A Different Sort of Annoying Greeter

Forget notecards and landmarks. Let's talk sales people.

I was on an alt yesterday, shopping for skins. I arrived at a big-name skin shop, just to see what they had ... and stood outside the store waiting for things to res.

A sales girl came outside and invited me into the store. I told her, I was just waiting for things to res enough to matter ... and then went inside anyway - I mean, it's what i was there to do. She continues about what sort of skin I'm looking for, and how their shapes compliment the skins, and how this or that one is sexy ...

... and I finally had to pipe up and tell her that I wasn't the least bit interested in sexy, that I wasn't in the market for a shape, and that I'd likely just grab a couple of demos and try them all on at home.

I leave the store, and she IMs me to say "Have a nice day"!

Ugh. Stupid twit.

/mute

Maybe the shop pays sales commission?

When it became obvious she wasn't going to go away on her own, I would have told her I was just browsing and would ask if I had any questions.

That's a good bet. Still, when I didnt converse with her the first 10 minutes of her babbling in the store, that would have been an indication I didn't find her helpful, I would think.

I do remember wishing another customer would come into the place, just so I'd get a break. LOL

That was quite the hard sell. I've never experienced anything quite like that inworld. I probably would have walked right out and not even have answered her at all. I HATE being bothered by sales help, unless I need it. A polite greeting is one thing, but being hounded is another.

Had it been RL? OMG. Don't even get me started I don't enjoy shopping to begin with. Having someone follow me, chatting me up is a surefire way to get me NOT make a purchase.

Wanna go to a mall and see who has less patience with the help? Could be a dead heat. Hehe

ROFL! You're on!

IMing me after I left the store was the cake taker, though. What nerve.

She sounded quiet friendly and helpful to Me. And probably just doing Her job. I too would have used the "just browsing" card.

This leaves me wondering though. With no Greeter(Av or notecard), How do We get the info across to the visitor? Big neon Torley signs or giant walls of text can destroy the immersion just as fast.

LOL you and I would be great in a rl mall ! I bet you are real hard on door to door salesmen and phone soliciters too (smile)

They usually leave my door a lot faster than they came to it, and as far as the phone, let it suffice to say that my personal rules about phone etiquitte do not apply when someone I don't know calls to bother me. And if they don't want to hear me swear like a truck driver, then they can just call someone else.

Ha, I was refused a promotion when I worked in retail, despite having increased sales in my department by 75% and decreased losses by 50%, precisely because I refused to stalk my customers. I would greet them and ask them to let me know if they needed any help, then go back to what I was doing...regional management told me I wasn't 'bubbly' enough.

Of course, they then offered to send me to the absolute worst store in the city (old, falling apart, crap employees, bad sales) and said they'd reconsider my promotion in a year or so if I managed to turn that department around the way I had the one I was in at the time. I quit and went to grad school instead.

I don't mind a friendly hello, and im me if you need help, but to hound me will drive me away, quickly

I also do not mind a canned greeting as long as it doesn't hand me notecards or landmarks god I so hate that

I can make my own landmark if I want to return to the store
and I don't want a notecard I will not read

I have it so they do not open when I click accept, they just go to the folder, and IF I want to see them I open it later) handy when on a bunch of subscribe o matic groups hehe

If I happen to be in the store when someone comes in I will say hi, and welcome them to the store, and tell them if they have any questions to just shout or send me an IM
then I leave them be
IF they want to chat, they will

Funny, I would have enjoyed that kind of assistance

If I see sales people homing in on me when I'm in an SL store, unless I'm *desperate* to buy something from that store, I'll TP right the hell out. For me that ranks only just below being randomly squirted with perfumes and aftershaves by eager female student Saturday workers as I walk through a RL department store. Miss, I buy my own smelly stuff, thank you. I don't wish to leave your place of employment smelling like a whore's handbag...

/waves at Skell!

Darling? How do you know what my handbag smells like?

/me takes a sniff and reels for a moment.

Bit of Chanel No. 5... bit of... *sniff sniff*... Calvin Klein? Bit of... oh, that's Hugo Boss, I'm sure of it. *sniiiiff* *blurgle* Oh God, that wasn't Jordan's olfactory effort, was it?

/me keels over, certain his nostrils will never recover.

ZOMG! You DO know what a whore's handbag smells like!
(I do wear Chanel No. 5 at times, and Calvin Klein Escape lol. Add in a bit of J'Adore, a hint of Byblos and a smidgeon of something whipped up for me by a perfumer in New Orleans and there you have it!)

"Click me for information"

I have the right to remain silent

Get WHAT info to the visitor? They're at your store, aren't they? How much more info do they need?

A simply hello, followed by "if you have any questions, ask" goes a long way. Especially in a skin store. That's a pretty personal sort of decision for anyone but an alt-model.

I've never run into an overly helpful employee. Most of the time they just greet me and let me know where the newest clothes are. Maybe she was roleplaying.

We discussed this in another thread recently and pretty well came to the conclusion that a sign at the entrance/landing point with "Click here for our policies, etc." would be what most would like.

She was overly, but it certainly wasn't helpful. Like I said, this is a fairly rare occurance. Thankfully. ... roleplaying? Gad, I hope she was an actual employee! LOL

I always look for 'click me' signs at stores carrying stuff I buy and want updates for.

Wait! Something just occurred to me. Maybe you just didn't realize you walked into a Gor Department store?

Did she kneel down and follow you like a dog too?

I might have been more forgiving if she had.

edit: On second thought ... no, that would have been TWICE as annoying.

How about a quiet little sphere with "INFO" on it, designed to fit in with the look of the store? Works for me.

"Girl would like to know if you would like help finding something."

Hehe .. well, it *was* a skin store.