[lbo-talk] Standing vs. Sitting

[Wendy Lyon]

On 8/30/05, ThatRogersWoman <debburz at yahoo.com> wrote:
> I can't speak for all businesses, but I grew up in the grocery
> business, and it's just impractical for a checker to sit.  Checkers
> need to be flexible enough to reach items, move heavy items around,
> and in some cases, sack the purchases and load them in carts.  Also,
> when check-out lines are long, you're going to want to move the
> customers through the line quickly, and that can't be done sitting on
> your duff.

But, as Wojtek noted, that *is* done in other countries.  


> It is a
> sales job afterall, and I don't understand what is so bad about
> common courtesy and enthusiasm as a way to entice your customer base.

Well, for starters, I wouldn't equate "standing" with "common courtesy
and enthusiasm".  I also wonder to what extent that would entice
customers to a supermarket in any case - where weekly grocery shopping
is concerned, wouldn't most customers care primarily about things like
location, cost and a decent selection of items?

The cynic in me wonders if some American grocery chain didn't do away
with chairs just to save on $$$, and then retrospectively invent the
"customer service" excuse to justify its actions.