Pizza Express teaching staff how to flirt with customers

London, Oct 13 (ANI): Family-friendly restaurant Pizza Express is teaching its staff the art of flirting with patrons in a bid to relax them, it has emerged.

The restaurant has recruited classically trained actor Karl James to teach flirting and the art of chit-chat to staff to help them butter up the customers.

James is running a series of bespoke workshops with Pizza Express employees to help them improve the way they interact with people ahead of the launch of a new concept restaurant in Richmond, the Living Lab, due to open next week.

"With social media and texting reducing our face-to-face interaction, Pizza Express has enlisted the help of a conversational expert who is incorporating flirting and unique conversation techniques ... into its new staff training scheme to help completely redefine the restaurant experience for customers," the Telegraph quoted a source close to the company as saying.

James had played a key role in designing Pizza Express' new training and recruitment process, including teaching staff "how to flirt (subtly) with customers so they feel more comfortable and relaxed", he said.

He added the hectic pace of modern life often prevented people from having a quality conversation. But somewhere among the pizza ovens, pushchair ramps and oversized pepper grinders, the art of banter was a "teachable skill" which would help staff "get the most from every interaction, with colleagues and customers," the source said. (ANI)