Greeters are quintessentially American; the epitome of the service-oriented culture. Their job consists entirely of standing at the entrance to a store and welcoming shoppers as if ushering guests into their own home. The warmth may be as genuine as a prostitute's kiss, but they must have a perceptible effect on sales otherwise shops wouldn't pay people to work as greeters.
Oddly enough for such a common sight in everywhere from Costco and K-Mart to Ikea, the word "greeter" is neither listed in the Merriam Webster Dictionary (the Bible of American English) nor does it have a Wikipedia entry.
Benign and humdrum as the job may appear, it is not always without danger. Last November, a greeter was killed during a stampede on the first day of the post-Thanksgiving "Black Friday" sale, when bargain-hunters who couldn't wait for a Walmart store to open broke down the front door, crushing the greeter in the process.
On a lighter note, there has been speculation that the people-handling skills and qualifications required of the greeter make it the perfect profession for at least one recently unemployed pre-retiree:
Oddly enough for such a common sight in everywhere from Costco and K-Mart to Ikea, the word "greeter" is neither listed in the Merriam Webster Dictionary (the Bible of American English) nor does it have a Wikipedia entry.
Benign and humdrum as the job may appear, it is not always without danger. Last November, a greeter was killed during a stampede on the first day of the post-Thanksgiving "Black Friday" sale, when bargain-hunters who couldn't wait for a Walmart store to open broke down the front door, crushing the greeter in the process.
On a lighter note, there has been speculation that the people-handling skills and qualifications required of the greeter make it the perfect profession for at least one recently unemployed pre-retiree:
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