Shopping At Luxury Stores

[mello_yello_jen]

Don't you wish hahaha

Hmm it's funny how many people don't like the service at Holt's (in Vancouver). The SA's are always so nice to me when I go, and I don't buy stuff all the time. The women at the Dior counter are super nice...I always like to look at the jewlery I also love love the Indian man working at the Tiffany counter. Super great service. I bought the thick atlas ring for my bf a while ago and the SA was so kind and offered us many times to come back and resize the ring if it didn't fit. Speaking of Holt's, did everyone get their catalogue yet? I got mine today in the mail, and the stuff looked mildly boring......

I don't have the nerve to go into a high end designer boutique by myself, they'd probably look down on me and think I'm way too young. I have no problems going in designer shops with my mom and dad though. My dad is super stylish, and they all come to serve him.

Aww I love Holt's! I remember when I was visiting family last summer we would go there at least 3 times a week and the SAs at the LV counter were always so darn sweet. The SAs at Holts are definitely more 'down-to-earth' than the SAs at NM/Saks/etc. they let you practically roam around the store without eagle eyes preying upon you. I had one of my best shopping experiences there.

 

[ngbetter11]

the people at the marc jacobs in SF are really nice...well at least the two that were working there when i went...they helped me choose clothing and gave honest opinions on what looked good and what didnt (instead of telling me that everything looked good, trying to force me to buy their clothing)...but it could have been because i was the only person in the store at the time...who knows...

 

[Thorin]

I've been to Saks in NY, Harrods in London or Brown Thomas in Dublin and SAs were always nice and friendly, despite my not-perfect English [I'm Italian]. They helped me finding what I wanted and they weren't snob.

 

[CChristina]

oh man I wish I could receive this kind of "service" from the Asian girl who works at Balenciaga in new york

Hi mello_yello_jen!! i dont live in sf..but i go there a lot (for the food..YUM..i lovee zuni's..HIGHLY recommend that for some salmon n oysters or pork chops for lunch..YUMM!! lol u should try it if u live in sf I live in sj..but yeh BAY AREA-ERS WHAT WHAT!! hehehhe lol

and fade to black LMAO (u might get that type of service from the male SA though)

 

[EskimoGirl]

the sa's at neimans, saks, and barney's are always really sweet, in beverly hills. as well as most of the one's in the individual designer boutiques. although, i don't ever mind having my mother there with me, just because they treat her even better than me. i wish nobody paid attention to age...

 

[cric-croc]

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]

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

 

[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.

 

[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

 

[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.

 

[mello_yello_jen]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

^ 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]

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]

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*]

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]

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