Shopping At Luxury Stores

[darkintragedy]

Don't know if I was treated "badly" or not, but when I visited the M by MJ store in L.A store with my sister, none of the SA greeted me nor her. Maybe there were all busy (a lot of them were helping other people), but I didn't mind that much.

Looking around, no one came up and asked if I needed help. When I went to pay for my things, they still didn't greet me or say anything. Only after when I was waiting to get my change (thay ran out of $1.00), did the SA finally say 'thanks for being patient'.

Maybe they were tired? (came in half an hour before closing), but I hope that's not how all SA acts. :|

 

[EskimoGirl]

darkintragedy- i find your experience at the mj store in la a bit strange, since whenever i go in there it's the exact opposite. it actually gets to the point where i wish the sa's would stop asking me if i needed anything, and they always greet me whenever i enter the store. but, maybe you were just there on a particularly busy day...i don't know.

 

[darkintragedy]

Probably. I'm planning a second visit soon and I'll be going in the morning (although it shouldn't matter the time of day), so I hope my experience will be different.

 

[leah411]

My first post...
I went into Sak's last week specifically to shop for either a Chanel or Gucci bag. I spent quite some time looking at Chanel...nary an SA in sight. There was an SA at the Gucci counter. She was on the phone and not only did she completely ignore me, she moved away from me and never paused in her phone conversation at all. I was dressed casually but nicely and carried my LV Speedy. I've been debating for a week whether to write a letter to the store with a cc to corporate. I was quite annoyed.

 

[Jacque Marcel]

M by MJ on Melrose was okay. They certainly don't bend over backwards for you but it wasn't as bad as American Apparel on Hollywood Blvd. Those ugly b*tches thought they were too cool for school to help me. I swear that was the worst service I've encountered. I guess they were too spent blowing the creepy owner off to care.

 

[morriseel]

mmm..okay, I'm gonna add my top 5's from my experience in Hong Kong and Singapore.

Worst
1. Miu Miu (Paragon, Singapore). Tried on a dress and the sa behind the counter yelled across the shop to the sa helping me that my fat tummy stuck out in the dress.
2. M by MJ (Pacific Place, HK). I have never, ever, ever been greeted with a smile, a nod, ANYTHING in that shop..AND the sa's actually sigh when you ask to try on a piece of clothing.
3. Chloe (Hong Kong). The snobbery is palpable. I must admit they are warming up to me though, the more I go in and the more Chloe they see me wear (none from their shop though!)
4.Hermes (Pacific Place, HK). I asked a sa if I could look at an item from the glass cabinet. She handed it to me with her back turned and then walked away. Hideous shop.
5. Lanvin (Paragon, Singapore). Every single, b*(&(*& time I walk in, the sa's look down on me and refuse to smile, answer my questions or be in the slightest bit helpful. I actually had a fight with them about it one day.

Best (and isn't it nice to be able to report!)
- On Pedder in Singapore and Hong Kong. The service is amazing, personal, attentive. LOVE THEM!!
- THe Link (Singapore). Wonderful, human, attentive service

ummm..gosh...it's getting harder now...not that many actually qualify!

- Anya Hindmarch in Singapore is pretty good
- Lane Crawford in Hong Kong is quite good. THere are some inattentive sa's but when you get a good one, it's a fun shopping experience
-Chanel (Paragon, Singapore). Once they get to know you, they'll bend over backward for you.

That's it!!

 

[morriseel]

^ forgot to add Fendi in the Landmark Hong Kong as one of the best. Their service is great!!

 

[morriseel]

eek..and another worst... YSL Hong Kong. Walking in there is like walking into the deep dark depths of hell.

 

[Ollie]

I had a shocking but funny experience in Madrid. I walked into an empty Dolce and Gabbana store and went to try on some jeans, the SA was nice at first gave me the jeans and made small talk, but then when i was checking myself out in the mirror, he said in spanish that he liked my ***, his friend than said to him that i was more likly to enjoy the company of older richer men who could support my habbits. I was so shocked at the time I ran out of the store and called my friends. Later my friend who is at the top of the fashion house "Loewe" called me to say she had sorted it out. I got given tickets to a private showing and party. I went to their show, drank their boose and never went back to that store again.

 

[augustus]

Oh morriseel, when did you go to M by MJ? You should have went to the shop on the basement of Landmark, the SA are really nice and would get out their way to help you. It seems like Pacific Place and Causeway Bay in Hong Kong has the worst reputation, even those the SA are working for the same companies.

This is my first post here and I have to share with you guys one of my worst experience in years, happened today. (fresh cookie?)

Well, Joyce, a famous boutique in Hong Kong are having their "final" sale, which is all items half priced and 30% off. Now this is the time to shop for some real steals because you know they carried almost every single brand under the sun, from Derek Lam to Ann D. to Donna Karen to Dior to Balenciaga.
I was trying to get a Lanvin trenchcoat, and gosh it was stunning. But I was not fast enough and a lady snaped it ONE second before me. Of course kind of sad, so a SA told me that I should go and take a look if they have it in Lanvin. So I hurried to Lanvin in Landmark and I was quite shocked by the fact that, the SA are just chatting around the table and did not greet or even care about me when I walked in. Okay---I thought, maybe they are busy and when I start looking at the clothes, one of the SA start following me everywhere, standing very close. She did not ask me if I need any service and so I asked her very politely if they have the trench coat and the way she replied was not even helpful. She basically did the "I-don't-care-about-you-the-sales-are-over" thing, and I thought she might be having a bad day, so I tried not to care. Then I head over for the accessories section and after I have looked through them, I noticed another SA hurried to the counter and checked everything I have saw. I was kind of angry when I left that shop. Hey, I did not dress to impress to be sure, but even at Christian Dior, Fendi or Gucci, they were nice and polite. Then I tried a beautiful cashmere coat from CD, and am now considering buying it(for god damned 4000USD!).

Then I walked towards another shop, and they treated me even worse. They did not great me or say anything when I left and basically did the same thing...

I was really disappointed by their attitudes---it's not like they are as busy as Joyce who has quite a few guests inside. Anyway, somehow I managed to make up this by buying 2 Marni coat, a Dries Van Noten skirt, a Balenciaga top and a skirt and two outerwear from Comme des Garsons. And I lost the good feeling after losing a book I bought. :X ahh, today is not my day.

 

[accordingi2ime]

Maxfield LA.
The most snobbish sales people ever. They start treating you with human decency once they theink your going to buy something. Everytime I go there I feel like I have to dress to impress the sales people. Unfortunately they do have nice stuff so I still go there and fortunately I could careless about the service. I am in there to shop not treated nicely by superficial assholes whose only incentive to provide you with any service is for their share of commission.
Ofcourse it's a plus if they treat you nice but my shopping experience is about the purchase I made or purchase I didnt make.

 

[travis_nw8]

I've experienced bad service in stores ( particularly harrods and prada) but i think its time we talked about positive experiences. I've recently become a big fan of matches- think a glossier version of browns. often your're the only person in the store and you get the assistants full attention. this is all because of the training and the fact the store is based on customer service- there's no attitude unlike the designer flagships where the assistants think they designed the clothes (ysl the exception).more importantly they treat you the same whether you're browsing and leave empty handed or spent £2k on a coat.

 

[Keya]

more importantly they treat you the same whether you're browsing and leave empty handed or spent £2k on a coat.

Once when I was at a boutique with my mother I overheard the SAs complain about a customer that had tried on several outfits without buying anything. It bothered me quite a lot, not only because they had this discussion so that we could hear, but also because the SA seemed to think that if you tried more than one outfit on, you had to buy something.
This is the same store where I was completely and utterly ignored once when my mom sent me by to purchase something. I wasn't 100% sure which suit my mother wanted me to buy, and I tried asking for help, but was ignored until I picked one out and dragged it to the counter. Actually, I was ignored even then, I had to say 'excuse me..?' before I got an ounce of attention, but the SA apologized when she realized I was actually buying something, and then proceeded to help me pick out a top to go with the suit.

 

[morriseel]

Oh morriseel, when did you go to M by MJ? You should have went to the shop on the basement of Landmark, the SA are really nice and would get out their way to help you.

I'd forgotten all about the one in the Landmark basement! I will go there next time..and yes i do remember they have good service there!

LANVIN is a disgrace! That was Exactly my experience at the one in Singapore. I will never, ever shop Lanvin anywhere in the world. I know that's heavy but they just don't deserve my money for opening two shops in Asia with the most disgraceful service.

 

[vintage_princess]

I dont like harrods much at all. Just because they are working at harrods, they think they own the place. Most of the SAs are so clueless when I asked them about Lanvin, but the most friendly SA I have come across there was the lady at the Chanel department.

 

[Pastry]

the few testimonies on this page make me cry...the ultimate question is why are they so damn nasty?

doesn't this just make you want to become an sa at sack's and be nice to people?

 

[Guessgirl96]

Maybe we should start a thread with good and bad SA's at specific stores, to try to avoid some of these bad experiences?

 

[ilovepositano]

me too- the lanvin's in hk are weird. they were barely okay to me, but i saw them be so nasty to people. it makes you not want to shop there at all.

haha, i was at joyce. unfortunately too jetlagged to take advantage of the humongous sale...however, i have to say i wonder when the sales started b/c alot of the merchandise seemed in bad shape...

 

[Winter-Blossom]

Vegas is the worst- I had a drink in my hand (A plastic cup with a lid and straw) when I walked into LV at the Wynn after seeing avenue Q and the horrible 'security guard' asked me to leave, 'No drinks or food allowed in the store'. SOOOO embarassing, especially since I had been asking for a cherise bag for months and my bf was going to buy it for me; and what's worse, an SA was serving champagne to another customer. I was so mortified that I wrote a letter to LV about the situation and there hasn't as of yet been a response. I don't know if I'll EVER buy another louie bag! It was such a terrible experince and it made me feel so small- especially when I was ready to spend hundreds of dollars of my boyfriends' money!

 

[pucci_mama]

You had a fight with the Lanvin SA's morriseel? What happened?