Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Wal-Mart greeters brighten shoppers' days by Jessica Barfie'ld Carolina Reporter A Mi-Mart regular walks into the retail store one afternoon for the sec ond time in a day. As she passes through the door, she says with a guilty laugh to the door greeter, “I know. You’ve seen me twice today.” Junelle Ewing, a Mi-Mart greeter still in the 90-day training period for her position, smiles back and says: “It doesn’t matter, I’ll welcome you every time.” Ewing, a retired nurse, is one of about /A 1 . . doesn’t need her at home on a full-time basis. “He’s stable and doing well now, so I had to have a change in jobs and get out of the house,” Ewing said. “We needed more income because you can’t live off Social Security by itself.” The main duty of a Wal-Mart door greeter is to greet shoppers and make them feel welcome, said Sherry Douglas, personnel manager at the Mi-Mart on Two Notch Road. They’re also responsible for giving shoppers carts, directing customers with exchanges or returns to the service desk and checking receipts for larger mer chandise to prevent store theft. “Mi-Mart greeters are partly a se ■ curity measure, but they’re expected to be very friendly and outgoing on the way in and on the way out,” said Carol Williams, the supervisor of greeters at the Gamers Ferry Road store. “They have to make a good impression because they’re the first person the customer sees on the way in and the last person they see on their way out.” Matt Bristo, who’s in customer rela tions at Wal-Mart’s home office in Arkansas, said that despite popular be lief, not all Wal-Mart greeters are elder ly “There are a few young greeters, too," lie jxull we uun i really keep the demographics on the greeters, but generally, they’re just overall friend ly people.” Although she hasn’t been greet ing Wal-Mart cus tomers, for long, Ewing said she’s al ready develoDinz a rapport with her customers. “I just try to get ‘em to smile — you know, perk up their day,” she said. “Some, you instinctively know are de pressed. And I don’t say the same thing over and over — that’s humdrum. “I meet the person’s eye and say what ever comes to mind. I try to change it so it’s not a rhetoric to me.” John Smith worked at U.S. Textile and in food service at Fort Jackson be fore he began working at Whl-Mart. Af ter nearly six years at the Wy-Mart ex it, Smith is recognized by Wal-Mart shoppers. “Who’s that fella right there?” a gray haired man on his way out asks as he stops and points to the yellow smiley face on i. the front of Smith’s blue smock. Smith looks down at the picture of Wal-Mart’s mascot, who can been seen whistling and dancing around Whl-Mart commercials, cutting prices. He smiles and says, “Oh, that’s the smiley.” “He’s mighty still right now,” the cus tomer says. He and Smith share a laugh, and before sending the customer on his way, Smith makes sure to say, “Thank you for shopping.” “I love people, and Wal-Mart pre sented me with the opportunity to meet some very good people,” Smith said “I just find joy in the customer.” He said that he never gets tired of standing up during his shift and that mak ing someone’s day a little better is only part of being a Wal-Mart door greeter. “I used to get a real dry mouth teach ing Sunday school or Bible study, and I’d have to stop to get a sip of water,” Smith 1 said. “Since I’ve been working here, I don’t need to stop for a drink of water anymore. I guess I’m just used to all the talking.” Ewing said the satisfaction she gets from working as a greeter is something that would lift anyone’s spirits. “Anytime you’re feeling depressed or blue, you should just come on up here and watch the people come in,” she said. “It’ll make your day.” w uudi gicciua cur ployed by the Wal Mart stores on Gar ners Ferry Road, Augusta Road, Two Notch Road, Forest Drive and Harbison Boulevard. She became a greeter not only for financial reasons, but also because her ter minally ill husband ‘Anytime you’re feeling depressed or blue, you should just come on up here and watch the people come in. It'll make your day.’ Junelle Ewing, Wal-Mart greeter Jessica Barfield Carolina Reporter Wal-Mart greeter Junelle Ewing gives a young shopper a smiley-face sticker, making the girl a member of the “Smiley Club,” a group of customers who have received Ewing’s yellow stickers. Ewing, who is finishing the 90-day training program at the Wal-Mart on Gamers Ferry Road, says she enjoys her job because everyone who comes into the store to shop is friendly. The Carolina Reporter Publisher Ronald Farrar Reporters Allison Aiken Jessica Barfield Gina DeMillo Kristin Freestate Ann Kennedy Israel Kloss Kate Maxwell Todd Money Noelle Orr Jacquelyn Poston Adrienne Thompson Jeff Stensland Managing Editors Judson Drennan Jeff Romig Editors Shana Bowman David Cloninger Rebecca Cronican Ashley Mathias Ryan Mosier Cara Pellatt Faculty Advisers Scott Farrand Keith Kenney Pat McNeely Henry Price Jennifer Wood • The Carolina Reporter senior semester students provide The Gamecock with weekly Metro & State coverage. For Metro & State news tips, please call (803) 777-3307 or (803) 777 3281. To fax tips, please call (803) 777-3248. Letters to the editor regarding Metro & State coverage should be directed to The Gamecock, RH 333, or gcked@sc.edu. The Carolina Reporter is pub lished six times a semester by seniors at the University of South Carolina College of Journalism and Mass Communications. The Carolina Reporter Online can be found on the World Wide Web at: www.jour.sc.edu/reporter/home.html -pelta Delta D a congratulates ^ Jamie Bailey Lorrie Bass LeAnn Best Mendi Chappell Katie Conner Lauren Corder Michelle Epstein Jen Fall Angel Ford Jennifer Franzen Christ Goodwin Tracy Hamilton Laura-Kaye Hartsell Bayne Harvey Reeve Hipp Rhem Hoskins Katie Lange Allie Lawing Angela McCurry Anne Marie McNeil Alicia Parker Alicia Pees Jessica Reeves Kit Seawright Ashley Smith Chrissy Stauffer Meghan Suddeth saran layior Emily Trakas Erica Turner Mary Brooke Waddell Erin Wallace Wendie Walls B.V. Warren Amanda Williams Mary Beth Williamson Chris Zipperer on initiation! ► GUESS WHICH ONE IS GETTING TAKE NOTES. GET PAID. You have to go to class anyway, so why not get paid to do it? Apply now @ allstudents.com or call 1-888-640-8810. 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