I do think the rules are different in smaller communities. A small local Post Office is allowed to be chatty, since it's a vital community service, and the people in it probably know everyone in the village. Even in larger towns, customers can become regulars, in which case a different level of conversation is allowed - assuming that it's a small enough shop that the same person, or few people, are serving them all the time. If you're a regular in a large supermarket, you probably see a different person each time, in which case personal conversation is not allowed.
I'm not sure if it's allowed to discuss the things that are being bought. This implies that the check-out person is being a bit nosy, and is making a judgement about you and your lifestyle on the basis on what you're buying - whether it's luxury stuff, or value; whether you're obviously trying to diet (and maybe look as if you need it); whether you're always buying far more booze that you ought to.
In libraries, we're more and more encouraged to say things like, "Oh! I see you're borrowing X! Why don't you borrow Y as well. It's the same sort of thing, but I think it's even better." (This is engaging with customers, "reader development", and issue figure boosting, all in one.) I think the customer is more likely to think, "How nosy!" I think they expect library staff to be blind to the book titles - especially if they're borrowing a book like "How to divorce your useless husband", or "Living with your really embarrassing ailment".
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Date: 2006-12-09 10:37 am (UTC)I'm not sure if it's allowed to discuss the things that are being bought. This implies that the check-out person is being a bit nosy, and is making a judgement about you and your lifestyle on the basis on what you're buying - whether it's luxury stuff, or value; whether you're obviously trying to diet (and maybe look as if you need it); whether you're always buying far more booze that you ought to.
In libraries, we're more and more encouraged to say things like, "Oh! I see you're borrowing X! Why don't you borrow Y as well. It's the same sort of thing, but I think it's even better." (This is engaging with customers, "reader development", and issue figure boosting, all in one.) I think the customer is more likely to think, "How nosy!" I think they expect library staff to be blind to the book titles - especially if they're borrowing a book like "How to divorce your useless husband", or "Living with your really embarrassing ailment".