By Ashley Manta
A lot of people are interested in cannabis as a sexual aid but don’t know how to broach the topic with budtenders. It can feel awkward to ask a stranger for his or her recommendation, but a good budtender can have a great local product or strain in mind that you wouldn’t know about if you didn’t ask. What’s the best way to have this conversation from both the budtender and the patient or customer’s perspective?
In part one of this two-part miniseries, I’ll go over budtender tips for making sex-friendly strain and product recommendations for customers. Part two will focus on advice for customers on how to ask budtenders for their advice. Here are my top tips for giving “the sex talk” at your dispensary.
1. Set Boundaries and Make Referrals
If you’re a person who finds it horrifyingly awkward to talk about sex with strangers–which, let’s be honest, is most people–it’s completely okay to say, “I’m not the best person to talk with about this, let me get [name] who has more training in that area to help you.” Or “I’m not particularly confident in my knowledge about X, let me refer you to [online resource] that might have some of the answers you’re looking for.”
Encourage the manager/owner of your dispensary to hire someone to train the staff on talking to patients/customers about sexuality. It’s also helpful to have a resource list handy. Lastly, recognize when someone is describing a medical issue and check in to ensure they’ve already consulted their physician before moving forward with suggestions.
2. Develop a Poker Face
It’s really challenging for someone to ask a complete stranger about something as personal (and societally shamed) as sex. Don’t abase them. Even if it’s something outside your wheelhouse or particular comfort level, don’t make them feel bad about it. Keep your face neutral but interested. (That looks like eyebrows raised slightly, head tilted slightly toward them, and a good bit of encouraging nodding.)
For example, if your customer talks about experiencing pain with penetration and you cringe or look disgusted, you’ve just non-verbally told them that they’re disgusting. Practice your neutral interested face in the mirror. It can take a bit to develop the muscle memory, but it’s a useful skill to have.
3. Don’t Mock, Belittle, or Otherwise Express Negative Judgment
Your customer may have an issue or interest that is important to them but feels uncomfortable for you. It’s okay to be uncomfortable. What’s not okay is to respond with jokes or sarcasm. You wouldn’t eyeroll someone who came in looking for pain relief for arthritis, so don’t snicker to your colleagues if someone comes in talking about a body part not functioning they way they want it to or is complaining about painful menstrual cramps.
4. Don’t be Creepy
If the person asking for help is the type of human you find attractive, do not take them asking you about sexual concerns as an invitation to hit on them. There are few things worse than getting up the nerve to ask a sensitive question to a service provider and have them make it weird by trying to turn it into a flirt. Stay professional.
Learn more customer tips and business tactics from Leafly!
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