Shopping At Luxury Stores

[fashionista-ta]

^ Ya gotta take the invisibility cloak *off*, Pastry

 

[Graciella]

I only felt ignored and insulted in Paris, at Galleries la Fayette. Although I was toting my paddington, everyone kept looking at me as if I were poor or something...stupid French. I hate Paris!

 

[shadow]

To me good customer service at luxury stores seems to be quite the opposite of what you expect . I like to go in and be allowed to tour the shop before something picks up my attention or before I decide to consult the SA. Very often luxury shops have items that have not been featured in magazines, etc and you discover them only there and then. So if a SA came to me with a wide smile at the door and asked me what I wanted, I would have to say "I do not know yet, let me first look around". To me poor customer service is when the SA clings to you. I need to shop alone and quietly.

Regarding dress codes, I prefer to be well dressed (simple and polished) when I shop at luxury stores, I hate to feel like a nettle amongst the roses.

 

[travis_nw8]

I only felt ignored and insulted in Paris, at Galleries la Fayette. Although I was toting my paddington, everyone kept looking at me as if I were poor or something...stupid French. I hate Paris!

^ i know what you mean- (with some notable exceptions) service in paris is poor..in my humble opinion...

 

[meens]

I always think that a lot of the bitchy attitude I get is because I'm a very visable minority. I've been followed around stores even after I have told the SA that I am just looking and one time when I walked into BCBG the SA's were huddled around the front counter and I actually saw them roll their eyes before one of them kind of trudged up to me and asked with this incredibly brittle, condescending smile "Can I help you"? It reminded me of when a grown up plays tea with a kid and laughs at everything that the kid says because they are trying to humor the child. And the sh*tty thing is that you can't even call someone out on that because they haven't done anything overtly wrong.
The weird thing is that I have been in much higher end stores than BCBG and have been treated amazingly even dressed down.
Now that I am reading all of your threads I realise that some SA's treat everyone like crap equally. That makes me feel good.

 

[salomelovesjohn]

I think rude SAs just aren't very good at what they do. I went into Garrard in Soho a few months ago wearing a piece of their jewerly (and sneakers and jeans) and wasn't treated very well by the staff, I felt rather tolerated. The funny thing is I had bought the necklace I was wearing several months before from a delightful girl and I can bet that if she had been there I would have bought something again. I was so set to spend cash, with luxury stores sometimes it isn't just the goods, its the experience.

 

[eunhe]

on the flipside, I can't stand SAs that CLING to you. Especially at departments stores like Neiman Marcus. The minute I walk in, there's this one SA that is all over my ***. Following me everywhere from the shoe department to the makeup counters. I like to be ALONE, and then get good service when I need it.

 

[Pinky*]

well.. a good SA should recognize your needs and ideally match your shopping style.. if you prefer to browse or need some help, they should let you spend the way you please.. i don't understand the attitude of 'if you're not buying anything today, why should i waste my time to help you'.. some SAs i part timed with had the attitude that they were amidst the 'cream of thee crop'.. you never know if a customer is going to come back and buy what they were looking at.. and if you give them a good experience they're more likely to come back (and maybe even ask for you! ) .. then again, since i was a part-timer maybe i dont understand how snobby and selective commission can drive an SA to be..

 

[manolocraver]

I have a sort of love/hate relationship with luxury stores. There are stores where the assistants are friendly and there aren't. In KL, the Gucci people are snobbish. Much more snobbish than the shopper themselves. So did the b*tches at Chanel and Hermes. But I love Dior, Mikimoto and Bvlgari because the people are so warm and they never mind if you're buying or not.

 

[ilaughead]

I don't think my question really warrants a thread, so I'll ask it here:
How do boutiques work? I hear from all over that they can order different sizes and styles from other stores, but in one of the Dior Homme threads I heard that some stores have their own buyers. But if I wanted something from the runway from like, Yves Saint Laurent, would I just ask them to special order the item for me from a look-book?
I happen to be very slim which makes finding clothes in smaller sizes really hard to do. And since any clothes from designers are going to be ten times that of 'normal' stores, I do want them to be my favorites of the season and fit, as well.

 

[fashionista-ta]

I don't think my question really warrants a thread, so I'll ask it here:
How do boutiques work? I hear from all over that they can order different sizes and styles from other stores, but in one of the Dior Homme threads I heard that some stores have their own buyers. But if I wanted something from the runway from like, Yves Saint Laurent, would I just ask them to special order the item for me from a look-book?
I happen to be very slim which makes finding clothes in smaller sizes really hard to do. And since any clothes from designers are going to be ten times that of 'normal' stores, I do want them to be my favorites of the season and fit, as well.

I think it probably does warrant a thread of its own

Different lines work different ways. With some lines, your favorite piece on the runway may not be produced at all. With others, your favorite piece on the runway may undergo significant change when produced, such that you no longer want it (I just returned an example of that this week--for store credit only, I might add--not an unusual practice.)

But you'd probably be better off with a guy answering you

 

[*Happiness*]

I was in San Fran last week and I found that they have a GOYARD!! i was so happy....I want one of those bags so bad (gotta save up for it). And the SA was so inviting and generous with information and showing me the different pieces. I was truly impressed. So it sometimes depends on the area and how the sa's are feeling that day.

 

[tifa]

I'm a SA, not in a luxury store but I am always taught to respect every customer, do as much as I can for them and be polite. You'd think these high end stores would be taught this even more but unfortunately not judging by this thread

I remember going into the Chanel counter and buying something immediately without browsing and the SA just gave me the dodgiest look, especially when I payed by credit card. Can you not be young and have an income? I don't need to be persuaded into buying products, I know what I want and this shouldn't be an issue.

 

[nat_attak]

i don't see why some SA should carry that attitude with them even if they work at a highend luxury store. i think it's ridiculous because they're just sales people. they should sell as hard as they can to any customer so that they can get clientele. and some of them doesn't even have as much knowledge about their products as they should.

 

[meens]

I just don't understand why they need to be snotty at all. I mean it's not like we're asking for them to grovel. Just don't be offensive either.
Also I can understand under par attanetion when it's a store like old navy or something where there is usually a rush and they are harassed and stuff and running around like crazy, but in high end stores you don't have that rush. At most there are a couple of people in there at a time. Most of the time they are just standing around looking bored. (At least where I live. Louis Vuitton is alomost empty every single time I go in) So what are they so angry and bitter about?

 

[mundodabolsa]

I know that Nordstroms isn't a luxury store but since this seems to be where most discussion on SA's occur...

Yesterday I got a hand-written thank you note from an SA at Nordstrom thanking me for buying a pair of shoes. The irony is that I have 0 idea who this person was, can only assume it was the person who helped me the last time I was there, and during said visit I only exchanged 1 pair of shoes and returned 2 others, so she made 0 comission off of me, yet sent me a thank you note!

I was floored, this is what I call good customer service. And to stay on topic, this amazing example of good business practice comes in the middle of a mini-war I'm having with BG...thank god for Nordstrom to restore my faith!

 

[style_expert]

^ I'm loving that kind of service. I'm always happy when I receive catalogs from Dior and YSL every season. Then I know they haven't written my name and address for nothing!

 

[northern_song]

I have also gotten a hand written thank you note from a SA from Nordstrom's. It wasn't even like I went on a huge shopping spree or anything, I actually only had bought a polo shirt from her particular dept. Another place with good customer service is the Sunglass Hut (they sell more upscale brands like Bvlgari and Chanel). I always go in there with my friends and they are extremely helpful and let us try on anything we would like! Its quite nice because a group of 6 teenaged girls are usually not treated that well in stores.

 

[Diorling]

I just recieved a handwritten note from Eli at Goyard in San Fran...

My only comment...at Coach they force you to write them to customers who spend over $250, I hated it because I thought it was so whory "PLEASE BUY OUR sh*t." It works cause customers feel special, but when I got this one from Goyard it was written in the same pattern/feel as the ones I write, I didnt feel special...

I find Sunglass Hut to be the most cumbersome store ever, there's always ONE SA who is always unhappy, trying to assist 5 ppl at one time, but he can't just open the case and let us have free roam so it takes forever...

 

[iheartme]

One of the absolute BEST experiences I've had was at Baccarat. I absolutely love some of their jewlery and I went in one day wearing casual pants and a polo shirt and the sales people were absolutely fantastic. The man was just so friendly and willing to let me try on everything I wanted and I ended up walking out with more jewlery than the one necklace I had originally planned on purchasing.

I have not been impressed by Louis Vuitton boutiques however. I don't know what it is but the sales people always seem very snobby, though the men treat me much better than the women. What is very strange is that I get excellent service when I go to the Louis Vuitton "boutique" in Neiman Marcus.