Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be disappointed about luxury store customer service?

372 replies

yolofish · 29/09/2017 20:44

My DD1 has just turned 21, so today we went to vv expensive, luxury shop to buy her possibly the 3rd cheapest thing they offer - agreed pressie, actually not too expensive in the scheme of things.

We were both reasonably dressed - possibly more so than the tourists wandering around - yet we were not treated that well. Apparently the system is you give your name at the door - no one asked us that, so we wandered around until I found a sales lady who said she would add our names to the list.

20 mins later we were then served by the most incredibly sullen youth I have ever come across. Absolutely no interest in us - slapped the chosen item on the counter, didn't bother to point out any its features or why it would be so desirable. No kind of "is this a special purchase" or any interest at all actually. The packaging was eventually lovely, and hopefully she will get beautiful emails from the store in question and maybe the odd glossy brochure in the future after we'd filled in all the inevitable details.

I feel mugged!

We still bought it, because she'd set her heart on it, but she was disappointed by the whole experience because of the way we were treated. She loves the present, but the experience was such a bloody disappointment!

OP posts:
DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 03/10/2017 08:44

That rich about Harrods considering they used to turn people away for wearing jeans! Grin

Iamagreyhoundhearmeroar · 03/10/2017 11:28

There was a big hoohaa a couple of years ago when Harrods refused to allow an American tourist to go inside wearing the leggings she’d bought from Harrods the previous day.

BellyDancer124 · 03/10/2017 11:52

As someone who once worked in sales I just can't stop thinking about the fact that the 'sullen youth' no doubt has KPIs to meet and you have dragged his average transaction value for the day (he probably has to finish on a high average for the day, maybe over £500..thats a guess). I know thats not right but when people did it to me it ruined my day when I worked in sales! Lovely gift btw, I would love my mum to buy me that! :)

Ijustwantaquietlife · 03/10/2017 12:01

Wasn't Kylie kicked out of Harrods for being scruffy?

Talking of Harrods what is happening with their display windows? They've mostly just been wallpapered over with deisel adverts. Looks very chavy at the moment.

Crescend0 · 03/10/2017 12:45

I have never heard of anyone getting thrown out of Harrods due to clothes. Hmm If it's raining I cut through to get to my house rather than use the side street and I do look like a hot mess in gym kit quite often. Nobody gives a hoot. The men on the doors are just security, not the fashion police!
The only time I have ever seen security intervene is if tourists are taking photos of high-end jewellery displays. They don't seem to like that.

Helipad · 03/10/2017 13:05

At the turn of the century I use to work in a high end London restaurant and one evening we had a customer who was slightly podgy, bald'ish and quite scruffy looking (and not in a trendy way). He turned out to be a very famous designer, even now he has a cult following and most of you would know his name even if you don't follow fashion at all.

What I'm trying to say is that if you're in customer service, you're a fool to judge your customers based on how they look. Later on I had an office job in the City and many of the directors, CEO's etc had ill fitting suits, bad skin, belly over hang etc but had very much the spending power.

BadLad · 03/10/2017 13:10

Wasn't Kylie kicked out of Harrods for being scruffy?

I don't know, but Jason Donovan was. Seems times have changed.

metro.co.uk/2007/02/22/jeans-clad-jason-back-at-harrods-109325/

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 03/10/2017 13:17

I have never heard of anyone getting thrown out of Harrods due to clothes

You weren't thrown out, you wouldn't have got past the door men! This was back in the 80's.

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 03/10/2017 13:19

Not sure why that deserves an eye roll tbh.

Malib · 03/10/2017 13:29

Cartier in Harrods was a joke. I stood there with our Harrods black card in my hand waiting to make two £10k purchases. Given, I was in pyjamas since it was 10am and I live across the road, and was in a rush.

I then waited an extra 20 minutes before going up to security and asking for a manager. I explained I had been waiting nearly 45 minutes to try on some pieces and was told to wait by two members of staff, who proceeded to help people who arrived after me. The manager was extremely apologetic and brought the staff over to explain why they weren't helpful. They said I didn't seem like their usual client, which is ridiculous since I spend 2 days a week in Harrods to hang out with friends for spa days and lunch. I said that I would be going to another Cartier boutique because their service as terrible and I don't want them to have sale records they don't deserve.

Crescend0 · 03/10/2017 13:38

Dame - It wasn't aimed at you, I meant that I'd be Hmm (as in "that's odd") if I saw someone being thrown out of Harrods because of their clothes. There are all sorts in there, as on the streets outside. It does seem times have changed.

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 03/10/2017 13:40

No worries, yes they used to be very strict which is ridiculous.

purpleprincess24 · 03/10/2017 13:56

For my Mums 80th birthday she asked for an expensive handbag, so between us all she had a budget of £500

We went shopping and she chose a Mulberry bag. The customer service was not just appalling, it was non existent, no one served us, she picked a bag she liked and we stood there holding it, but still no one approached us. We ended up queuing to pay.

We would have walked out but we'd been looking all day for one and she fell in love with the Mulberry one as soon as she saw it.

LoyaltyAndLobster · 03/10/2017 14:24

I was in pyjamas since it was 10am and I live across the road, and was in a rush

You went there in your pyjamas at 10am in the morning? Hmm and you want to call them a joke..

Malib · 03/10/2017 14:27

LoyaltyAndLobster

No other boutique has ever had an issue. Harrods is surprisingly relaxed about it

Iamagreyhoundhearmeroar · 03/10/2017 14:57

Yes, because we’ve all had to rush out in our pyjamas to buy two £10k gifts. Grin When these kind of unforeseen emergencies crop up, you’ve just got to roll with it, I find.

PNGirl · 03/10/2017 15:06

OP, I think the main lesson to learn here is that if you're going to post about anything high-end designer, do it in Style and Beauty. Even then, wear a helmet.

Crescend0 · 03/10/2017 15:20

Tbh, if there's a particular bag you want, just use Farfetch. They pick it from your nearest stockist and deliver same day for free. Once I received a something within 3 hours. That's my kind customer service Grin.

For jewellery, the best customer service by far imo is Boodles. Yes they use NLP and all sorts of techniques to upsell you, I'm sure, but the staff are always down to earth and relaxed. It somehow has the feel of a family- run business and very British still (I don't work for them in case you're wondering). Grin Champagne and snacks and they're happy to let you try on half the shop before you buy - what's not to like?!

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 03/10/2017 15:27

I can't ever imagine being in too much of a rush to get dressedGrin

Ohyesiam · 03/10/2017 16:04

I'm sorry your daughter didn't get the experience she was looking for.
I guess the whole Exclusive thing does just that, excluded people, including those who don't spend enough in the eyes of the cashier.

Getreadyforit · 03/10/2017 21:43

I used to know a Mum of a child in dc old school who was ridiculously wealthy. She was treated like shit in a high end shop one day and clearly they thought she was wasting their time in her scruffy farm clothes.
She went back with several thousand pounds in cash for the item she wanted. Demanded the manager and told them how she had been treated with the cash out on the table...

Kaybush · 03/10/2017 22:45

A while back I was in Saks (I think) in San Francisco and I tried on one of those ridiculously expensive iconic Chanel jackets. Two sales ladies swiftly approached me and I thought I was going to be told off or something!

Instead they told me how lovely it looked on me and, when I said there was no way I could afford it, they set out a monthly store credit payment plan - like buying a sofa in DFS! They were so charming I almost almost signed up. I was VERY casually dressed too.

So different to the stories on here. It was just a transaction to them.

limitedperiodonly · 03/10/2017 23:12

Well that's you told by Ohyesiam OP.

ShirleyPhallus · 03/10/2017 23:19

I guess the whole Exclusive thing does just that, excluded people, including those who don't spend enough in the eyes of the cashier.

That would be, the cashier aka a shop assistant who is likely on minimum wage and therefore unlikely to be able to afford the very goods they're judging other people for, errrr, thinking that they're not able to afford. Hmmmm. Great.

Puffpaw · 04/10/2017 07:58

ijuwantaquietlife bet their wives are immaculate though.
But yes I have spent time in very deprived areas and very rich areas and you can absolutely tell the difference between the people that live in them whether you want to admit it or not. There are some very good reasons why the rich live longer.
limitedperiodonly did I say anywhere that was my life? No. So don't be a twat, and stop jumping to conclusions.

Swipe left for the next trending thread