Grocery Store Shops

Has anyone else noticed that the MSC does not want anything other than positive reviews for the grocery store jobs? For example "did they make eye contact" if you do not mark it in the positive they will write you and ask did they really not make eye contact. Often the baggers do not, they are busy bagging groceries and I consider eye contact more than a quick glance up.

If you choose to go to a self check out line instead of traditional because it was too long there is an option for that, the MSC will contact you to change it to I was moved by an associate. I went to the other night and there were no traditional lanes open as I was assigned because the cashier called in sick. I made all these notes about it and they told me to change my answer to an associate moved me to the self-checkout lane and then removed my comments about no cashier being in the store. But that is not what happened and I feel like they are not telling the truth to the client. I know it is silly but it bothers me that they don't trust my answers and want me to change them to what they want to see.

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Please do not throw tomatoes. The only thing I can think of is this: for some people, a quick glance might be all the eye contact they can give. For them, this is eye contact. But we don't know them, and we are not certain. Perhaps it would be okay, since we don't know them, to count that as eye contact even though we sometimes get a more noticeable or longer lasting eye contact from other people As long as you are being paid, go with it. Obviously, you are observant and can discern. Just go with the flow here and keep up your good skills. I do not know what is happening with responses after reporting that an associate moved you to a self check lane. Perhaps there is some drop down menu that editors see that we do not see ? This could explain why they ask you to change your answers. ? I will check back for more information from others who might know something.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu

I have decided that I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt and even a quick glance will get the okay from me. My mom reminded me that the younger generations do not do things the same as we do. We were taught to greet people by making eye contact and a firm verbal greeting but the younger generation may not do that.

Geesh, Shop-et-al...so many threads where you reference throwing tomatoes. I'll guess you don't have Spanish heritage where they have a tradition for that...

Yes, I noticed this on the second one I shopped.

This puts me in mind of the convenience store shops where they ask if the cashier smiled at you. It bugs me to say that they didn't because it is a cultural thing. Some cultures just don't have that "smile and make eye contact" behavior drilled into them from birth. In the neighborhood their stores are in, it would be inappropriate to greet their customers with smiles. The one size fits all forms are not good for many situations. This is why I prefer narrative over yes/no answers.

The Native American population is that way. When I used to shop their casinos it was always difficult to write up my narrative without dinging them because I knew that they were being professional and friendly but they are not overly enthusiastic with their greetings and they typically do not greet you unless you initiate the conversation.

I never fault anyone for not smiling, or for not making eye contact. Some folks are introverts and some folks had it pounded into them as children that they aren't allowed to make eye contact with adults, and when they became adults they never learned how. And then there are autism spectrum folks that simply can't make eye contact.

As long as they are friendly, and talk to me or respond when I talk to them, they get perfect marks from me. If they are rude, or sneer, or mutter unkind things under their breath, I take a different approach. If I know them from previous shops when they have been great and friendly, I ask their manager (AFTER I leave) if they are having a bad day, and put that they didn't talk much on the report. If I don't know them, or if they've been rude to me on previous shops it's pretty much no holds barred. I'll rake them over the coals.

@Morledzep wrote:

I never fault anyone for not smiling, or for not making eye contact. Some folks are introverts and some folks had it pounded into them as children that they aren't allowed to make eye contact with adults, and when they became adults they never learned how. And then there are autism spectrum folks that simply can't make eye contact.

As long as they are friendly, and talk to me or respond when I talk to them, they get perfect marks from me. If they are rude, or sneer, or mutter unkind things under their breath, I take a different approach. If I know them from previous shops when they have been great and friendly, I ask their manager (AFTER I leave) if they are having a bad day, and put that they didn't talk much on the report. If I don't know them, or if they've been rude to me on previous shops it's pretty much no holds barred. I'll rake them over the coals.

Silly me, I've just been answering the questions directly and honestly...

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