Stores / Websites with the Worst Customer Service

[luisa]

i was at an expensive store yesterday, where some SAs were extremely rude. i was so mad. what do you do when SAs are so rude?
now i am mad that i didn't ask for the manager. i hate that here: when you're young and the people don't know you in that specific store, they are very rude.

 

[Petit Lucille]

it's not a store, but as a huge brand that victoria's secret is, i'd expect much more.
they always mess-up the order! and i haven't even done that much purchases there!!! the thing that bugs me the most is that they actually proclaim themselves as a serious bussiness that focuses in the client's needs, and that they save your shopping bag for x-days and this is not true! they keep it there, but they still offer the items, so you can go back to your shopping bag and it can say "the item has been removed"!! WTF??

 

[Petit Lucille]

they messed it up yet AGAIN! i cannot understand why do they send you the "confirmation" if afterwords they say they had inconvenients and it's not as they had confirmed..!!!!

 

[fika]

American Apparel!! I've waited since 20th December for a dress I ordered, is it REALLY meant to take this long?!

 

[gossiping]

topshop. they just don't care the assistants not to mention their personal "style" they get to choose from the whole of topshop yet they always dress badly

 

[SyphaBelnades]

When I was reading The House of Gucci, they gave a very logical explanation about the bad service that a lot of these luxury brands have and it's that a lot of the sales assistans working there, are usually rich kids on summer jobs, etc and they behave poorly once they realize the long hours and low wage.

But that certainly doesn't apply to a place like Panama, where I live, a third world country.

We have a lot of luxury stores, and the one where they have treated me the worst is most definetely Zara. The people that work there are just low lives, with no education or social standing of any kind, most of them are really obvious viperine gays(I am gay so this is not a slur), who don't even acknowledge your presence once you walk in. On top of that, Zara clothes are REALLY BAD, I bought this shirt, it cost like 80 dollars, I only wore it ONCE, and when I washed it, the part where it touches your arm pits was totally discolored, something that has never happened to me with other designer clothes, and I couldn't wear it anymore.

It wasn't until a spanish classmate at school made the casual remark that she didn't understand why people would gag over Zara when in Spain Zara was considered a low end cheap and low quality brand, and that's when I realized that Zara is like a faux wannabe designer brand, and I don't have to expose myself to losers treating me badly over really overpriced low quality clothes.

So I have boycotted Zara ever since.

Kenneth Cole has been by far the place where I have received the best treatment.

 

[IAmLordZen]

Topshop too. I recently bought some jeans at a local Topshop boutique and the sales people were too busy gossiping no one actually CARED that I was in front of the cash register trying to pay for the things I picked. Add to that the cashier who was evidently SOOOO busy gossiping sent me to another cashier at the women's section since he says he can't attend to my needs at the moment. HORRIBLE! I can steal the clothes and they won't stop gossiping there.

 

[ChloeFrancoise]

This isn't specifically in the store, but Macy's has been calling my mother a little too often about the credit card payments she already made. I noticed on another site someone was complaining about harassing calls also from Macy's about payments. I think Macy's has called the house a little too often within a short period of time. I'm telling my mother to keep all records of payment & maybe even how often they call and I'm wondering whether she should go right to the store about the phone calls, but the phone calls come from a different area code.

 

[menxtina]

From my experience, the staff in the Margiela store, in London, are always extremely nice and helpful. They're never too pushy but they also never ignore you. They seem to have a good balance. Whilst Harvey Nichols (deisgner menswear department) is shocking! about 70% of the staff are very, very rude and walk around as if they own the shop. Its just too bad that they stock my favorite designers and are pretty good sale-wise, otherwise I would never step foot in it again!!

 

[raerae]

I just avoid some stores because of their bad service.
Sometimes the staff is just so rude and arrogant that I refuse to go back to a store ever again. I'd rather travel a bit further to get good service.

 

[Lapin de Lune]

I haven't encountered any issues as yet with most of the stores that I shop with (returns/complaints, etc), nor have I had to contact any online-only stores, so not much insight to offer there, but:

The staff at Next make me furious, each time I visit the store they hover over me as if I might be a shoplifter. You feel as if eyes are upon you constantly, and sometimes it has made me simply walk out of the store. They approach customers far too often in store, touting the catalogue and asking for personal details, etc. Just so annoying, like it gets in the way of your personal space, if you know what I mean.
And their online catalogue is a serious joke: at least 5 times I have never received my goods, only to be told much later that they hadn't been in stock when I ordered them. The checkout, of course, told another story.

The absolute WORST offenders for customer service, in my experience, have been electrical stores, like Curry's, Comet, and co. Not fitting for this thread, but I am permanently baffled by the inexperience of all their staff, who know next to nothing about the products, and occasionally look at you as if you are insane for expecting them to. Oh, and in such places, they still think it is a doddle to fool one of the fairer sex with smooth talking or merely treating you like a silly little girl

 

[indepwe]

Primark. I guess they are getting paid next to nothing so why would you be happy about your job but your still a person and can be nice to customer's, it IS possible!

 

[DiorKiss]

I agree about Zara, their sales people are ignorant and rude. Almost every sales associate in London was unfriendly too, only the MAC MUA was an utter sweetheart. Okay, it's a big city, you get a lot of tourists, I get it - but still, does a smile or just saying 'hi' really hurt that much?

 

[Desi]

From personal experience. yes, yes it does.

 

[Eple]

I went into Juicy Couture on madison av. with some girlfriends and though I am not a fan of the brand I almost felt like I HAD to buy something. There was a SA who was so over-friendly and me and my friends could hardly talk to eachother because she was always breathing down our neck commenting on everything and how amazing all the items were. She was like two feet behind us at ALL times and it was crazy annoying. My friend bought a sweater because she felt bad for the girl but we didn't even go through the whole store because she was soooo annoying we just wanted to leave.

I had a great experience at bcbg max azria on the same street as JC. The sales people just said hello and if I needed help, but after that they didn't approach me nor did they follow me around but were very kind and helpful when I approached them. I find this arrangement much better as I find SA's to be a bit too pushy in america and some parts of europe.

 

[CosiDiModa]

I haven't encountered any issues as yet with most of the stores that I shop with (returns/complaints, etc), nor have I had to contact any online-only stores, so not much insight to offer there, but:

The staff at Next make me furious, each time I visit the store they hover over me as if I might be a shoplifter. You feel as if eyes are upon you constantly, and sometimes it has made me simply walk out of the store. They approach customers far too often in store, touting the catalogue and asking for personal details, etc. Just so annoying, like it gets in the way of your personal space, if you know what I mean.

I work at Next and we get told we have to approach customers on the floor etc. It annoys me too because I hate being hassled when I'm trying to shop. Even when we were getting assessed, I was told by my manager that the only reason I wasn't given the green light was because I wasn't approaching customers enough on the floor. So now, yes, I have also become another annoying member of staff

 

[CosiDiModa]

I don't like my Topshop's customer service either. SAs are mostly rude and act like they are doing us customers a huge favour by doing their jobs. It annoys the crap out of me. And yeah, they do dress terribly for people who get to choose their uniform from the store.
I love love love the girls at my local Oasis though. They're soo friendly and lovely! Didn't make me feel like an idiot at all for going in to try a pair of shoes on every day for a week before I actually bought them lol.

 

[Jenna-maria]

Originally posted by Eple

I went into Juicy Couture on madison av. with some girlfriends and though I am not a fan of the brand I almost felt like I HAD to buy something. There was a SA who was so over-friendly and me and my friends could hardly talk to eachother because she was always breathing down our neck commenting on everything and how amazing all the items were. She was like two feet behind us at ALL times and it was crazy annoying. My friend bought a sweater because she felt bad for the girl but we didn't even go through the whole store because she was soooo annoying we just wanted to leave.​

Oh god, that is so annoying and baaaaad customer service even tough they might mean good. But I hate someone breathing on my neck, asking and telling stuff and not leaving me alone. If that happens in some store I stay away from it for good!

H&M generally have sale women who are in bad mood all the time.

The best service is at Weekday and Monki stores. Especially at Weekday, they are helpful and smile but do not force me to buy anything and leave me alone if I do not need their help.
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[CosiDiModa]

H&M generally have sale women who are in bad mood all the time.
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omg I forgot about h&m! Their SAs are actually worse than Topshop! Sooo unpleasant. And I remember asking one of them about the designer collaborations coming to the store and she was confused as hell. I knew more about their stock than they did! Must be said though, I find male SAs nicer than the girls.

 

[furryboots]

lf. . .they always trail you around and they must be instructed to compliment at least one item of clothing per customer because they have every single time i've walked in. one girl picked out tons of clothing for me and stood outside the dressing room and kept making me show her the outfits she had put together and babbling on about them. i felt so awkward. waaay too much.