SMILE!!!

[bunnyboy]

General response for me to smile is a smirk, and that's if I like you.

Otherwise you get a horrifying rictus grin.

And yes I've had managers tell me to never, no matter how much they want it, actually smile at the customer BECAUSE those are literally that only two I can fake.

[BeenThereDoneThat]

I am SO happy nobody asked me to smile today (not that I put myself into a situation where they would). They would have gotten this: "Oh, yes, you're right...how silly of me not to smile, after all, the daughter I lost was born 7 years ago today! Wish she was here now!" And, for the record, I have smiled MANY times today, just because. Then again, I'm not at work.

[EricKei]

I think it just has to do with the notion of "providing fast and friendly service" -- to some people, the latter REQUIRES a smile. That's just plain absurd. IMHO - Common courtesy, form and voice matter a lot more. I'd rather get a warm "Thanks for shopping" sans smile than a monotone "Here." with a smile any day As long as I'm not being scowled at, I'm cool. If I *am* getting scowled at, I'd ask what I did to deserve it.

If people reeeeeally want us to smile, there's one way to increase their occurrence significantly: Take the lead. Smile at us and treat us like human beans rather than as serve-bots. If a customer (even non-sucky otherwise) walks up to the line with a dark scowl on their face, I'm not gonna be all happiness and rainbows, either. If they're wearing a genuine grin, I find that I tend to do the same -- those silly things are downright infectious

I really can't win anyway. I just have this evil sort of expression 24/7. If I'm not smiling, people think I want to kill someone. If I am smiling, they think I did.

One more for the sig file

[Gidgetdigit]

This is one of the few things I truly dislike about this country, this insistence that people have to smile all the time, or else they are instantly considered unhappy. People in Europe and Asia think we are crazy for insisting that people smile all the time, even if they don't feel like it. I think this is part of the reason tooth whitening has become a mania in the U.S.

Being an amateur cook myself, I enjoy watching "Masterchef", over the top drama and all, and reading message boards about the show. I was astounded when someone complained about the horribly yellow teeth the contestants had. The teeth were NORMAL! Most teeth have a yellow tinge to them. It's just that celebrities have teeth bleached white on white, so anything even slightly darker appears abnormal on camera.

But I digress. There is nothing wrong with not smiling and doing your job in a courteous, efficient manner. I actually find it a tad degrading when employees are forced to smile. It tends to be the people who make minimum wage, who are younger, and especially who are women who are told to smile. No one tells President Obama or Vladimir Putin that the economy would be just so much better if they don't smile, so why tell a retail clerk that your checkout experience sucked because the cashier didn't smile?

I remember when I was in California, in some art museum, and there was a temporary exhibit of photographs from Japan. In formal photos, the Japanese rarely smile. I was looking at the pics when a man behind me remarked to his friend: "The Japanese are the most unhappy people on earth. They never smile." I suppose it is better to give fake Disneyland smiles, even when you are miserable? Are people so dense that they think that an outward smile = happy? That may be the case in Russia, where people actually do smile and laugh when they are amused or happy, but certainly not the case in the U.S.

I could give a monkey's arse if a sales clerk smiles or not. All I care about is good service.

[Misanthropical]

Mr. Mis warns people that I'm up to something evil if I'm smiling. Who me?

I was actually in mourning when we stopped at a local convince store to get a soda. The clerk looks at me and says "Smile! It can't be that bad!". Mr. Mis got the look of on his face and nearly picked me up to get me out of there. We just left instead of staying and saying something out of line.

Mr. Mis was not happy with the clerk, since Mr. Mis had just gotten me to stop crying when we pulled up and here I was once again in tears.

So, yes, it can be that bad.

[Food Lady]

When I was a cashier, I really wanted to put the following sign on my checkstand.... As a customer, you can expect from me: polite and courteous demeanor, prompt attention, expertise in my subject, all reasonable assistance. You do not have the right to expect cheerfulness, overexuberance, a positive response to demands about my facial expression, or any pleasantness at all if you should presume to tell me what my emotions ought to be.

I sooooooo want this.

[Ashaela]

When I was a cashier, I really wanted to put the following sign on my checkstand....

As a customer, you can expect from me: polite and courteous demeanor, prompt attention, expertise in my subject, all reasonable assistance.

You do not have the right to expect cheerfulness, overexuberance, a positive response to demands about my facial expression, or any pleasantness at all if you should presume to tell me what my emotions ought to be.

[Andara Bledin]

Because I got tired of people telling me to smile while I was reading (I have this mean-looking scowl that actually served to keep me from being fought with in high school - the other girls thought I'd beat them up ), I developed this vapid sort of not-quite-smile that makes me look brain dead and just this side of drooling.

I find that people don't bother me any more since I started doing that.

^-.-^

[Terinka]

I hate when they tell me to smile. Besides the death glare I also ask for a dollar per smile .... :-)
That is one of my biggest pet peeves!

[zombiequeen]

What about a tilty head smile that makes your neck go "pop" and then your eyes glaze over? I'm really good at those.

[Elspeth]

I have had my boss try this once or twice. he will get the death look or I threaten to hit him with the stick. There are some good things about working for family.

[Food Lady]

aurelemsrealm, I wish my managers were like yours.

[aurelemsrealm]

The men in my dad's family always look stern and sober in pictures. I've inherited that trait also. I never look like I'm smiling. I've had a few customers tell me I should smile. I just ignore it like I ignore most anything else that's not relevant to doing my job. As long as I perform my job in a professional manner, my manager could really care less if I smile for the customers' benefit.

[Peppergirl]

I feel you, as people think I am scowling when I am not. My normal face is a serious, intense one (and yes people tend to get creeped out about that), but if I really want to scare somebody I smile.

I feel for you. The natural shape of my mouth is frowny/pouty, and when I worked the front lines of customer service I used to hear 'SMILE!' all the damned time. I hated that. I still hate it.

Trust me, even though my natural look is frowny, you'll fucking KNOW when I'm upset and/or not in the mood for horseshit.

[MadMike]

I got told to "smile" once, and the offender got a "fuck you" for her troubles. Thankfully, it was a coworker and not an customer. I don't like being ordered to smile either, and she caught me on an especially bad day.

I really can't win anyway. I just have this evil sort of expression 24/7. If I'm not smiling, people think I want to kill someone. If I am smiling, they think I did.