If you’re shopping at JCPenney at midday and notice that there are more employees than usual swarming the sales floor and being friendly, don’t worry: the store has probably not been taken over by pod people. Instead, it’s a new initiative that the chain is trying, called “Power Hours,” which is neither a lunch promotion nor a church service.

This new daily ritual was initially reported by the New York Post as JCPenney adopting greeters at the door like Walmart or Home Depot, but it isn’t exactly like that. Employees told the Post that even people who work in the warehouse have been asked to head out to the sales floor from noon to 2 P.M. every day, and that the overwhelming helpfulness means that there aren’t enough employees at cash registers when one of those thoroughly greeted customers wants to buy something.

We checked with JCPHQ to find out whether this is an actual thing, and it is. A company representative told Consumerist that the program is a test in stores in the Northeast, and they’ll roll it out nationwide if it’s successful.

“During power hours, which take place daily from noon to 2 p.m., associates focus solely on customer service and key selling activities,” the company explained in a statement. “Every store associate, from management to operations, participates in the program each day, ensuring a consistently outstanding shopping experience during peak hours.”

That sounds like an interesting idea: they just need to make sure there’s someone handling the cash register.

JCPenney is getting friendlier [New York Post]

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