Once upon a time (approximately 3 months ago) some chick at a local store greeted everyone with a hearty “WELCOME IN!” I had never heard this phrase before… certainly “WELCOME!” or “WELCOME TO CHIPOTLE!” but never “WELCOME IN!” I thought she was just a weirdo.
At the mall the other day, no fewer than three different stores had people greeting you with “WELCOME IN!” Maybe it was that particular mall policy, but wtf… I guess there’s nothing particularly wrong with the syntax but it just grates.
Yeah, that’d only sound appropriate on an airlock into a space station…
I think it’s a case of “I’m not used to talking to the public, so i’m going to give it my all!”
Prevalent among young retail help:“May I do anything to be of help or guidance or other assistance, SIIIIIR?”
I like the Wal-Mart greeting: “Hi! What the fuck are you looking at?”
Maybe they thought you were German and were trying to say, “Willkommen!”.
Have you been shopping in lederhosen?
Or to quote Jeff Dunham’s Walter, “Welcome to Wal-Mart. Get your shit and get out.”
That’s certainly less off putting than Costco’s “Welcome to Costco, I love you”