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AIBU?

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Original poster

To be upset and disappointed in the store experience?

144 replies

inthedrunktankk · 11/12/2023 20:34

Me and my partner went to Paris as a birthday treat and he said he would get me a purse in a designer store (I have like one other designer bag that I bought years ago when living at home so it was a very rare splurge)

We walked up to the store and the man at the door didn’t hold it open, so a bit confused we stepped back and a couple walked around us and the door was held open for them straight away.

We walked in behind them, I was looking at the glass cabinet when I was eventually approached and I asked to view one. He reluctantly got it out, didn’t talk me through it. A vast contrast to how the other customer was being talked to behind me regarding her purchase.

All other customers had drinks, instead I got the previous customers used water bottle and glass set down in front of me. I questioned why we didn’t get a drink and was told “I forgot”

We did buy it but only because I knew my partner had organised this and I didn’t want him to think I was hurt that they clearly treated me as different because I wasn’t dripping in designer and assumed I wasn’t worth the experience as their commission from me was meaningless.

Aibu to be disappointed?

OP posts:
notlucreziaborgia · 11/12/2023 23:26

Barnowlsandbluebells · 11/12/2023 23:14

Hermes and Chanel being the ones that immediately sprang to mind for this - you can’t just walk into Hermes and buy a Birkin or Kelly, they will invite you to buy one

Totally wrong.

I can’t claim personal experience because I’m not a massive Hermes fan, but this was the experience of people I know🤷🏻‍♀️

I googled and it does indeed seem to be standard:
https://www.byrdie.com/how-to-get-a-birkin-bag-6831570

How to Get a Birkin Bag, According to the Experts

The elusive Birkin bag has been a coveted item for decades. Inside, we spoke to TikTokers Charles Gross and Alex Pardoe, and the team at Fashionphile on how to get a Birkin.

https://www.byrdie.com/how-to-get-a-birkin-bag-6831570

mn29 · 11/12/2023 23:26

No way would I have spent money there after being treated badly. More fool you.

FlissyPaps · 11/12/2023 23:26

Parisians are some of the most rudest people I’ve ever encountered.

YANBU to feel disappointed, I agree with PP that all customers should be treated the same. However many retail workers judge customers on appearance and race/nationality. Which is so wrong.

icallitasplodge · 11/12/2023 23:21

I wouldn’t have bought it. I’d have raised one eye brow at the dirty glass, gentle head shake, stood up, patted DH on the shoulder and put my coat back on and walked.

No indication of exactly what part of their behaviour broke the camels back. no explanation, leave them guessing how much money they lost.

Womencanlift · 11/12/2023 23:20

Tiffany’s NY store - fantastic service I agree

Their cafe in the NY store - absolutely awful service. Would never recommend it

Fingerscrossedfor2021HK · 11/12/2023 23:19

Sorry that you had such a crap experience. Staff in these shops should know better - the scruffiest people are often the biggest spenders! I wouldn’t have bought anything under those circumstances because I am petty but I get why you wouldn’t want to make your DH feel bad.

nonumbersinthisname · 11/12/2023 23:14

Like PP I have had wonderful service in Tiffany in both NY 5th Avenue and London. In NY my friends and I were commemorating a holiday together and we were treating ourselves to silver necklaces and the assistants acted as if we were buying one of the huge diamond rings and couldn’t have been more attentive.

After a while my necklace developed a fault with the catch so I went to the London store with the receipt and they replaced the chain there and then with an apology and lovely service again.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s got it right - they treat all customers as if they’re the Queen no matter their budget.

objectively they are expensive for the amount of metal you get, but i got such pleasure from the experience and also wearing the jewellery that is totally worth it to me.

Barnowlsandbluebells · 11/12/2023 23:14

Hermes and Chanel being the ones that immediately sprang to mind for this - you can’t just walk into Hermes and buy a Birkin or Kelly, they will invite you to buy one

Totally wrong.

Moonwatcher1234 · 11/12/2023 23:14

PeachBlossom1234 · 11/12/2023 21:09

LV is well known for this type of service, I’ll guess it was them. I had this treatment in Las Vegas Jimmy Choo after a large win, I wanted to splurge but I didn’t buy anything and left very upset. I’m a big fan of mulberry and have a few bags, the sales staff there are super helpful and I’m now on their email list so I get invited to preview events etc. I wouldn’t buy from any other designer though.

Snap. All mulberry stores I’ve been into have been welcoming and non judgmental. Tiffany’s in Westfield on the other hand…

HundredMilesAnHour · 11/12/2023 23:11

LighthouseTheme · 11/12/2023 22:54

Whoosh!

😝

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Not at all. The OP was buying ONE PURSE (not even a bag as people keep saying) so she's hardly Julia Roberts. And despite being treated appallingly, she still bought it. That would have been a very different scene in Pretty Woman.

MyrtlethePurpleTurtle · 11/12/2023 23:08

However, it's only a short term gain for the brand

Surprisingly, retail rejection (customers greeted with unfriendly sales staff in luxury stores, for example) can increase brand image in the eyes of ‘rejected’ consumers, thus increasing sales in the short term. In the long term, however, consumers will resent the rejection, and the brand pays the price

katsusando · 11/12/2023 23:07

If the experience/service was that poor, why on earth did you spend money in there?

etmoiandme · 11/12/2023 23:02

LighthouseTheme · 11/12/2023 22:54

Whoosh!

😝

Show quote history

I'm still laughing at that. Post of the day.

notlucreziaborgia · 11/12/2023 23:00

inthedrunktankk · 11/12/2023 21:16

Neither, YSL. Could be either, but no way of knowing, irrelevant I think though as they clearly allow walk-ins.

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Hmmm, YSL! I wouldn’t have guessed them.

They do, but a lot of high end stores essentially ‘audition’ their customers (Hermes and Chanel being the ones that immediately sprang to mind for this - you can’t just walk into Hermes and buy a Birkin or Kelly, they will invite you to buy one), and build relationships with repeat customers.

Skyisbluegrassisgreen · 11/12/2023 23:00

I think you were unreasonable to have not left the shop without buying anything I would not have spent my money there. A big part of what makes the bag special is feeling special and being treated, not a memory of being made feel like crap.

steff13 · 11/12/2023 22:57

Isseywith3witchycats · 11/12/2023 20:56

My OH bought me a tiffany bracelet from tiffany on the champs de lise we were obviously tourists in jeans and sneakers and they couldnt have been nicer and we werent spending half as much as you probably were i would email the companies head office and point out that even if someone looks ordinary then each and every customer of theirs should be treated equally, i personally would have pulled them up at the time

Tiffany's customer service is unparalleled, in my opinion. I've never had anything but excellent experiences, both in person and on the phone.

LighthouseTheme · 11/12/2023 22:54

HundredMilesAnHour · 11/12/2023 21:23

Not really. The OP was buying a purse not half the shop. 😂

Show quote history

Whoosh!

😝

LuluBlakey1 · 11/12/2023 22:53

You are being unreasonable to be wasting your time and money on this snobby rubbish where animals are bred and kept in terrible conditions and killed inhumanely for these awful products- which cost very little and have enormous mark-ups to make designers rich. There is no glamour or status in owning these. You and your husband have supported pain and suffering of animals, been exploited by the company and treated like rubbish .

butterminttea · 11/12/2023 22:48

You should read some of the reviews on Goyard stores and how people get treated to buy some ugly plastic shite but then again there's always queues. I guess the rudeness and releasing only 3rd/4th choice designs creates more demand to queue and the pay hundreds of £ 😃

clpsmum · 11/12/2023 22:46

Showmethesunny · 11/12/2023 21:18

Become a prostitute make a lot of money and show them their mistake

😂😂

Chickenkeev · 11/12/2023 22:44

inthedrunktankk · 11/12/2023 22:35

I’d liked it for a long time and I could have just bought it online and it was a one off weekend away for my birthday.

I think in hindsight I wouldn’t have bought it but we don’t always think straight in every situation.

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It's all v personal though isn't it? My idea of hell, your idea of a treat. Neither is wrong per se. I'd be very peeved if i was dissed in the shop though.

margotrose · 11/12/2023 22:35

its not your money that’s being spent so why does it matter that I don’t see it as just a bag.

Personally I find it bloody bizarre that you were openly treated like shit and still thought it was worth depending a small fortune there anyway Confused

Original poster
inthedrunktankk · 11/12/2023 22:35

RosesAndHellebores · 11/12/2023 22:23

I don't understand why you bought the bag if they were that rude. I wouldn’t like the bag in the circumstances.

I’d liked it for a long time and I could have just bought it online and it was a one off weekend away for my birthday.

I think in hindsight I wouldn’t have bought it but we don’t always think straight in every situation.

OP posts:
Womencanlift · 11/12/2023 22:34

inthedrunktankk · 11/12/2023 21:49

My inner bitch did come out a little when I asked where our drinks were and he said he “forgot” and I said “I guess those are only offered to every other customer but us” and he did look a bit panicked

Show quote history

But at the end of the day they still got what they wanted - your money

If you really were made to feel as you have said you shouldn’t have given them your custom. Most people’s inner bitch would have been to walk out and go somewhere else

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