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You've seen those war movies of the aircraft carriers in the Pacific or Korea. There's an officer standing on the port side aft with a flying helmet on and two big cloth paddles in his hands. As an aeroplane comes into land on the deck he'll raise the paddles up or lower them down and dip from side to side to let the pilot know what he needs to do to get in safely. The pilot must obey the flags if he can and he is under disciplinary orders to strictly obey two of them; the cut and the wave-off. The first drops him onto the deck in time to catch the arrester wire and the second makes him climb and veer off - hopefully for a better try next time. Both are mandatory.
Oh, that it could be the same in the photo trade. The idea of the flying helmet and the paddles is very attractive but a little impractical in the shop during lunch hour - someone would get bopped in the crowd. But the cut or wave-off would be magic.
When someone comes in for a specific thing - whether that be a piece of equipment or the resolution of a particular problem, the staff can help. It might be as simple as going upstairs to get a box full of the camera or it might be a lengthy consultation on just the right technique or piece of gear to do it - but once all problems have been resolved and the goods can be landed, it is a real pain to see the would-be client veer away with " I'll think about it " and then putter off.
Likewise, watching someone come in and buy the wrong item is painful. Some people have set themselves to buy Brand A when Brand B is really better for them - or they have decided that a certain lens is what they need even if they have no idea what that lens will do. I have not seen anyone refused a sale but there have been some earnest consultations about their choice. It would be a relief to be able to wave them off and send them round to the showcase for another choice.
I did think of rigging up a line of arrester wires from the doorway but the management baulked at it. They were even more nervous about the idea of Bofors guns on the roof. Mind you, Ernest was enthusiastic.
