people greeter

A people greeter is a Wal-Mart associate who stands at the entrances and exits of a Wal-Mart store. They are almost always elderly and frail. From their job title, it just looks like they say Hello, and they give you a shopping cart if you want one, but Wal-Mart has tricks up its sleeve. They are actually there to deter thieves from walking out of the store with unpaid merchandise and to place pink stickers on returned merchandise.

Occasionally, you might find a young person taking over a people greeter's position for a short period of time, but they will usually be replaced when the elderly greeter comes back from his/her break or lunch.

Calmly walking out of Costco, after sneaking in to steal, a greeter fixed her eyes on us. An aging woman, she spoke to us in a shockingly mechanized voice, "True. love. How. Sweet.". Did it show that clearly? Though she was right, it gave us creepychills.

The Takashimya in Singapore has People Greeters in the morning. The Takashimya People Greeters, though, are cute and demure Japanese women rather than the elderly. They wear sharp skirt suits, white gloves and three-inch heels and when you pass by, they smile and bow and say, "Konichi wa!" in that high, breathy voice which is either annoying or erotic, I can't decide which.

Yet another example of the Japanese taking an American Innovation and improving on it!!1