Should models in stores greet the customers?

[Arwen Serpente]

Question for the group:

If a store has a model (avatar model) on display wearing the creator's outfit, do you prefer to have that model greet you when you enter and ask if you need assistance, or, do you prefer if the model stands silent and does not greet or speak at all?

 

[Wildcat Furse]

I prefer they are set on 'Don't disturb the customer' modus ..... wish they had that modus for shop assistants in RL too *meows*

 

[Kuda Oh]

I have to agree with Wildcat, I myself prefer sales people to leave me alone in RL and that tends to transfer to SL.If  I have a question then I will ask, otherise I like browsing with out someone bugging me.

[Sassy Romano]

Opinions will always vary.  I have no problem with a simple welcome and offer of help should I require it.  I'm very proud of the assistants that help me and that's what they do and from what I see, more people ask questions and feel able to approach if they're extended the offer first than when they're ignored.

Different shops sell different things though and I don't need to be asked if I need help finding a dress among all the other dresses.  Some of my items are complex, interact with each other and require a degree of set up so it's expected that customers welcome the offer of help, should they require it.

[Tari Landar]

9 times out of 10 having them greet is annoying. Because they *usually do it when you first land. In some cases they spam their "help" more than once. Once is sufficient, imo.

I don't like sales people to ask me if I need help-unless I somehow "look" like I need it. Models are not usually salespeople though. They're usually just someone posing for money while their rl self isn't even at the computer.

It's nice to ask someone if they need help, in *some instances, don't get me wrong. But someone just coming up to you, or even worse right on landing, asking if you need help can be a pita sometimes too. I'm always polite in return but usually don't go back to that location again.

 

[Persephone Emerald]

I don't mind if a live model says hello & welcomes me to the shop. That lets me know they aren't bots or AFK. Then if I have a question or need help, I'll ask them.

 

[Randall Ahren]

How about a button that says press for help? When you press the button, it IMs a model for help and then the model knows it is OK to talk to you.

[Bree Giffen]

I'd rather that they not ask if I need assistance but simply let me know they are living people who are available if needed. I worked as a greeter/helper once. It's quite difficult because you have to pay close attention to an empty teleport pad in order to greet people as they arrive. It's a lot like watching paint dry.

There might be  market for a greeter hud that starts buzzing and lighting up when someone teleports in or presses a help button. That way your greeter could be surfing the net or zooming far away and they would instantly know to focus back to the incoming customer. It would certainly make the job a lot easier.

[Josh Susanto]

My one-prim mannequins will soon be equipped with chatbot scripts.

Does that qualify as "greeting"?

[Phil Deakins]

You asked 2 different question - one in the title, and one in the post. The answer to the title question is, no - "should" doesn't come into it. The answer to your post question is up to each individual, of course.

[Kuda Oh]

Alot of good answers and different opinions, also some good ideas too. I have been to stores with "bots or mannequins" before. One thing I never liked was chat being filled up by "non human" chat wether from a bot or greeter script. I guess the store welcome should be minimal? I have been to places where an object would continuously say stuff in chat, often times repeating itself, kind of annoying and has made me leave peoples stores.  A object you can click when you do need help is a good idea in itself.

[Arwen Serpente]

Thanks Phil for the lesson in semantics :smileywink:  I think those who have responded understood this is going to be about opinions. My personal preference is for no greetings, just for the model to be there as display of quality of work. When I'm shopping, if I have a question, I will usually im the creator or leave them a notecard as I wouldn't expect a person modeling to have all the info I might want and probably direct me to the creator anyway. However, several people who model in stores told me that were asked to greet, so I thought I would ask the group what their thoughts were on the matter. 

[Sassy Romano]

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Arwen Serpente wrote:

When I'm shopping, if I have a question, I will usually im the creator or leave them a notecard as I wouldn't expect a person modeling to have all the info I might want and probably direct me to the creator anyway.

---

 

To clarify, the assistants that help me are very competent at dealing with technical issues and can pull up the customers purchase history and redeliver and more.  There's not much point having assistants if they're not empowered with the knowledge and tools to function properly.  (They are assistants, not "models" but I recognise that the original question was "models")

Of course people are still welcome to IM me but they could well have obtained help far faster if there's someone there  ready to help and i'm offline.

I'm not really sure what the fuss is if someone says "welcome, let me know if there's anything I may help you with".  They're not going to stalk you around the shop.  I'd be puzzled if that was found just cause for never returning.  So often we read/hear of bad customer service or no customer service.  Seems we can't win either way!

[Arwen Serpente]

Yes, Sassy, I read that in your previous post that your assistants are very competent and able to answer lots of questions. It's fabulous that your assistants can redeliver, look at sales history, etc (my model is not able to do those things). I experimented briefly with a store model who is knowledgeable about my products greeting customers...it ended up that they still had to im me for the info/help they needed (i.e., a failed marketplace delivery, would I do a custom job, etc) - in fact, the process got longer, because first the model contacted me saying the customer needed help, then the customer contacted me. Had the model not been there engaging them, they would have just contacted me directly, as they have always done in the past. I provide the very best customer service I can - very quickly even from offline as I watch messages pretty much all the time unless I'm asleep.  I guess every situation is different. For me, while it doesn't prevent me from going back to a place with a model who greets and fields questions, I still prefer to shop in silence (just as I do in rl). I find the various responses very helpful to build on my own experiences and plan for the future.

[Ai Velde]

Most of the models are bots. Not many people seem to realize that it's a bot or automated program the merchant has set up. So they can't greet you, as it's not a person.

If it is a person who is getting paid to be a model, then no. I prefer shopping and browsing in solitude and tend to avoid conversation or anything like that. When I shop in world, I prefer to get in and get out quickly. But that's just me.

[Tari Landar]

Now THOSE I like

Some merchants have those built into their stores too. You click it and it lets you say your message in chat and it sends it in IM to the creator. Or if they are online it  tells the creator that a customer needs assistance. I've seen quite a few variants of this. I really like them. Knowing you can get help if you need it, is a wonderful tool. Being slammed with messages on landing is what I don't like. Or worse being hit with them as I wander, lol. (some places use the blue menu greeter type deals and those, specifically, annoy the bejeebus out of me, sure way to get me to not return at all)

[Lanas Criss]

Looks like nearly every possible option has been covered but I'll throw in my vote in total agreement with Bree's "I'd rather that they not ask if I need assistance but simply let me know they are living people who are available if needed"

My favorite clothes shop seems to have someone throw that out now and then.  I can't say I've seen their messages repeated twice so don't know if they're a 'Bot' or not but I doubt it.  The messages are nice and friendly and I can see someone walking around with the store tag on so I know who to poke.  They've been extremely helpful when I've needed them to find a friend an outfit from nearly a year ago or some other tricky knowledgeable sort of thing so 'helpful' is the most important as has been mentioned several times.

Certainly don't need more robo-welcomes to brighten my SL day...

Good luck deciding!

[Ruby Ormega]

As a frequent shopper...
I prefer not to be greeted. I hope this doesn't sound offensive but "greeting" always seems like escorts/dancers in clubs. A pushy kind of commercial. Please just let me browse.

If I see what looks like a model, dancing on a small platform maybe, it's hard to tell if it's a live model or a bot.
Even if I know it's a live person, I assume anyone called a "model" doesn't know much and is probably just there for show or advertising. So I'm unlikely to ask her a question. If she really does know enough to be helpful, I recommend calling her an Assistant or Staff or Manager instead of model.

What I like best are boards facing the entrance with a picture of an avatar on each and a green or red word saying Online or Offline - maybe saying "click to IM for help".

A Service desk or Help desk looks good, and can have an Online / Offline indicator for the owner or manager. The nice thing about a service desk is that it implies they are willing to help if required - but only if I wish to actively initiate a conversation. I like that.

Of course, all the group joiner boards, subscribers, general info boards, etc, should be in one place, right by the desk if there is one, not spread all over the place.

I hope that helps - all pretty obvious really 

 

[Dresden Ceriano]

It strikes me as funny that most people say they'd rather be left alone, then, at the same time, if you ask a merchant with a greeter that spams you with LMs, group invites and all that, they say that it actually works.

I remember one conversation I had with a merchant that used one of those instant drop down menus to invite people to his group, and he told me that, since he put it in, the people he's had join his group grew exponentially.

I guess the same could be said for television commercials. Which leads me to believe that this kind of thing is never gonna stop no matter how many threads are started about it or how many people say they hate it. Some things you just have to learn to live with.

If everyone were like me, it wouldn't work at all because I click ignore on those things faster than I can spit.

...Dres *can't really say how fast he spits* I always swallow. :matte-motes-delicious:

[Madeliefste Oh]

What I prefer is the possibility to take a demo of products. No models, no greeters, but let me try before I buy.