You hear all the time about going to the mall to pick up on fellow shoppers, but not so much about the employees. As a mall employee myself, I can recommend this because mall employees are guaranteed to be bored (especially in this economy and during week days), so they are very open to... Being opened.

I was in a mall that I do not work in today, and came across a flyer that detailed the malls advertisement for their leasing. I simply approached employees and was easily able to start conversations without setting off any alarms by telling them that I came across the flyer and was interested in opening a kiosk. This immediately sets you up as a successful man with vision, while not seeming full of yourself, just fishing for information.

I was lucky, as the flyer talked about potential growth (which made an easy height joke for me), as well as talking about "exposure opportunities" another obvious flirting topic. These quickly raised the stakes and made the encounter not jusbout business.