Oh god, that really does sound terrible. I'm all for personalised attention, makes such a difference for the retailer /and/ the customer as both can come away happy. Not one feeling invaded and the other feeling dirty.

Good luck on your job-hunt, I'll follow it via Titter 😉

's why I left retail. When I started in the place I was working, it wasn't like that. It was personalised attention, taking a genuine interest in the customer. As time passed, it became more SELL SELL SELL! with increasing pressure to meet sales targets… including a patronising "Sell something and get a sticker! Get enough stickers and you could win a prize!" incentive.

Gaaah. Well out of it.

The whole existence of the store relied on repeat customers so we had to try and convince people to sign up for introduction games/paint club/veterans nights etc.

I felt so dirty doing it. I'm a good judge of character and can tell when someone is not interested, but what are you supposed to do when your manager is watching and expecting you to hit 10 intro games a week? It made me feel dirty!

The system can KISS my ass! Yeah, I went there.

I'm not worried about the Internet so much. Although 99% of social network users should worry about the world learning just how inane they are capable of being!

I'm not mad at the drones – as I say, I've been one! I'm mad at the system that's created them. I'm much more inclined to trust someone if they speak like a human being rather than a prerecorded message.

Bosses who encourage this sort of stuff need to remove the sticks from their arses and let their employees shine as their own people.

But given that we live in a world where you can get told off for listening to some music on your iPod whilst doing a boring filing job that doesn't require you to interact with anyone in an office that no members of the public come to visit… I don't see that happening any time soon, unfortunately. Regulation, regulation, regulation.

Good job the Internet still has free speech, huh? *checks Twitter timeline for any inadvertent terrorist threats*

Don't be too hard on the drones. Some are thick-headed, brachycephalic, single-gear shamblers…sure. But some are just your average Joes wishing they were somewhere else, or at least on their way there. They matter to you as much as you matter to them – a necessary interaction.

My first part-time job was in retail, Colorado clothing to be exact – possibly the biggest fraudster "Outdoor" clothing retailer on the planet. I got a warning from my boss after she overheard me talking to a customer.

Customer: So, I'm looking at doing some hiking. What would you recommend from this range of boot?

Me: Yeah, I'd recommend going to Kathmandu, hey. They'd be your best bet for serious hiking boots. These ones here are pretty much only good for restaurants.

Customer: Huh, I see. Always had the idea Colorado were an outdoor clothing company. There you go.

Me: Yeah, pretty convincing. Not a bad shop if you like going to restaurants, though.

Oh, I know the feeling entirely! When I worked for a certain fruit-based computer corporation, there were all sorts of things like this to remember. Fortunately, they were a little looser in their implementation of it – i.e. there wasn't a set "script" as such, but there were things we were expected to mention if appropriate. That "if appropriate" bit is the thing that a lot of employers seem to forget these days!