5 Types of Customers

Working in customer service every customer is different (of course) but I noticed that there seems to be five "types" of customers who come in to the store.  If you work in customer service do any of these types of people sound familiar to you?

1. the over sharer. . ."My husband left me 10 years ago and he ran off with a younger woman and now I have to take care of his dog." This may sound like the title of a bad country song, but it is not. This is what a customer (I'll call her Nina) told me once when I asked how she was. Now please don't misunderstand me. Nina seemed very nice and I am sorry for everything that she was going through because divorce is never easy (whether it happened a month ago or 10 years ago). And I told her I was sorry for all that had happened. But, overall. . . ummm, awkward. I am just a cashier checking out your groceries. . .I'm not a therapist or even a bartender. I guess overall, if it made Nina feel better to talk about her problems for a few minutes then I'm glad I was there to listen.

2. The strong, silent type. . . I don't know if it's true but I perceive these people to be nasty and I generally don't like them very much. The cashier says, "Hi. How are you?" and the strong, silent type doesn't answer. The cashier says, "Do you have any coupons" and the strong, silent type just hands the coupons to you without saying a word or if they don't have any coupons they just stare blankly into space without answering. They never look at you. They never talk or smile.

3. The talker. . .I generally like these customers. They smile at you. They are pleasant. They make nice conversation--talking about sports or the weather, or their kids activities at school.

4. The Professional. . .The professional shopper comes in with a stack of coupons and almost every item they have bought is on sale. They are polite, efficient, and almost always rush to bag their own groceries (using the reusable bags they have brought from home, of course). If there is a mistake on their receipt they notice it--and generally notice it before they even leave the store. I like the professional shopper because they are smart and aware.

5. The Regular... I have to give credit where credit is due. My sister suggested that I write about the regulars. I had actually considered this earlier but didn't know what I would say about them other then they came into the grocery store enough that I recognized them, but then I thought about it for a while and here is what I came up with. Presumably everyone knows what a "regular" is (and no, it's not what happens what you eat enough fiber...ha ha). Generally I like regulars because it's nice to see familiar faces while your a cashier. The regulars (in my opinion) tend to "get away with" a lot more, too. Here's what I mean--I have a customer (I'll call him Harry). Harry is the strong, silent type and he always throws his money on the conveyor belt. Now for those of you who have been reading my blog for the past few weeks you know these are things that normally drive me CRAZY and the combination of both of these things together would normally cause my head to explode! But I always smile and talk to Harry (even though he doesn't talk back) because he is a regular. There's another customer (Alice) who breaks my number one rule because three times a week she comes into the grocery store 1 minute before we close! She actually came through the checkout at 11:55 once with a huge stack of coupons. I smiled, said hello and rang up her order. Then I gave her the total and she said to me, "Oh my god, I forgot my debit card at home. I just live around the corner, can I run home and get it?" Again...normally this would have caused World War III. But because Alice is a regular I smiled and said, "No problem." and she ran home and got her debit card. So that is why I think being a regular tends to benefit customers, too. The cashier gets to know the regulars and how they like their groceries bagged. There are some people who like their groceries bagged in plastic and not heavy. There are some people who like paper bags in plastic bags. If you become a regular the cashier gets to know your preferences. That being said I have a small piece of advice. . . find a grocery store that you like and stick with it. Going even a small step further I would recommend that you try to go to the store at about the same time every week--now, of course, I know this might not be possible for everyone. For example, if you like grocery shopping at night there are generally a handful cashiers who are always on the evening shift...so by going at the same time you will have a few cashiers who get to know you and recognize you. If the cashier gets to recognize you and gets you know they will be more friendly (and generally more helpful).

Are you any of these types?

Well, that's it for today. . .take care and happy shopping!