Plotinus tl;dr Anon (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} mullenkamp) wrote in eldena, |
Agreeing about the random greeting being an imposition. It's admittedly a very mild one - as introverted as I am, I don't really mind having someone say "Good morning" to me, because all I have to say in response is "Good morning" and then it's done. But oddly enough, I started realizing, what with my working third shift, sometimes it's actually good for people.
Scenario is like this. It's 6:10 in the morning, we've just opened the doors. If people are awake, it's because like me, they've been awake all night and are exhausted, or because they just got up to go to a day of work and probably don't want to. And when they walk in my doors, there are two options.
1: I don't acknowledge them. They get their coffee or whatever and wander groggily back to the counter. They pay, and I give them their change, without us exchanging more than numbers aloud, and they walk out still looking out of it.
2: I say "Good morning!" and smile at them. A lot of the time, they actually look surprised. Depending on how tired they are, they sometimes just kind of nod back, or actually mumble a response, but immediately they look a little less tired, a little less frustrated, and further pleasant exchanges and smiles send them out the door looking happy. I've only seen this not work a couple of times.
I don't much like talking to people, especially when it's completely meaningless. But on the job, I do it more than most of my co-workers, just because it seems that a lot of people, first thing in the morning, really do appreciate a friendly greeting more than just being left alone to wallow in their sleepiness and discomfort.
(On the other hand, if asked to deviate from the "Good morning!" "Good morning, how are you?" "Fine, thanks! That'll be $1.37" routine, I kind of stammer because I suck at it so much. XD)
But well, I consider that a part of my job. Once I punch out, I'm not going to say stuff to whatever other customers are in the store when I run up briefly to grab bread or something on the way home, unless they're one of my regular customers at the station. But sometimes I just give them a nod and a smile if we happen to be looking at each other for a second.
And I really don't understand why that works on most people. It doesn't really work on me when other people do it to me. But a lot of things that presumably work on other people don't work on me.
Scenario is like this. It's 6:10 in the morning, we've just opened the doors. If people are awake, it's because like me, they've been awake all night and are exhausted, or because they just got up to go to a day of work and probably don't want to. And when they walk in my doors, there are two options.
1: I don't acknowledge them. They get their coffee or whatever and wander groggily back to the counter. They pay, and I give them their change, without us exchanging more than numbers aloud, and they walk out still looking out of it.
2: I say "Good morning!" and smile at them. A lot of the time, they actually look surprised. Depending on how tired they are, they sometimes just kind of nod back, or actually mumble a response, but immediately they look a little less tired, a little less frustrated, and further pleasant exchanges and smiles send them out the door looking happy. I've only seen this not work a couple of times.
I don't much like talking to people, especially when it's completely meaningless. But on the job, I do it more than most of my co-workers, just because it seems that a lot of people, first thing in the morning, really do appreciate a friendly greeting more than just being left alone to wallow in their sleepiness and discomfort.
(On the other hand, if asked to deviate from the "Good morning!" "Good morning, how are you?" "Fine, thanks! That'll be $1.37" routine, I kind of stammer because I suck at it so much. XD)
But well, I consider that a part of my job. Once I punch out, I'm not going to say stuff to whatever other customers are in the store when I run up briefly to grab bread or something on the way home, unless they're one of my regular customers at the station. But sometimes I just give them a nod and a smile if we happen to be looking at each other for a second.
And I really don't understand why that works on most people. It doesn't really work on me when other people do it to me. But a lot of things that presumably work on other people don't work on me.
