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⌈ Secret Post #2761 ⌋

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So, I work in a retail environment, and while we don't have commissions, our supervisors have been increasingly encouraging us all to make more small talk with customers as a segue into trying to "upsell". I've had people tell me it's easy for our environment (it's a major tourist location), but I still struggle with it.

Any tips on initiating and maintaining small talk, especially for someone who finds most small talk really invasive or irritating? I'm really trying to make a good impression on my bosses and would really appreciate the help on this.

If you're talking to a lot of tourists, ask them 'so what's your favorite attraction/park/monument/whatever you've seen?' or 'have you seen (slightly obscure but fun thing) yet?' or 'so how far away from home are you?'

Fake an interest, laugh at anything remotely amusing/trying to be clever, and say you've always wanted to travel to (insert their home state here). People like to talk about *themselves* - so encourage that.

(I make small talk at my work while trying to persuade people to do surveys and things. Be upbeat, interested, encouraging and positive - in other words - fake it, fake it, fake it.)

Good luck!

(p.s - not saying *you* are not upbeat, or positive, just, you know....)

I'll definitely have to try these and keep these in mind. Thank you!

(While the "I've always wanted to travel to..." thing sounds really good, I also worry that when I'm dealing with people from smaller, less-well-known, or "boring" places like Midwestern states, I'm going to come off as too blatantly lying when we're in one of the world's most famous cities and tourist destinations. Thoughts on if I should go for it anyway, or just try something else in these situations?)

And don't worry, I'm really not an upbeat or positive person. This tended to be really helpful in my previous work environment of corralling twitchy kids or teenagers into sitting down long enough to tutor them - deadpan works really well in that situation - but it's not so helpful here.

Edited 2014-07-26 07:58 (UTC)

Hrmmmm....well, even the most boring midwest state has some gorgeous scenery or whatnot. But, yeah, i get your dilemma. Unless you want to research things about other states so you have some handy trivia, you could just stick with the 'what's your favorite thing/have you seen this thing/how are you enjoying your visit' kind of talk.

And, like i said - people love to talk about themselves, so a 'oh, you're from blah blah, what's that like?' kind of question always goes over well. You can pretend to be the 'never set foot outside my own neighborhood, what's the wide world like, you globe-trotter you!' person.

Glad any of this helped - for whatever weird reason, despite my personal hate-field and general dislike of most other humans, i'm *good* at small talk. I credit my mother, who could always find something encouraging and/or kind to say.

It's tough. To be honest, I'm going to be immediately suspicious of anyone in a sales position who starts up a chat because I know it's an upsell technique, and they clearly have an agenda beyond pleasant conversation. Especially if chit chat about the weather gradually segues into, "... so about our 90 day warranty plan..."

It depends on what you're selling, of course, but what I find least bothersome is people who project a general air of sincerity and friendliness without overdoing it and very specifically without referring to any little "extras" I could purchase. I'm an introvert and interactions in general cause me a mild level of anxiety, so I really appreciate it when people do their job quickly, efficiently, without too much of a fuss and let me flee back to my car. I think a good guideline would be to pretend that you're the customer and you're in a hurry. Not a bad emergency kind of hurry, but a slight eagerness to get this over with and go home. What would you want people to say during such a transaction?

The hell if I know. I work in a gift shop, and I'm not really sure why anyone even sets foot in gift shops in general. And I'm an introvert myself, which is why I struggle with this. When I think of myself in the position of a customer, my thoughts run along similar lines of, "You're nice but I don't want to chat", but I also know intellectually that I'm a bit of a minority in that respect - most people (at least statistically) don't mind a bit of chitchat and it is a really good way to subtly sell people more stuff (i.e. if someone comments on how sunny it is compared to their home state/country, great time to offer sunscreen, etc.)

I can sustain and utilize small talk pretty well once I get into it a bit, so I'm fine when I get bored or chatty customers, but given that this gift shop is in an amusement park, they are few and far in-between. It's just starting it in the first place in a way that doesn't sound like an interrogation. (I feel like if I just keep asking questions, it'll come off as creepy, yet I've seen coworkers pull off something similar and I still don't get how they do it).

Well, since it's a segue, I would talk about what they are buying or looking at. Ask them who it's for, say something about the color or design, say how well it's been selling (if it has been), if you like it, say so, but don't lie.

Smile. Make eye contact. Say hello. Ask questions. ('How are you?' 'Lovely weather, isn't it?' 'Where are you from?') Compliment someone. ('Great earrings.' 'Lovely shoes.') Be honest. ('Yeah, I'm not very fond of this article either but it sells really well, so apparently a lot of other people do like it.') Gauge their response and know when to leave someone alone.

But maybe most importantly, remember that most people appreciate being noticed and welcomed and a lot of them like small talk. (Maybe it will help to not look at it as upselling but as trying to help the customer.)

(I'm like you, or used to be like you. Over the years (working in retail) I've actually come to appreciate a little interaction with the customers and most customers like that human connection.)

My biggest problem with the answering questions thing is I'll ask, they'll answer, and...I usually don't know what to do with that answer. Asking another question makes me feel like I'm coming off as interrogating them, because that's how I feel when people ask me lots of stupid questions.

[ SECRET POST #2761 ]

Tips on making/starting small talk?

Re: Tips on making/starting small talk?

Re: Tips on making/starting small talk?

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Re: Tips on making/starting small talk?

Re: Tips on making/starting small talk?

Re: Tips on making/starting small talk?

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Re: Tips on making/starting small talk?