Customer Profiles: The Oversharer

There are some types of customers that are just universal, and no matter where in the world you are or what type of store you work in, at some point you will run into a few familiar personalities. As the first in a series of profiles of stereotypical customers, I present to you The Oversharer.

These are the people who can't just ask for help finding something, they have to make sure you understand why they need it. A simple "I'm looking for this" just isn't enough. Oh no, you have to know who they're buying it for, the previous gifts they've bought for that person, and various other bits of personal information that you don't even know about your own friends.

At times this can cross from the slightly annoying into the realm of the downright uncomfortable. While we're happy to find you a copy of that book about marriage, we really don't need to know the details about your failing relationship. I'm sorry we don't have the CD you're looking for, but it's not going to be any more in stock just because you'll be playing it as the background music for your grandmother's funeral. And I'm sure your ailing father did have a dream about reading a book that included a map of shipwrecks, but that doesn't mean we have it (or that it even exists).

My suspicion is the majority of Oversharers are slightly lonely people just looking for someone to talk to, and who read too much into our offers of help. The best approach is to keep encounters brief, smile and nod at whatever they have to share, and back away slowly as soon as possible.

Ashley