Today’s post comes from my favorite advice column. We are ALL Dr. Babooner.
Dear Dr. Babooner,
Gleeful Goods, the supermarket I frequent, has made great customer engagement its #1 goal, and they’ve even given their business name a tagline – “The Gladdest Grocery on Earth.” Normally I would be in favor of this because I think every business should strive for excellence when it comes to making guests feel welcome.
But each time I go to Gleeful’s they are so overly pleased to see me it’s starting to feel creepy.
The people who re-stock the produce bins pat me on the back with their oniony-smelling hands, the butchers at the meat counter salute me with bloody knives, and one of the check-out girls shrieks with delight every time I approach her lane.
I find this unsettling.
Plus, I know that every member of the staff is required to be enthusiastic about making connections with the customer, and having held a job for over 40 years I know how non-managerial people can secretly rebel against administrative directions through over-compliance, so I’m starting to wonder if their eerily intense interest in me is actually ironic. Or worse!
I don’t want to disappoint them by not showing up, but just the thought of going there gives me a bit of a stomachache. Although experts say you shouldn’t go grocery shopping when you’re hungry, so my odd reaction to Gleeful’s over-the-top customer engagement effort is probably saving me some money.
Emotionally, it’s just getting too complicated to shop for food.
Dr. Babooner, should I change supermarkets, or take an antacid and stick to my routine?
Unsetteledly,
Shopped Out Of Luck
I told Shopped that because she is simultaneously put off by the thought that her supermarket friends care both too much and too little, I suspect she is looking for a place that has achieved a distinctly Midwestern flavor of attentive indifference. Such a perfect balance may be impossible to find near her home, so if she doesn’t feel comfortable, she should try changing stores.
I also told her she should write back to tell me how it goes, though I won’t hold my breath waiting to hear. That should be about right.
But that’s only one opinion. What do YOU think, Dr. Babooner?
Trail Baboon 