I really hate it. It is the most annoying and pointless greeting you get from retail shops….Well the other day I lost it, I mean I really lost it. Why are staff not trained to greet customers with a smile or a hello.
Having just got to the counter of a sandwich bar with two sandwiches in one hand and my money in the other I was greeted with “are you alright there?”. Of course I was, I had my sandwiches and my money I just wanted to pay and go. I let this go.
About half an hour later I entered a well known electrical store and was greeted at the door by two assistants with “are you alright there?” This is when I lost it. I stopped, looked around at the floor, the ceiling and counters and said “yes I think I am alright here, but now you have me worried. Would I be more alright over there or maybe over there”, pointing as I spoke. The look was total confusion. I added “if you had said good afternoon, I would have responded in a like matter and we would all be happy, but now you have cast doubt as to whether I am alright. Now I am going over to the counter selling Camcorders, if when I get there you don’t think I am alright there, please come and tell me where you think I will be alright”. I then wandered off to the Camcorder counter. I was then greeted at the counter by assistant number three who said “are you alright there?”, brushing this off, I grunted that I was and I had done my research and now wanted to get the feel of the ones on my shortlist before buying, but this did not put the guy off. He then proceeded to walk up and down the line of camcorders shadowing my every move. When I shuffled back to the beginning of the line he then picked up the camcorder at the end and proudly (and this is when I really lost it) said “this is a good one, it would suit you fine”.
Well, that was it for me, the last straw was broken and I responded by saying “well you buy it ! - how can say that would suit me, you have not asked me what features I am looking for, what I want to use it for, anything, what do you base your recommendation on?”
I turned and headed for the door to be met by one of the first two staff members in this sorry tale. I stopped at the exit and said to him “are you alright there?” – and left.
