Stores / Websites with the Worst Customer Service

[DenimBlog]

Gucci and LV have always been very nice to me, despite usually walking in in jeans and a tank top. The Tiffany's store is another story - they would barely give me the time of day. What does a girl have to do, whip out her Platinum credit card and throw it down on the counter to get some help?

 

[LetThemEatCake]

Gucci and LV have always been very nice to me, despite usually walking in in jeans and a tank top. The Tiffany's store is another story - they would barely give me the time of day. What does a girl have to do, whip out her Platinum credit card and throw it down on the counter to get some help?

Or a Black AMEX.

 

[Cado]

Carlings is horrible. They nearly force you to buy stuff, I (and many others) haven't been there for years because of their bad service.

 

[fashionista-ta]

No, they didnt. They just they were really sorry.

LV were closing in 20min. They wouldnt let me look ath their jewlery collection because they said they were closing. I went to look at the shoes and no sales person would help and when a sales person came after 15min she said she was busy with another customer and that they were closing.

Gucci, I brought a few things. Went home, realized my top wasnt in the bag. I went back to the sales person who served me and she instintly in a loud voice said I put it in, I will also show you security tapes, I did not take it (I didnt accuse her of that). I asked to see the manager, who was quite nice but the sales lady gave me such looks.

When I worked in retail, the best manager I worked for told us that he made one of his best sales ever to someone who came in 5 minutes before closing and bought a bunch of shoes. Anyone who wanted to come in at closing time, he was happy to have them and encouraged us to think the same way. We were on commission, I certainly didn't care what time someone arrived or what they were wearing. Frequently I would sell big-ticket items to women who were dressed down for the weekend, and they would tell me the other SAs wouldn't help them. I'm not a snob, but I certainly was never interested in paying to be a snob, which is what they're doing when they judge someone & lose the sale ...

In the shocking category, I had a pretty nice shopping experience in Neiman's shoe dept last night. Not only that, my SA didn't seem to be the only nice one. I guess they are feeling the pinch

I also noticed they seemed to have quite a selection of flashy shoes--what you might expect to see in the Moscow outpost, if they had one (and maybe they do ). I am a believer in statement shoes, but these were way beyond what I would consider wearing.

 

[Marvystone]

I thought this was really interesting..

Snooty Service Falls Out of Style

A new solicitousness at high-end boutiques

Angel Yimsiriwattana still remembers feeling intimidated when she walked into a Chanel boutique in New York two years ago.
When she approached a salesman, he "was snooty and reserved," she says, and barely spoke to her. Clad in a casual sweater and jeans, she figured the sales staff sized her up as someone unlikely to buy. Even though she spent $7,000 that day, she still felt unwelcome.
The atmosphere is a lot different at the Chanel boutique in Soho these days. On a recent visit to the same store, the 27-year-old says she was treated like a princess. "As soon as I walked in, [the sales associates] were smiling and said 'how are you?,"' she says. "Everyone circled around me like little fish. They were extra nice and helpful." Even though she didn't buy anything, the sales staff cheerfully wished her "a nice day" as she walked out of the store.
As the luxury goods industry suffers a massive slump in sales - many sales clerks at designer stores who were famously haughty and patronizing suddenly have changed their styles. In the boom times, the aloof service was part of the exclusive aura cultivated by some brands, sending a message that only the coolest or richest customers were worthy of a purchase. Now, "that arrogant and snobby attitude of feeling people should be grateful to buy at their temple is a dinosaur mentality that is going extinct," says Milton Pedraza, chief executive of the Luxury Institute, a consumer-research firm. "Now those brands have to be grateful for a customer."
In some cases, the new solicitousness is such a dramatic change from the past that it is catching consumers off guard.
When Tony Brown shopped at the Paul Stuart shop in New York in the past, he was used to being generally ignored. But recently, when he walked into the store he was approached by "four or five" associates who each said hello, welcomed him to the store and asked if they could be of assistance. "It was like a popularity contest," he says of their lavishing attention on him. With the store nearly empty, "it's more of an event if a customer comes in. It's like 'we've got one!"' he says.
While shopping at a Bottega Veneta boutique in New York recently, Britton Warren said he noticed an almost strained attentiveness, with sales associates "giving me all kinds of oohs and ahhs when I tried things on."
When Mr. Warren bought a pair of brown loafers discounted to about $430 from about $720 at a Fendi boutique, three employees complimented him on his choice, offering effusive praise. "They would go back and forth telling me how wonderful the shoes are and say things like 'oh that's a great pair of shoes,'" Mr. Warren says.
He was even more surprised when he received a handwritten note from the sales person thanking him for buying the shoes and hoping to see him again soon. "That's never happened before," says the 24-year-old paralegal from Washington D.C.
Retailers generally don't want to discuss the shift in service. Bottega Veneta and Paul Stuart declined to comment and Chanel and Fendi did not respond to requests for comment. But some do acknowledge that they've instructed their sales clerks to be less abrupt, spend more time with customers and refrain from being pushy.
At Neiman Marcus, sales associates are being encouraged to be "more patient" with customers. "We have seen that customers are more anxious and there is some concern out there," says Ginger Reeder, a spokeswoman for Neiman Marcus. "So it behooves all of us to remember to be a little more patient."
Sales clerks have mixed feelings about their new marching orders. Dena Webb, who worked at Barneys New York's Beverly Hills store as a sales associate and supervisor, says that last fall store managers began requiring sales associates to send a weekly minimum of 10 handwritten thank-you notes to customers, including first-time customers. "I thought it was kind of a little pushy to send thank-you notes to people I had only helped once," says Ms. Webb, who left Barneys in December. "It felt forced." Barneys had no comment.
Kristina Bowers, a sales clerk at a Miu Miu boutique in London, said that when store traffic slowed last fall and sales targets weren't met, she was told by a manager to approach every customer who walked in.
"They wanted us to jump on them," she says. The manager also encouraged sales associates to make eye contact and be "more approachable, really approachable and make everyone feel welcome no matter who they are, even if they clearly looked like someone who couldn't easily afford to buy anything," she said. "They put an extra emphasis on being friendly."
Ms. Bowers, who left the store in November when she got a graphic design job in the U.S.., says she and her colleagues were uncomfortable with the new aggressiveness. Pouncing on a customer "is not really my style. I like to give them a minute to look around, to think about it," she says. "It was different from how I normally operate."
Ultimately, she said clerks did as they were told because they worried about losing their jobs. "We just wanted to hit our sales targets," she says. The company declined to comment.
On Kristen Dawson's previous visits to a Burberry store in Towson, Md., "it was more self-service" with little interaction with a sales associate "unless you had a question or brought something to a register," says the 31-year-old stay-at-home mom from Baltimore. "The attitude [of the sales staff] was 'I'm not going to waste my time on you unless you're ready to buy something.' They were very haughty."
But when she and her husband entered the store in late December, they were greeted by a cheerful salesman offering assistance – a first, she says. He stayed with them as they looked through scarves, amicably peppering them with questions about what color and style they were looking for and for whom they were buying it. The clerk proceeded to strike up friendly banter with Ms. Dawson's husband as he wrapped the gift and she looked at purses. "All the time he was trying to be friendly and kept asking if there was anything else he could help us with," she says. "It was a nice surprise." A Burberry spokesman declined comment.
Some stores are learning that extra-friendly service doesn't always yield extra sales. Lauren Mitinas-Kelly, a 29-year-old manager at a luxury travel services company, still remembers the unusual service she received recently at the Anne Fontaine store in New York, an upscale French boutique known for its expensive white shirts.
When she walked in, the saleswoman "was so overly on top of me it actually got to the point where I was getting annoyed," she said. When she went into a dressing room, the saleswoman kept bringing more and more clothing back that Ms. Mitinas-Kelly had not requested. "She would say 'this is our most popular item,"' she recalls. "Or, 'these are our newest' (designs), trying to bring new suggestions."
Ms. Mitinas-Kelly began to feel sorry for the woman. "With no other customers in the store, she's got to do what she's got to do." Still, the effort didn't do any good. She only bought what she originally intended to buy in the first place. "I ended up buying one white blouse."

online.wsj

 

[LetThemEatCake]

Thanks for posting that. The Chanel Soho boutique were always nice to me, it's the other location on Madison that when I went into last time I was ignored, and there were stains on the staircase like someone had spilled a ton of coffee.

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ A most interesting article ... dovetails with my observations at Neiman's this past week, where I hadn't been in years due to their ... snotty salespeople. There was a whole new attitude, with multiple friendly salespeople. There were still some old school ones, but guess what ... they weren't selling anything.

The service at the Bottega Veneta boutique here has been pretty consistently good since it opened--I have not seen a change there. Really only at Neimans has a change been noticeable to me ... but honestly, if they're rude, I generally just don't go back.

 

[fashionmuse]

Bebe has horrible customer service. I went in with my sister to bring back a blazer that still had tags on and everything and they accused me for about 10 minutes that I wore that blazer. It was ridiculous and I haven't bought anything from there since then.

 

[couturecouture]

Neimans!! Not in all departments though, I will say the shoe people are lovely but there are a few departments where the salespeople are just sooo rude and snooty. Ew. I still shop there though. Humph.

 

[fashionista-ta]

OMG, I just had to come share What just came through my mailslot but a thank you note from my SA at Neiman's I've gotten them from Nordstrom's, from Barney's, but in the 20 or so years since I first shopped at Neiman's, this is the first one I've seen from them Apparently this is their recession style ...

 

[LetThemEatCake]

Mind if I ask which Neiman's you go to fashionista-ta? I would love to work for Neiman's...I'm very familiar with practically every skincare line they sell, and would just love to have an opportunity to be a SA behind a counter...there is one opening here in Washington, on the eastside, Bellevue, which is commonly referred to as the "Orange County of Seattle"...anyhow.

Later this morning I will be going into Nordstrom to return/exchange this $150 toner that I am convinced is giving me blackheads, and for that price I dont want it. Thing is I dont have the receipt, and I actually got it from their Bellevue location, but I'll be headed downtown. I hope I dont get any problems, sometimes they make it such a hassle if you dont have a receipt, even though their return policy has in the past been, "No questions asked..."

Any suggestions from anyone as to how to kill someone with kindness when you're treated rudely so that you dont sink to their level? I'll scout out the Cosmetics area first to look for someone friendly, but if I come across somebody rude, I need to be prepared, and I generally dont speak up, so today I need to...*knock on wood*

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ Usually Northpark, but I've occasionally shopped at a couple others too.

If you get someone well-trained at Nordstrom's, usually all you need is a little patience to keep guiding them toward the option that is best for you

PS If you've got the sticker, you don't need the receipt ... unless it's been awhile? Btw, what were you thinking spending $150 on toner For $150 I want it to speak words of wisdom that will change my life

 

[LetThemEatCake]

It really IS ridiculous. And impulsive. I have bad impulses with skincare. I returned it and got an Erno Laszlo one for $39.00 and some Evian spray. It had a lovely smell but that's really not a good thing for my skin, fragrance...anyway I'm starting to post like I'm in a skincare thread...

 

[Suburban Snob]

Tiffany & Co on Wall Street in Manhattan.

Gosh, you'd think the women working there are at a singles bar and thought helping *female* customers wouldn't get them the ring so why bother.

 

[Desi]

I thought this was really interesting..

online.wsj

i wonder which salesman it was in Towson that helped the lady and her husband. hmm, probably Rodney.

 

[LetThemEatCake]

Oh fun thread to update...

And to see and re-read my posts, my god..

Neiman-Marcus Bellevue --ONE girl at La Prairie counter named Cherie (La Prairie people are very well-trained) was the only SA that impressed me.

Do you really want this long story? I wanted a Gift with Purchase for a Natura Bisse item, you get some of their terrific Diamond line products and this sleeping sachet eye mask filled with lavender and very comforting, anyhow...this was a Neiman's exclusive and I got on the phone with the Natura Bisse rep, she did have one Diamond gift left, I told her over the phone what I would be coming in to purchase and some of the items were not Natura Bisse, one line, Omorovicza, is sold at Neiman's.
She hadn't heard of it. Wouldnt you be AWARE of what else is sold at your store in Cosmetics? Anyhow, I had to spell it for her, so she said she'd look for it, I did tell her that when I was coming in and she said she would not be there so it would be 'in the back' set aside with 'hold' on it, or some nonsense. She also mentioned after I discussed shaving (this was the Omorovicza shave I mentioned) that the Natura Bisse Rosa Mosqueta Oil was very healing for after waxing (I dont wax anything ) and shaving, and so she'd make me a sample. She also mentioned this SA Cherie, who would be there the day I came in, and would be aware of me picking it up.

The day of the purchase since she was not there I just gravitated to the first woman standing between two counters who was doing nothing it appeared. It was about 11 a.m. but there was hardly anyone in the store. She went to Natura Bisse area and couldnt find it. She had actually never even heard of the product I was there to buy.
There were two other SA's just chatting off to the left about how they hoped they'd "Have a good rush from the lunch crowd"...it was so dead.

I mentioned Cherie knowing where this product would be, she came over from somewhere and told the woman who was helping me that the Natura Bisse rep had never told her anything.

We eventually looked at a Product Inventory Book of the Natura Bisse products of some sort and I found what I wanted, it wasnt in the case, but then the woman helping me came back with the gift she'd found finally in the back and rang me up, the total was not what I'd calculated it to be because the product I came in for had been discontinued and I'd not been told that, so the rep on the phone had just put in an item of her choosing!!

Maybe I'll finish this story later if anyone cares...

 

[LolaSvelt]

I hate it when you bring items back and they detect the clothes with every inch of their life.

 

[LolaSvelt]

Oh and this has nothing to do with clothes store, but these stories remind me of this one time when I was younger when I went to pharmacy and I had my back to a stack to a the aisle and I was just playfully touching the toothpaste without a care in the world and the womanvshouted "What are you doing?!" and I replied "You honestly think I'm hatchinh a mastermind plan to steal...toothpaste?! I only touched the toothpaste!" and I walked out, not buying what I planned on purchasing.

Random I know.

 

[hautechild]

I hate when you bring things back and they spend ages trying to persuade you that don't actually want to bring it back (YSL counter at Selfridges I'm looking at you)

 

[xFashionfollower]

Zara is usually awful.. I once bought a white coat there and on my way home it started raining. I thought of putting on the coat so I took off the labels, but then decided against it because I was afraid i'd get it dirty. The following days I was still afraid to wear it so I decided it'd be best if I brought it back, it hadn't been taken out of the bag yet.

I had the receipt, the labels and even the original bag, I hadn't done as much as touch the coat. She started to examine it from bottom to top, taking nearly five minutes.
I told her I hadn't worn the coat yet, it had only been crinkled because it had been in that bag for three days, she just ignored me and continued looking for ANYTHING suspicious.

My friend who was with me got really frustrated and said she couldn't believe the rudeness of the SA.
Later, another SA came up to us and started to examine the coat as well.
I got really frustrated and said: "If I had worn that coat even once it would have been more than obvious, the coat is white as snow, it would've gotten at least a spot. It's only crinkled because it's in the bag, what are you still looking for?"

She then said that the labels were taken off and she couldn't take it back, I told her she was being ridiculous and had no reason not to take it back, it hadn't been worn and I still had the labels.
She reluctantly agreed, saying she'd make an exception..

I understand they can't just take anything back, but it was so obvious that I hadn't worn the coat so it just pissed me off a great deal.