Re: What are Wal-Mart Greeters?

For your friend's amusement, another Wal Mart Greeter gone wild at
<http://mediaenvironment.wordpress.com/2008/04/14/attention-anti-wal-mar
t-shoppers/>

Jan

I just got this email from a friend:

"My 1 day employment

So after landing my new job as a Wal-Mart greeter,
a good find for many retirees, I lasted less than a day......

About two hours into my first day on the job a very loud,
unattractive, mean-acting woman walked into the store
with her two kids, yelling obscenities at them all the way
through the entrance.

As I had been instructed, I said pleasantly, 'Good morning and welcome
to Wal-Mart. Nice children you have there. Are they twins?'

The ugly woman stopped yelling long enough to say,
'Hell no, they ain't twins. The oldest one's 9, and the other one's 7.
Why the hell would you think they're twins? Are you blind, or just
stupid?'

So I replied,
'I'm neither blind nor stupid, Ma'am,
I just couldn't believe someone slept with you twice.
Have a good day and thank you for shopping at Wal-Mart.'

My supervisor said I probably wasn't cut out for this line of work."

That's presumably related to the way that when you an in a consumer
electronics shop and just nosying round to see what's there you will be
asked every couple of minutes if you can be helped, but when you
actually have a question about an item ...

My goodness, your Home Depots are different from mine. At the one I
usually go to, it feels like the employees have traded their orange
aprons for camouflage.

Either you are particularly prickly or you misunderstand what the Wal
Mart Greeter does.  They don't walk up and start a conversation.  They
don't ask how that nasty rash is coming along or if you have regular
bowel movements.  

Usually, the greeting is a nod in your direction and a change of
expression to closely imitate a smile.  Sometimes it's the verbal
"Welcome to Wal Mart", but there's no expectation on their part for
you to fill them in on your shopping needs or the state of your health
and soundness of your marriage.

If you choose to engage them in some light exchange of the
"Howyadoin'/Fineanyew" nature, they'll participate, but not with a
prolonged conversation unless you insist on extending the contact.
After all, there's someone right behind you who has to be greeted.

The Greeters seem content, if not outright relieved, if you blow by
them without acknowledgement.  No pouty looks or wounded mumblings in
the line of "You think you're better than me, hunh?".

Home Depot (a DIY chain store) has evidently recently started to
encourage their employees to Aisle Greet to the extent that they will
walk by and ask "Are you finding what you want?".  The practice is
rather helpful since I'm usually three aisles away from what I'm
looking for.

In any shop in which it is possible to wander round looking at the
goods on offer (including supermarkets and department stores), I
expect to be able to do so without being accosted by anybody at any
stage. When I want to ask a question, or to pay, *I* initiate the
contact. At least I do if I can find anybody to talk to, which is not
always the case; that can be irritating, but I'm sure I would be much
more irritated by being "greeted". Just a matter of cultural
expectations, of course.

Certainly you do. Somehow you must have managed to enter a store, shop,
or restaurant without being met by the owner, manager or employee, or
maybe in your "over here" you are populated with only unfriendly people.

This smarmy reply I wouldn't expect from most Europeans, since the
majority of Americans are of European origin. The friendliest Americans
are often the most recent immigrants.

Forunately we don't have these "greeters" over here.

I suppose it is because of higher minimum wages. But it could
also be because Europeans don't buy standardized superficial
friendliness as easy as Americans do.

Lars
Stockholm

The practice is very old. Department stores had floorwalkers whose
tasks, in part, was to greet customers.

Perhaps Wal Mart started it?

Jan

While Wal Mart does employ Greeters, it's not a practice limited to
Wal Mart.  Other stores have Greeters.  

If the entire nation is composed of greeters, there are presumably no
customers and no goods for sale.

They have nothing to do but greet each other.  

So perhaps the evil is the end of productivity. Ron Paul fans seem to be not
far removed from being Ayn Rand fans, and Ayn Rand deplored non-productive
"busy" work, perhaps epitomised by "greeters".

Just guessing here -- I'd never heard of Walmart Greeters until reading this
thread.

The evil aspect isn't related to the answer given Jan. Wal Mart has been
strongly criticized for treating their employees badly (I'll leave the
details to someone else) and union busting. As you say, Tony, the
greeters are usually retirees who like having the opportunity for
something to do and having contact with people. Provided the work isn't
necessary for livelihood, I agree that it may be a nice way for some
retirees to pass their time.

Wal Mart employs elderly men and women to stand by the doors and greet
people with a friendly "Hello" when they walk in the door.  They also
direct people to the Returns and Exchanges desk if necessary, and
request that knapsacks and other carriers be checked before entering
the store.

The job is minimum wage, but Wal Mart never has trouble filling open
positions.  Many older people really want to have contact with other
people, a function in life, and an extra income.  

I don't see the "evil" aspect.  The Greeters are not being exploited.
They take the job because they want something to do with their time
and to have some human contact.  They seem to enjoy what they do.

The customers seem to like it.  Sometimes they stop and chat with the
Greeter, and they usually return the "Hello".

 

A question about American folklore: what are Wal Mart greeters?

Taken from a nutty poster (a fanatical Ron Paul follower it seems)
who infests the ebooks groups with longish Subject headers like
"D.C has converted the U.S. into a Nation of Wal-Mart Greeters <real
subject>"
(or idem comments about Obama, Bush, trillions of debt, hyperinflation)

Anyway, what is a 'Wal Mart greeter'
and why it is supposed to be bad that them evil guys in Washington
have converted the USA into a nation of them?

Jan