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NYCinPGH t1_ixv1p9j wrote

So, a possible reason why they have a greeter:

Some GEs are owned by corporate, some are ‘franchises’, the Edgewood location is a franchise; found this out by asking at another GE, a ‘corporate’ one, why their location didn’t have the same products as the Edgewood one, and that was the reason that Customer Service gave me, that ‘franchises’ have a lot more individual control over what they stock. So that store’s franchisee, or their manager, has decided to have a greeter, for whatever reason. Maybe at the beginning of Covid it was to check for mask-wearing and dispensing disinfectant supplies and decided to keep them?

When I’ve gone there, the only greeters I’ve seen are either an older, tall, skinny, balding white man - I think he’s the manager? - or any one of a half-dozen older white women, who usually hand out the flyer with the week’s sales. They also usually have security there too, most often a guy from a contract place, but sometimes off-duty cops from either the county or Edgewood Borough.

As for why you got treated as you do, no idea; I’ve always worn a mask going in since Covid first hit and that’s never happened to me, and I’ve never seen any of them ‘lecture’ anyone of any presenting gender; at most, they’ve just said “Hi, would you like a flyer”, maybe occasionally talking up a particular sale, once I heard a “Go Steelers” before a particularly important game upcoming.

So I’m going to have to go with 4. None of the above, it was something else.

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tesla3by3 t1_ixv6d51 wrote

The Edgewood store became corporate in the last few months.

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catsgreaterthanpeopl t1_ixz54j5 wrote

Yeah, it was like the end of September. Assuming that they were just keeping already hired positions for now.

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tarsier_jungle1485 OP t1_ixv2pk0 wrote

Thanks for the explanation. I knew that some stores are franchises, but I wasn't aware that one was.

This was an older black man and he wasn't handing out flyers. I assume he's from the same subset of older guys who feel the need to instruct random women to smile while on the bus.

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peacefulscorp t1_ixvxd1c wrote

He’s there often. I just saw him on Wednesday morning and he was handing out flyers. He’s always extremely friendly, but I just smile and walk past and don’t engage. I think he’s very extroverted and seems to make it a point to talk to every single person walking in or out. It sucks that he made you feel uncomfortable.

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NYCinPGH t1_ixv41lu wrote

I go in there fairly often, a couple of times a week, and I’ve never seen an older black man greeter. If he wasn’t handing out flyers, was he in GE clothing? He may have just been some random obnoxious dude hanging out by the entrance (I’ve seen several instances of that) who decided for whatever reason to harass you.

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Tako-Jerome t1_ixxb9ox wrote

so thaaaaat's why it's the only store around where I can get mustard greens...

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NYCinPGH t1_ixxdd1l wrote

Or, in my case, Silver Star kielbasa.

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