Did You Find Everything Today?
I was asked this very question the other day at the grocery store, and chances are, you’ve heard it in many other retail situations. It’s become somewhat of a stock cashier greeting — a way to acknowledge the customer’s arrival at the front of the line and to express concern for her full satisfaction.
Now, how often have you answered in the negative? I’d wager occasionally. I also maintain that by providing this opportunity for feeback, the cashier has an obligation to act on the response. Too often, my reply that no, I didn’t find something I needed is met with a look of mild surprise and a mumbled “Oh.” These cashiers then proceed to scan the items I did manage to locate.
When the cashier is responsive, it can be a very soothing thing. At various times, I’ve had managers summoned, free shipping vouchers procured, or other locations called. Even if the end result is the same (no item), I feel like the best has been done and that my disappointment has been recognized in a productive way. But when I get back blankness or disregard, I’m even more annoyed than when I started out.
So why would any cashier ask or be instructed to ask such a question if they aren’t impowered or motivated to be problem-solvers? It takes what could be a constructive and caring initiative and shows it to be nothing more than a hollow script. (I have a small confession to make about scripts: For three days in the mid-90s, I worked as a telemarketer for the symphony. I couldn’t stay on-script to save my life. At one point I sang a line of Der Hölle Rache for a lady, and it astonished me that she didn’t hang up then and there.)
OK, back to my point. Who likes being spoken to according to a script? That’s not to say companies shouldn’t work out basic responses for messaging consistency or work through scenarios to manage risk, but talking to someone with no autonomy to respond on a personal level is deeply aggravating.