Mirror Magazine

Mirror Magazine

Stuffy reactions
By Dilini Algama
I certainly am no Dale Carnegie or Sigmund Freud, but even I can see that the world would be a much better place if one didn’t have to face surly salesmen. As a self-confessed shopaholic maybe I feel I have the right to discuss this issue with you.

As a customer, I apparently emit vibes which say I’m-going-to-nick-that-blouse, because every time I get within a two metre radius of a clothes rack, a salesgirl comes up behind me with a I-have-a-gun-on-me look. Queen Elizabeth, had I asked her for the Kohinoor to see if it would fit in my handbag, couldn’t have looked more suspicious. Any attempt to propitiate on my part would be met with the kind of look generally seen on the faces of prison guards.

Even the time-honoured line “Can I help you?” comes out with the sort of tone one would use to say, “Shall I dunk your face in the cereal?” because she’s far too busy playing the store detective, and an unskilled one at that!

So maybe she’s been ordered to make sure I don’t stuff that Marks and Spencer dress into my left shoe in an attempt to purloin, but you’d think that she’d have more sense than to breathe down my neck while she’s at it.

Walk into a bookstore and ask where to find P.G. Wodehouse and the salesman will flash most of his teeth, in what could be called a poor attempt at smiling, and say “Who?” while blinking. When you repeat he’ll promptly say “no”, and if you’re lucky they might add “sorry”.

Please do remember that this “No” carries a number of meanings. That’s the bloke who wrote about rocket science right?
It might be on that rack or this one here or maybe even in that shelf or in the shelf behind that rack over there.

Get lost, I’m off to lunch.
Meaning you’re better off trying to find it yourself. Believe me some of them won’t be able to sell water to athletes practising in the Sahara.
Remember the wayside stalls (kadabakki) they used to have in the old days?

They used to have a board game at the entrance and customers would sit there sipping ‘plain tea’, gossiping and of course playing that game. It relaxed them, made them feel comfortable in the shop and that’s what’s called marketing strategies now.

See? Salesmanship dates way back and is probably one of most important aspects in a company because salespeople are the ones who have direct contact with the customers.

So if you are a salesperson, practice your smile and be genuinely nice to your customers because as a customer the way I think about the company depends a lot on you.

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