What Is the Right Greeting In Retail? | Retail Today With Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor - Flash Briefing

You know, I've been doing a Facebook live video on my page for The Retail Doctor for several years now, and I always get the same questions about this time of the year. How do you greet a customer? Should I say, "How are you today?" Should I say, "Happy holidays?" What should I do? And the best way to greet a shopper is to simply say, "Good morning," "Good afternoon," or "Good evening," with a smile. That's the best way to greet them. That's in all of my books. That's what I talk about all the time when I do my in-person training. It's much simpler than you think. And you're going, "Well, my employees don't want to say the same thing over and over again." Well, I guarantee you, all they're saying now is, "Can I help you?" Or, "How you doing today?" And they're saying the same thing.

When you say, "Good morning," or "Good afternoon," or "Good evening," it piques the person's ears and says, "What did they just say?" And then they don't... can't answer you, "No." They usually will say, "Oh, good morning," or they might say, "Thanks," but it starts off the dialogue with a positive. So, "Good morning," can't be answered, "No." And when you make it a habit all year long, you'll end up starting that role of becoming a trusted advisor in your store. And that's going to lead to more add-ons and, more importantly, going to make everybody more happy or happier, including your shoppers and your bottom line.

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