i am a cashier with thirty years and today I was graded by a backup in the front office and they said that I did everything right except I did not educate customers. I have never heard of this. Has anybody ever heard of this? I wanted to laugh out loud but I knew better. I know this came from corporate they can come up with some of the dumbest things. Customers are not going to be educated by cashiers. cashiers can not get customers to stop pulling their chip cards out of the credit card machine until it starts beeping telling you to pull your card. Corporate should have to work with customers and I think they would change their tune.
It appears on mystery shops but has no baseline score yet. It's called educating/connecting. You're supposed to comment on items in the order and if you have a culinary background you could comment on what pairs best with that. For a moment they had books in produce and some depts to help everyone be an expert.
If "educating the customer" is what the 3rd (above) Anon poster says it means, then I see no harm in that, and actually do that quite frequently with my customers throughout my shift already. At least 2 of my reg customers even made or bought what I recommended to them lol.
Sure would be awesome if I got special kudos or incentive for that though. Maybe I should transfer to the OP's district.
All kidding aside, if they expect you to do this with EVERY single customer that checks out, that *is* ridiculous. Some people only have 25 bucks worth of food and/or have body language that indicates that they don't want to be talked to...But the perky soccer mom with the 500 dollar order? Sure, you can work some upsell magic on her without killing your ring tender.
What is really needed is a "Customer Code of Conduct" posted at all registers. Too many abusive customers to our cashiers and front end-this HAS to stop!!!
It appears on mystery shops but has no baseline score yet. It's called educating/connecting. You're supposed to comment on items in the order and if you have a culinary background you could comment on what pairs best with that. For a moment they had books in produce and some depts to help everyone be an expert.
They tried to do that in deli a few years ago. Everyone, including those of us in the bakery department, had to take a online test where you had match the the proper bread with the proper meat, the proper cheese, and the proper condiment. Needless to say, it went over like a lead balloon. I guess whoever came up with the idea didn't realize that everyone has different tastes.
As far as commenting on people's purchases goes, that's just plain rude. You don't comment on someone's appearance unless they ask you. You don't comment on someone's eating habits or food choices unless they ask you. You don't comment on someone's grocery purchases unless they ask you.
The way it was explained to me by a previous backup of mine was to just explain something like: fuel points, the current fuel point/buy ___ get a 10% discount promotion, or the surveys that appear on the receipt.
If I remember correctly it's something that wasn't that important so I wouldn't worry about it too much.
