Archived Need tips for greeting people at self-checkout

[Rrblack]

I'm not scheduled to do self checkout at all next week but I had to do it yesterday and got onto a few times for not "talking to the guests". I told every single one of them "Have a good night" but I'm guessing they want me to personally go up to them and ask how their day was. I have no problem talking to people but the problem for me is that I feel like if someone goes to self checkout they want to be left alone and not have to interact with people. Maybe I'm wrong. They also want me to be pushing the red cards at self checkout which I think is really dumb because if you use self checkout to begin with you definitely don't want to take extra time out of your day to sign up for a card you didn't want.

Does anyone have any tips to make greeting people at self checkout seem normal? I find it weird to go up to them when they're already looking at the screen and start ringing stuff up to ask "How are you doing to today, would you like to save 5% with a red card". I feel I will annoy more people than make them have a better day by talking to them.

 

[2Spooky4U]

One big thing is finding greetings that are natural to you. Once you find something that naturally meshes with you, you're going to slip into it effortlessly and come across as pleasantly genuine to almost every guest. I stress that almost because there will be that small percentage of people that just can't or won't be helped or happy. My general go-to is "hey, how are you?" I know the "HI, HOW ARE YOU?" dance can very easily devolve into a circlejerk of redundancy, but it's a very common greeting in my area. While it's normally superficial, it tells a bit about the person; if they respond with "I'm good, how are you?", you can just resume business as usual and be cool. If not, you can ask further about the matter and be an ear for the guest to somewhat confide in. This works for me because I'm ridiculously empathetic and want my guests to leave the store happy, but the big thing is finding what works for you and the guests.

If it's pretty slow, I can greet people individually. After a simple greeting, I'll ask if they found everything okay. Gives a good opportunity to help them find something that they might've overlooked before leaving. Of course as it gets busier, I'll go to something a little more generalized to the crowd. The easiest method I've found is greeting people as you're directing traffic towards the self-checkout. Normally I'll use a line of "Good morning/afternoon/evening! Register X is free!/Feel free to use register X!"

 

[Kartman]

I hate people asking me how I am.

 

[commiecorvus]

I hate people asking me how I am.

I've found the best response to people asking that is, " Well enough, and yourself?"
They are often very happy you asked and you were able to keep it really short.

 

[Kartman]

I don't give a hoot about "how" a stranger is.

"Hello!" is good enough.

And don't stick your hand out, either.

 

[Leo47]

We are expected to do the same at my store. If it's slow I am able to greet and say bye to each guest individually which is good enough for me, maybe throw in a conversation with one or two of them. If it's busy I just make sure each guest gets a "thank you, have a good day/ nice night." Basically this is what I do.

Someone walks in - i say "hello" with a smile. If they have kids I offer their kids stickers. Other than that I usually leave them alone but keep busy, look for any reshop left behind the machines, baskets under the shelves, etc. Pace up and down so they stay aware of my presence and that I'm watching them. When they are done I say "thank you so much" with a smile as they leave.

If someone calls you over for help this when you can include more interaction/conversation. The most common thing I get called over for is double scanning on accident. I'll clear it for them, then say like "don't worry it happens allll the time these things are so sensitive, so you're not the only one. You know what also happens a bunch is people leaving their change hanging out when they leave!" And a conversation will stem from that. I will have the same conversation like 30 times a shift but that's just the job lol. If you can't think of anything just say something random about what they're buying. "Oh that's a cute shirt - and only for x dollars? That's a great deal I've seen the same thing at (insert other random store like JCPenny Macy's etc) for like double which is crazy I can't believe other stores charge so much" "Those shoes are so cute! You know my friend has the same ones and they looked really cute with the outfit she wore, but i think they'd be really versatile which is good" like just do mouth garbage lol make stuff up, it doesn't matter

Edit: forgot to add about the straps. If someone is buying a big boxy thing that's not going in a bag or toilet paper/paper towels, strap it for them. Have it in your hand and walk up to them and ask "is it okay if I put a handle on this so it's easier to carry for you?" After they say yes, you can be like "I love these things, they make it easier for you and also for us because we can tell that you've bought it!" And then you both can laugh and then you can continue with "I can't believe other stores don't do this! It's so great" and just have a whole convo about the straps

 

[Kompa]

Just nod. You don't gotta talk

 

[tyro]

What I normally do is greet everyone as the walk into the SCO area, then after I see they have rang up 5-10 items I walk over and ask, "Are you doing alright?" The guests seem very happy when I ask that and sometimes it sparks a convo. If we have a convo I'll try to slide in a redcard pitch and talk about the survey as they grab the receipt.

 

[buliSBI]

If the SCO traffic is minimal, I would greet the guest and offer to check them out.

Please be sure to complete the Survey Have a good day...if anything.

I agree. It seems awkward to solicit a guest for a Red Card at SCO unless you see them bring up a high dollar item. SCO is supposed to be in and out quick buys with minimal interaction.

 

[HRZone]

Just look busy.

My last two stores had SCO and the problem was when the attendant stood there and didn't look busy. As long as you are moving, noticing suspicious things and helping those with a red or blinkie you should be fine.

Trying to engage everyone at SCO is dumb. A good number of people use it because they don't want to be bothered.

 

[Planosss]

What I normally do is greet everyone as the walk into the SCO area, then after I see they have rang up 5-10 items I walk over and ask, "Are you doing alright?" The guests seem very happy when I ask that and sometimes it sparks a convo. If we have a convo I'll try to slide in a redcard pitch and talk about the survey as they grab the receipt.

You, bitch!

 

[TTGOz]

I wouldn't greet people at SCO, more just say hi or talk only when you need to. I ask "How you doing" to some customers that are walking past me to get to the front SCO because once eye contact is made you kind of have to lmao. My store tells me to greet everyone as well and to even ask for redcards and I straight up was like "okay, that's probably not gonna last very long" and I was right it didn't, store got complaints about cashiers that actually did it and the STL told the GSTLs to stop that shit lmao

 

[AbsoluteZero]

I hate people asking me how I am.

Well that's 95% of greetings. As a cashier, my greeting is always a varient of "How are you doing?"

 

[HRZone]

and I was right it didn't, store got complaints about cashiers that actually did it and the STL told the GSTLs to stop that shit lmao

Lol yup we have 1 star yelp reviews about being annoying with our red card pitch.