a weird look, smile widely and slowly, and very carefully back away from you, turn around, and run for the exit

[Can I Help Your A$$?]

I would keep a notebook and write down every incident; hell, if you're ambitious, write down EVERY incident and what happened. Then you'll have a tally of how many customers are visibly pissed vs those who are mildly annoyed.

Submit it anonymously to corporate, with dates.

[Becks]

Salesperson: Hi, may name is {name}}! What's yours?

Me: Well, most people that know me call me Bitch...

[tamezin]

Management has decided that we must get the names of every person that we greet.

Did management provide 'talk-off' examples in order to accomplish this task?

I understand the reason behind the exercise. It develops empathy between the sales person and the customer creating a false sense of intimacy, making the customer feel all warm and fuzzy about the transaction.

It can really help if your corporate trainers give you some modeling suggestions in order to make this easier to accomplish. This tact will never have a high success rate, cause like you said some folks just want to be left alone.

[Enjis]

Some studies have shown that using a customer's name pleases them...it becomes more friendly, more personal. It creates a bond between the customer and salesperson.....
I know that our management wanted us to thank each guest with their name, (after we had seen their credit card, and KNEW the name, of course!) thanking them for shopping with us. I seldom did this, but I understood it.
The management seemed to think it made the customer feel 'valued', more than just another body in the store.

All that being said, I would HATE it if sales staff asked my name as soon as I walked in the store. I mean, jeeze, gimme a chance to at least shop, will ya? If I need help, that's fine, and asking someone if they need help, or suggesting new or sale items is fine too...but I think the whole 'name' thing is stupid and intrusive.
I honestly sympathise with your whole crew in having to do this. I also feel for you in getting those rude answers to your greetings. That's really uncalled for.

[PepperElf]

I recently decided it might be fun to start introducing myself as a random name every time someone asks who I am.

i like that idea.

ooo lots of names come to mind... (even better if they have no idea it's fake, or you start switching name-genders), or just get plain silly
Tareth Thowe (character i invented for a story)
Laurie Jackman (hugh laurie & hugh jackman combined)
Amanda Palmer (woman from Dresden dolls, now on solo album/tour)
Neil Gaiman (hell really confuse them, especially if you're female)
Theo LeSig (one of Dr Suess' psuedonyms)
Chris Mattenphil (old joke from blue man group)



but yeah, when the management decides there is a specific formula to achieving the optimum positive relationship with a customer... they put on blinders... all they can see is that magic formula and it must be the answer to life the universe and everything, and if... it doesn't work they only blame the workers, not their faulty logic.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

[QUOTE=Enjis;527303]Some studies have shown that using a customer's name pleases them...it becomes more friendly, more personal. It creates a bond between the customer and salesperson.....
QUOTE]

It doesn't please me. Someone uses my first name, when I have not introduced myself to them, it feels innappropriately familiar. If they call me Mrs. Kinkoid, that doesn't rub me as wrong, but I do not appreciate strangers being overly familiar, and using someone's first name without being invited to do so is overly familiar.

I grew up in the South, and I don't mind strangers striking up conversations with me at all, that is how we are down here. But a lot of us appreciate old-school manners, and some kid a fraction of my age calling me by my first name uninvited is out and out disrespectful.

And the idea that I need to bond with anyone at the store is preposterous. I mean, I know the suits in the corporate office think that I do, because they don't know dick about much of anything work-related, but the last thing I go to a store for is to be social.

In all honesty, I dont' even want to run into anyone I know and like and DO have a relationship with. I want to go in, get my crap, pay, and get out.

[gerund]

I went to a normal male barber shop in {Big City} near me. They were full one time and I went around the arcade to this Unisex type Salon nearby. It was empty. There were four (4) hairdressers standing around, idle.

I went in and they were on me like a pack of dogs.

One asked if I would like a coffee (No thanks)
Another offered me a seat.
A third asked if I had been there before. (No)
The fourth then rushed over with a large clipboard with a form on it that looked like a membership form for a club.

It had, Name, address, phone number, mobile phone number, email address...

I stopped reading. I jumped to my feet. I started talking.

"No No No no no no - I just wanted a haircut"

My feet took me to the door, all on their own. I walked back down the arcade and sat in the busy hairdresser and waited for my anonymous haircut.

I won't let you send me email messages, ring me up or send me mail trying to get me to spend money on an extra haircut, or shampoo.

Why should I give my name to someone who wants to do that?

My existing barber knows my real first name. It has taken almost 4 years of haircuts and a lot of talking to get to that stage - he did not find out on the first visit, or the second even.

My point is, that our name is something we give out when we are introduced or when we introduce ourselves in a social or business transaction where our name is required.

When a sales person tries to mimic that social approach, we feel uncomfortable. I know I felt uncomfortable when the girl in the salon tried to get me to fill in the form. So did my feet.

Some people express that feeling of discomfort in different ways. You should be glad they didn't express it physically.

[Ironclad Alibi]

Me - Hi, my name is SMP !! What is your name ?

SC - My name is Get the Fuck Away From Me and Leave Me Alone !!

Me -

SMP: Hi. My name is SMP. What is your name?

IA: Yes, it is. What is my name.

SMP: I don't know.

IA: He plays third base.

Who's On First

[tropicsgoddess]

Just my opinion but your management seems to lack common sense.
Are they really that fucking stupid? You DO NOT violate a potential customer's privacy when they first walk in. There is absolutely NO reason for this.

.

I have to agree on that and I thought only repeating a customer's name at least twice was dumb (I work in a call center).