So today I went to the mall with a couple friends and went into The Buckle (kinda higher end clothing store) and right away an hb8, that works at the store, came up and started talking to me and my friend. Of course it's her job to be friendly but my other friend immediately thought of it as an IOI towards me.

After she went to attend to work-related things for a while I came up to her and started talking and she was suggesting that I should work there. As I am looking for a job at the moment I didn't try to change the subject but I think it might have been a good idea. Then when I tried to #-close i got rejected because she said she was a manager and couldn't do it because I had shown interest in working there and left my contact info.

She could have been saying that to be nice or it definitely could be truth but I'm still learning the game so I was pretty sloppy. What would you guys suggest trying to change the subject from business to pleasure and what are some good ways to try and open at a store but not interrupt their work?