Shopping At Luxury Stores - Page 16

cric-croc · 09-12-2005

i might add my two cents while i am here

i have worked as a sale assistant in harrods for quite a bit of time and i have noticed a couple of things:
first of all, they 'oblige' you to be always smiling, helpful and friendly to everyone...most of the times, when you see a sale person in a bad mood is either because she has just been treated very badly by another client, or her manager has just told her off for not selling enough (you have no idea how disrespecful managers in department stores can be: just because of their position, they want respect from you but they do not give any to you)

having said that, i still find 'disturbing' when i walk into a store myself and just because i am wearing my flat shoes and my comfy clothes, noone aknowledges me...whereas when i am carrying my LV bag, everyone seems to be staring at me and waiting for me to ask questions

the thing that most bugs me is that fact that sme people treat sale person badly just becasue they have approach them..now, in harrods, as in many other stores, you have guest shoppers: they work fot the shop and are there to pretend to be normal customers and RATE you.
if you get one of those and your score is not super high(most managers are never happy with a 75%) YOU GET IN serious TROUBLE and you could even get fired.
so, when sale associates approach you, mnost of the tiems is because most of the times they are scared to death you could be a guest shopper...that is why they ask you thousends of questions and so forth...
moreover, most times, either the manager or assistant manager are on the shop floor and control what the sale assistants do..of they miss out a question, the manager immidiately tells her so....
i can still remember how clients used to hate me askign them so many questions or tell me they had already been approached by other 5 sale associats and needed no help at all..or even how some customers do not even reply or look at you as if you are transparent

i turely beleive that there are good sale persons like there are bad ones..same goes for customers, some are really nice, some are just total snob!

by the way, it is totally true that some sale associates feel important just because they work for saks or harrods or liberty...they have not realized yet that they work in those stores, they do not own them!!!

vintage_princess · 09-12-2005

^ Thanks for that, its interesting to get another point of view from a SA.

haruki · 11-12-2005

Does anybody know if stores perfume their clothes? I've noticed that the clothes I buy from Barnies always smell faintly perfumed, and it is always the same scent from them. When I buy clothes from Ron Herman they smell different than the clothes from Barnies. I wonder if the individual stores are trying to form a scent relationship between the customer and the store.

pout306 · 11-12-2005

has anyone ever gone into a luxury store with a replica bag from that deigner? LIke haev you ever gone to LV with a fake LV bag? how do they treat you? just curious

castorpollux · 12-12-2005

Dad ordered Mom a BMW 5-series for their anniversary. We'd bought it from a Chicago Bimmer dealer that sold their franchise to one in Milwaukee

, meaning we'd have to go all the way up there (Milwaukee

) to pick it up...
Anyway, the sales associate assigned to complete our delivery (ie - go over the ins and outs of the car with us when we picked it up) had a rotten attitude. He wondered out loud how we could afford it and told us we'd be paying this thing off for years... Mom gave him her coldest smile and handed him a check for the full amount of the car.
A--hole...
He was fired the following week. Some of the other associates had seen/overheard everything and reported him.

mello_yello_jen · 12-12-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by haruki

Does anybody know if stores perfume their clothes? I've noticed that the clothes I buy from Barnies always smell faintly perfumed, and it is always the same scent from them. When I buy clothes from Ron Herman they smell different than the clothes from Barnies. I wonder if the individual stores are trying to form a scent relationship between the customer and the store.

I noticed this too... not at luxury stores and department stores but at stores like Hollister and Abercrombie

Guessgirl96 · 12-12-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by castorpollux

Dad ordered Mom a BMW 5-series for their anniversary. We'd bought it from a Chicago Bimmer dealer that sold their franchise to one in Milwaukee

, meaning we'd have to go all the way up there (Milwaukee

) to pick it up...
Anyway, the sales associate assigned to complete our delivery (ie - go over the ins and outs of the car with us when we picked it up) had a rotten attitude. He wondered out loud how we could afford it and told us we'd be paying this thing off for years... Mom gave him her coldest smile and handed him a check for the full amount of the car.
A--hole...
He was fired the following week. Some of the other associates had seen/overheard everything and reported him.

It was the same thing with my brother when he was leasing his M3. He's 21 and looks about 17/18, I was there with him the first few times and they wouldn't give him the time of day, it was pretty disgusting actually. But when the car finally came in and he was having the work done, they seemed very nice, which is good.

mme · 12-12-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ma_Petite_Chou

After lurking forever, this is my first post....I couldn't resist adding my 2 cents to this thread.

When I was still in high school, I guess I was about 15 or 16, I went to the Versace store in Chevy Chase MD (D.C. area). There was a particular dress that I was interested in getting that was featured in a few of their ads. Well, they did have it and when I asked to try it on, the SA just said "These clothes are mostly just for models and actresses, maybe you can come back in a few years..." I just could not believe the blatant rudeness.

That's completely rude

I would look up and down at them, give a dirty look, and say "Biatch, don't talk till you look like one yourself."

I usually get ignored rather than bad service.

tuomas · 13-12-2005

Sometimes it's also the customers, who are from HELL! When I was still studying I worked as a SA at a Prada store in London and 90% off the people coming in were total idiots...so I can still understand if some sales people aren't that enthusiastic with their jobs. However we were told to treat everyone equally no matter what they were wearing and most often the less fashionable clients were the nicest people who ended up saving your day. In London I always enjoy shopping, people are nice and offer you a cup of tea etc. Paris is way more snottier, though the small shops often have lovely staff...

My top places for brilliant service:

B-store, London
Kokon Tozai, London/Paris
The Pineal Eye, London
Dover St Market, London
Maria Luisa Mixte, Paris
Walter, Antwerp
Ann Demeulemeester, Antwerp

Pastry · 13-12-2005

this is a good topic

, one of the most fascinating to me actually. i'll touch on this in more detail and tell some personla stories from an SA's point of view when i have more time.

for the time being...i'll tell you this...there are certainly pressures that are put on you as an SA, but i've always handled things in my own way. this is cheezy maybe, but i just love helping people. i've seen good character work miracles for both the interaction you get with the customers and the numbers..

tott · 13-12-2005

^ Yes, ideally shops and SAs should be all about the interaction, a social thing. Not that you're best friends or anything, more like you're meeting an interesting person at a cocktail party or something. Pleasant without the stiffness.

vintage_princess · 13-12-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by pout306

has anyone ever gone into a luxury store with a replica bag from that deigner? LIke haev you ever gone to LV with a fake LV bag? how do they treat you? just curious

I dont have fake LV bags, but I really wouldnt do that!

Winter-Blossom · 13-12-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by haruki

Does anybody know if stores perfume their clothes? I've noticed that the clothes I buy from Barnies always smell faintly perfumed, and it is always the same scent from them. When I buy clothes from Ron Herman they smell different than the clothes from Barnies. I wonder if the individual stores are trying to form a scent relationship between the customer and the store.

Ron Herman Vintage washes all the clothes in Downey before they hit the floor- that's why they all smell so good!

Pinky* · 13-12-2005

speaking of fakes, you guys just reminded me of an evil customer I once encountered..

The boutique where i part-timed also has a spa on one of their floors and this one customer wanted to exchange some skincare she bought from the girls upstairs. She claimed it was expired, which was pretty impossible since we are made to quality check everything in the store quite often and the products have high turnover. Well, since 'the customer is always right' and even though she didn't have a receipt, we let her exchange it.

The next time she came, she wanted to return it again for another product bc her skin was sensitive to it. the girls opened up the jar she was returning and the stuff inside didn't even smell the same! she had replaced the creme inside and probably had the jar that was labelled 'expired' from when she finished it up ages ago..

it was a really good scheme to get a lot of that expensive skincare for free though, by routinely returning.. but since we had no actual proof and we can't let the customer be embarassed in any way.. they let her get away with it..

that was quite a while ago though.. and store policy is a lot more strict now..

Guessgirl96 · 13-12-2005

It's customers like those that ruin it for the honest ones

I return a lot at sephora, but just cuase I get a ton of things online, see what works for me, and return the rest. I hope they dont think I'm doing something like the lady pinky encountered

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09-12-2005	227
vintage_princess Adorable illusion Profile: Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: London Gender: femme Posts: 6,644	^ Thanks for that, its interesting to get another point of view from a SA. __________________ "...jus flip up ur collar, pull up ur sleeves and wear it loose... done less FOB like"

11-12-2005	228
haruki front row Profile: Join Date: Mar 2005 Gender: homme Posts: 217	Does anybody know if stores perfume their clothes? I've noticed that the clothes I buy from Barnies always smell faintly perfumed, and it is always the same scent from them. When I buy clothes from Ron Herman they smell different than the clothes from Barnies. I wonder if the individual stores are trying to form a scent relationship between the customer and the store. Last edited by haruki; 11-12-2005 at 10:26 PM.

12-12-2005	230
castorpollux penniless sitar player Profile: Join Date: Sep 2005 Gender: homme Posts: 3,838	Dad ordered Mom a BMW 5-series for their anniversary. We'd bought it from a Chicago Bimmer dealer that sold their franchise to one in Milwaukee , meaning we'd have to go all the way up there (Milwaukee ) to pick it up... Anyway, the sales associate assigned to complete our delivery (ie - go over the ins and outs of the car with us when we picked it up) had a rotten attitude. He wondered out loud how we could afford it and told us we'd be paying this thing off for years... Mom gave him her coldest smile and handed him a check for the full amount of the car. A--hole... He was fired the following week. Some of the other associates had seen/overheard everything and reported him. __________________ Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.

13-12-2005	234
tuomas front row Profile: Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: on the road Gender: homme Posts: 214	Sometimes it's also the customers, who are from HELL! When I was still studying I worked as a SA at a Prada store in London and 90% off the people coming in were total idiots...so I can still understand if some sales people aren't that enthusiastic with their jobs. However we were told to treat everyone equally no matter what they were wearing and most often the less fashionable clients were the nicest people who ended up saving your day. In London I always enjoy shopping, people are nice and offer you a cup of tea etc. Paris is way more snottier, though the small shops often have lovely staff... My top places for brilliant service: B-store, London Kokon Tozai, London/Paris The Pineal Eye, London Dover St Market, London Maria Luisa Mixte, Paris Walter, Antwerp Ann Demeulemeester, Antwerp __________________ " If fashion is your trade, then when you're naked, I guess you must be unemployed" Jarvis Cocker/Pulp

09-12-2005	226
cric-croc backstage pass Profile: Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: london Gender: femme Posts: 549	i might add my two cents while i am here i have worked as a sale assistant in harrods for quite a bit of time and i have noticed a couple of things: first of all, they 'oblige' you to be always smiling, helpful and friendly to everyone...most of the times, when you see a sale person in a bad mood is either because she has just been treated very badly by another client, or her manager has just told her off for not selling enough (you have no idea how disrespecful managers in department stores can be: just because of their position, they want respect from you but they do not give any to you) having said that, i still find 'disturbing' when i walk into a store myself and just because i am wearing my flat shoes and my comfy clothes, noone aknowledges me...whereas when i am carrying my LV bag, everyone seems to be staring at me and waiting for me to ask questions the thing that most bugs me is that fact that sme people treat sale person badly just becasue they have approach them..now, in harrods, as in many other stores, you have guest shoppers: they work fot the shop and are there to pretend to be normal customers and RATE you. if you get one of those and your score is not super high(most managers are never happy with a 75%) YOU GET IN serious TROUBLE and you could even get fired. so, when sale associates approach you, mnost of the tiems is because most of the times they are scared to death you could be a guest shopper...that is why they ask you thousends of questions and so forth... moreover, most times, either the manager or assistant manager are on the shop floor and control what the sale assistants do..of they miss out a question, the manager immidiately tells her so.... i can still remember how clients used to hate me askign them so many questions or tell me they had already been approached by other 5 sale associats and needed no help at all..or even how some customers do not even reply or look at you as if you are transparent i turely beleive that there are good sale persons like there are bad ones..same goes for customers, some are really nice, some are just total snob! by the way, it is totally true that some sale associates feel important just because they work for saks or harrods or liberty...they have not realized yet that they work in those stores, they do not own them!!!

11-12-2005	229
pout306 front row Profile: Join Date: Sep 2005 Gender: femme Posts: 217	has anyone ever gone into a luxury store with a replica bag from that deigner? LIke haev you ever gone to LV with a fake LV bag? how do they treat you? just curious

13-12-2005	235
Pastry V.I.P. Profile: Join Date: May 2005 Gender: homme Posts: 4,580	this is a good topic, one of the most fascinating to me actually. i'll touch on this in more detail and tell some personla stories from an SA's point of view when i have more time. for the time being...i'll tell you this...there are certainly pressures that are put on you as an SA, but i've always handled things in my own way. this is cheezy maybe, but i just love helping people. i've seen good character work miracles for both the interaction you get with the customers and the numbers.. __________________ "...buttoned up to the breast, and made with wings, welts, and pinions on the shoulder points, as mans apparel is for all the world...and though this be a kinde of attire appropriate onely to man, yet they blush not to wear it..."

13-12-2005	236
tott slightly dizzy Profile: Join Date: Aug 2002 Gender: homme Posts: 4,261	^ Yes, ideally shops and SAs should be all about the interaction, a social thing. Not that you're best friends or anything, more like you're meeting an interesting person at a cocktail party or something. Pleasant without the stiffness.

13-12-2005	239
Pinky* tfs star Profile: Join Date: Oct 2005 Gender: femme Posts: 1,600	speaking of fakes, you guys just reminded me of an evil customer I once encountered.. The boutique where i part-timed also has a spa on one of their floors and this one customer wanted to exchange some skincare she bought from the girls upstairs. She claimed it was expired, which was pretty impossible since we are made to quality check everything in the store quite often and the products have high turnover. Well, since 'the customer is always right' and even though she didn't have a receipt, we let her exchange it. The next time she came, she wanted to return it again for another product bc her skin was sensitive to it. the girls opened up the jar she was returning and the stuff inside didn't even smell the same! she had replaced the creme inside and probably had the jar that was labelled 'expired' from when she finished it up ages ago.. it was a really good scheme to get a lot of that expensive skincare for free though, by routinely returning.. but since we had no actual proof and we can't let the customer be embarassed in any way.. they let her get away with it.. that was quite a while ago though.. and store policy is a lot more strict now..

13-12-2005	240
Guessgirl96 V.I.P. Profile: Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Cleveland Gender: femme Posts: 9,530	It's customers like those that ruin it for the honest ones I return a lot at sephora, but just cuase I get a ton of things online, see what works for me, and return the rest. I hope they dont think I'm doing something like the lady pinky encountered

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