Staff Columns: Where have the greeters gone?
Every now and then we wake up and realize that something important to us has disappeared. It had been slowly slipping away from us, but we never did anything to stop its retreat. Now it’s a memory that will make us seem old when we reminisce to younger family members. For me, it’s the old Wal-Mart. You know, the only store with cheerful greeters and smiley faces you never had to ask for. The place that sold more made-in-America goods than any other store in the 1980s. The place that inspired bored students to create a list of 101 things to do at Wal-Mart. Where has this store gone?
People in denial might say that the old Wal-Mart is still there, that it is just bigger and better. But take a look at the door greeter the next time you go in. Odds are 9 to 1 that he or she won’t be smiling. The greeter whose primary task was once to welcome customers is now to check for stolen merchandise as people walk through detectors. Children must give a pleading look to rangle a smiley face from a greeter these days.
My grandmother’s cousin was a greeter at Wal-Mart until she turned 90 years old. No person made his or her way past this angel of a greeter without a warm ‘hello’ and a smile. And she never stood back against the wall. She came right up to customers and made her presence known. So many shoppers pass through those doors now, though, that a greeter would be trampled for such efforts.
The paragon of convenience is now a hub of ultra activity. People fill one buggy with groceries and another with house wares and file in long lines. The customer who once could quickly grab an item or two must now devote a half hour for walking through the mega store.
Perhaps the half hour would be worth the wait if you knew you were supporting the business that keeps the American economy growing. But, the only economic muscle Wal-Mart is exercising is the one that imports billions of dollars of goods from China. We can’t even buy American-made junk anymore.
I could live with all these changes without thinking back to the good ole’ days, if it weren’t for one other change: the silent cashiers. I learned that when two human beings cross paths, it is polite to say ‘hello’. I can remember having many a delightful short conversation with cashiers at the old Wal-Mart. He or she would comment on the beautiful flowers I was buying or how he had tried the new flavor of ice cream I had chosen and how wonderful it tasted.
Today, however, it is quite possible to go through a checkout lane without exchanging a word with the cashier. The price shows up on the register, the customer whips out a credit card and does her own transactions and the cashier hands the customer a receipt. I went through a check out line once where the cashier was so disconnected that she didn’t even hear me say ‘hello’. Another day, I decided that I would try to smile and share a cheery word with the cashier. She never made eye contact for that to happen.
So what if we can get our oil changed, receive a hair cut and buy groceries all in the same trip? So what if the new mega store has 125 different types of shampoo? I miss door greeters who greet, convenience that is convenient, made-in-America stickers and clerks that share their opinion on ice cream. So, what’s so super about Wal-Mart anymore?
Amy Cronic
Graduate Assistant
The Colonnade
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Apr 15 2005. Filed under Opinion.
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