I just signed up for a gym membership with a very nice lady. I’m very quiet so I just kept nodding my head to her and at the end she asked if I had any questions so I told her no and thank you with a smile, as she was walking me out she said hope u have a good day which I said you too thank u and she said good luck cleaning your car which I’m not sure if I was supposed to respond to that, but for some reason I jumped into saying “I know I have a lot more to do” but she interrupted me after I said “i know..” then she said “ok Nathan have a good day!” with a smile which I said “you too”. I’m assuming I was talking a lot during an exit, not sure but I’m just wondering why she cut me off and didn’t let me finish. I’ve noticed this before when I was getting a new line with my phone service, as the lady was being kind and bubbly to me, she asked me “so how’s your day” and I started talking which I could tell she was only half listening then she interrupted me and said “let me get this” and got up..I’m not sure if I’m speaking too much, I know they are just doing there jobs but that’s twice now that I tried saying something back and they cut me off in middle of talking? Any insight into this?
4 comments
Oh dang, it sounds like they are just being customer service friendly and not actually wanting to engage with you. That sucks, I get that a lot and feel so empty afterwards. Just know they are doing their job and not actually interested in what you have to say. I would attempt to maybe message a friend or something afterwards to get some real genuine human interaction … at least that’s what I do when I feel so unheard and unseen lol
They made the sale. So in their mind they’ve already moved on to the next task. These people are working, so yes it’s a bit rude, but they probably have stuff they need to get back to such as other customers.
Try talking to them before you buy and I’m sure they’ll listen to you for a lot longer!
You’re taking the questions too literally. They are meant to be little conversational signposts, not signs of deep curiosity or invitations to a long talk.
In the first example, she had already ended the conversation in her mind and was giving the verbal equivalent of a little friendly wave goodbye, similar to “have a nice day!” or “”Come again soon!”
An appropriate response would be either a direct answer (“Thanks!” or “I will!”) or a very SHORT comment or joke (“I’ll need luck and a cleaning crew!”). Not a description of everything you need to do.
In the second example, she was probably trying to fill an awkward silence or temporarily working on something, and did not expect a long answer. Again, the proper response would be something brief — a generic answer like “Going well,” or a short 1 sentence story that is not too depressing (“Well, I had a flat tire this morning but luckily got it fixed pretty quickly”).
The key is, don’t take up all their time just because you think you have a captive audience. They’re not there to fulfill your need for friendship; they’re just there to do a job.
Anytime you make a service worker stand there, or take time away from work, just to listen to you talk, you are screwing up. So don’t do it. Learn to filter what you say, and be respectful of their time.
Some ‘nice’ people aren’t, they are just wrapped up in their own little world and their own little scripts.
People who actually listen often don’t seem as bubbly, but you might find that because they listen you might find them to be nicer.