You know you must look like crap when...

[imlateasusual]

Was in London at the weekend and was planning to treat myself to some perfume and makeup. I'm overweight and perimenopause has caused my hair to thin, so I know I'm not in my prime 😬. I was shocked though that not a single person in Harrods, Selfridges or F&M attempted to try to sell me anything or even talk to me, even when I made eye contact. I asked an assistant for a sample of a very expensive perfume (that I wanted to buy) and she actually looked me up and down and had a weird, almost like she'd smelt a rancid fart look on her face before spraying it on one of those card things and then looking away. Decided not to buy from her incase it's commission based.
I'm not upset about it, more bewildered at how I was 'seen' but purposely avoided, as if I was profiled for not being either able to or worthy of buying high end products.
Are they told to give their time/attention to a particular type?

I remember a thread on this recently op, and I think the consensus was that a lot of the make up counters only bother with you if you look expensive and like you’re going to spend £££s with them. Daft really because they must be missing out on loads of sales from the likes of you and I! IIRC Boots No7 counters came off well as somewhere to go.

It's the reality for a large proportion of women who do not fit the acceptable look in society. Clearly this is new for you and I'm sorry that you experienced it.

Not a great experience but you should have bought the perfume. By not buying it you confirmed it, rightly or wrongly, to the salesperson that you weren't in a position to buy.

Took my dd to Harrods at Christmas and was given the same treatment in the toy department!! Guess I didn't fit the rich bitch model type look !

That made me really sad OP

hkw awful to be made to feel so invisible. ❤️

Think of Pretty Woman. “Big mistake. Huge in fact!” One of my favourite scenes in the film!

I always find it so weird when shop assistants / customer service staff do this, and act like they’re better than customers. We went to an expensive restaurant before Christmas and the staff all rolled their eyes to perfectly normal requests and we heard them bitching about another table.

No one has any right to be like that about anyone but it’s literally their job to help. And I’m pretty sure they don’t own the place and get paid the same as the very helpful people in our local sainsburys!

Who cares what the sales woman thinks? She's there to sell but she did a shit job of it. Why should she get commission?

Yes!

I’m sorry you had that experience @imlateasusual - it’s really shit!

Im a manger in a higher end footwear store and once hired a girl who had worked in a premium high street clothing store. It very quickly transpired that that was the attitude that had been drummed into her at her last employer 🙄 - don’t get caught up with the customers who don’t look expensive, keep yourself free for the ones that can spend money without thinking about it 🙄 an absolutely ridiculous attitude to have.

I have men who visit my store in well fitting tailored suits, well groomed etc - and they’re looking for the cheapest things that we stock and takes a long time trying on and thinking about his purchase. And then men who visit who quite literally have holes in every item of clothing and their shoes are falling off their feet - and they think absolutely nothing of buying 3 pairs of £300 shoes without even a thought about trying them on etc.
As a sales assistant, every person is a potential customer and they should be all just as worthy of your time!

FWIW, I wouldn’t have bought the perfume from her either. Yes, it would prove a point that actually you CAN shop there. But I wouldn’t have wanted her to get any potential commission either.
I hope you have treated yourself to a nice big bottle somewhere else ❤️

I'd have bought the most expensive bottle / set of that perfume.

I would have then returned it a couple of hours later with a note saying I had been treated better at X shop so I was returning this to the bitch

You really need to do a Julia Roberts here - go back next week festooned with high-end carrier bags.

I'd have bought from the counter directly opposite her.

Always reminds me of the AbFab line, "you only work in a shop, you know"

I’m also overweight and menopausal with thinning hair these days, but never have any issues getting served at make up counters. But I don’t wait for them to speak to me, I walk up and say ‘Hi, I’m looking for….’ and they always seem to help me happily enough. Perhaps they’re judging me for being short, fat and old but frankly I couldn’t give a stuff.

You know you look like shit when.....a kindly person asks if you'd like something to eat as you're chatting with a rough-sleeper. I'd just finished sweeping my chimney and thought I'd cleaned up enough to get to the shop😯

Thanks for the replies, and sorry others have experienced this. Just to clarify, I'm not upset about this, at the end of the day I can buy the stuff online. It was just weird (and a bit shocking) to see an assistant almost look at me with contempt for trying to interact with her.
I definitely don't look the 'money' type but I still like nice things! Time to head over to style and beauty board I think 😬

It is ridiculous especially when you consider that they’re sales assistants not CEOs (not dissing sales assistants but these high and mighty ones act as though they’re ‘above’ some customers when they’re no better than someone working in Poundland). I’m no fan of Prince Harry but he wears badly fitted suits and holes in his shoes. In fact a lot of rich people (old money) tend to dress quite shabbily.

My Tiffany heart necklace had broken so went to a store with my 2 kids in tow. Looking a bit frazzled. Asked if they could fix my necklace. Their response was they could only fix jewellery from Tiffany so I should go elsewhere.
Changed their tune and turned all sweetness and light when I explained that it was one of theirs!

@TheHateIsNotGood sorry but that made me laugh! It's the sort of thing that would happen to me 🤣.
@sm40 that's really funny, as if you'd go into Tiffany and ask them to fix an Argos necklace.

Am I the only one who wants to know what the perfume is? I love a good perfume

Oooohhhh I like the idea of buying something from her then taking it back cos she's a bitch!

If the assistant were really so much better than you, she would be buying the stuff on her platinum credit card and you would be on your feet all day selling it.

If you don’t look like them, the sales assistances, they just assume you are not interested. There can be very snobby…

Totally ridiculous you should have to dress up
to get service.

I read somewhere that being ‘well groomed, wearing makeup’ gets women better service.
I’m not sure that’s true but if it is then it’s very unfair.
FWIW I don’t often wear make up these days but feel better when I do so maybe I project better.
Or, the sales assistant was judgy and small minded. Her loss.

Yes this happened to me once a year or so back when Whistles opened a new shop near me. I popped in as I was walking by (have a few whistles bits in my wardrobe) but was in jeans, trainers and a raincoat. The manager literally looked me up and down with a cats bum face. She couldn't have been more obvious. Anyway happened to pop into a few other naice shops and bought stuff and really enjoyed my walk past her with my bags. She was at the door and most definitely saw me and my purchases. Cow.