I remember back in business school, we studied Wal-Mart for a marketing class. Wal-Mart had determined that the door greeter was their most successful anti theft deterrent. It seems shoplifters were much less likely to steal when the door greeter was the first impression of the store that they received when entering. The psychological reason for it was that seeing the jovial, elderly door greeter made people feel that if they stole from Wal-Mart they were stealing from their own grandparents.
elderly door greeter made people feel that if they stole from Wal-Mart they were stealing from their own grandparents.
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There are enough riff-raff out there who would kill their own grandparents that this premise might not be as effective as once thought.