to be disappointed about luxury store customer service?

[yolofish]

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!

I totally get where you are coming from, OP. I don't buy designer clothes or bags, but I do buy high-end makeup and perfume. I expect (and get) a "retail experience" at the Chanel counter, even if I'm just buying a nailpolish, which I wouldn't expect if I was picking up a Rimmel lipstick. The brand values are built on luxury, which is reflected in their pricing strategy - the service should reflect the brand values.

@Iamagreyhoundhearmeroar - I'm not, it's just something I wouldn't do, if I wanted to make a small purchase I would do it online.

Also I imagine some people might get quite offended with 'is this a special gift?' As it almost insinuates the person doesn't look rich enough to shop there just because and they've clearly had to save for it or something. Imagine their wealthy customers hearing that and shooting them down with an icy 'no'!

The thing is they might not have known it was a special experience for your daughter and you or that the item was a 21st birthday gift. It used to be the case that the assistants in these stores were unemployed models and such. I hope your daughter has a lovely birthday!

To be fair I am a sales assistant and dont really care what people buy or why. We sell stuff everyday. And deal with a lot of rude customers who think we are beneath them. I think as long as they were polite and got the job done no harm done. The nature of the shop is selling expensive stuff to rich people so its not out of the ordinary for them iyswim

I've had beautiful service at Tiffany, especially in Toronto. Couldn't fault it.

the thing is it took about 15 minutes to pay for the sodding thing, while sullen youth pressed buttons on ipad etc (nothing too complicated) and as I am British it's hard to stand there and not have a chat! she did have a lvoely birthday, thank you to chester and others

I'm surprised to see Tiffany mentioned, I have always found them really lovely and helpful

I instantly guessed Louis Vuitton, and I’m assuming you bought a Clis/key pouch which is £125.

I don’t see why it’s relevant what the tourists were wearing....I was a supervisor at a v popular flagship fashion store at Westfield White City until I secured my grad job & Middle Eastern/Eastern Asian tourists were the most affluent with ridiculously expensive hauls...don’t judge a book by its cover hun. You spent £100 and they probably spent MUCH more.

The thing is, it’s a special purchase to you but not to them. You bought one of the cheapest items in the store. It’s like asking an Apple SA to be as enthused about your £10 charger purchase vs a £3000 MacBook Pro. Your transaction was a basic/routine one and it didn’t require in depth service. You asked for the item & they processed the sale, everyone went on with their day.

They are used to having regular clients with long-standing store accounts spending 10’s of 1000’s per month, asking for them by name (which they get commission for.)

Bare in mind retail is just retail, SA’s don’t have to be excited or tell you 1000 things about the cheapest item in the store. SA’s have their own lives, you aren’t their only customer of the day & they realistically aren’t going to be enthused by every sale.

I can tell that you don’t regularly buy luxury items, but the service offered to you was standard for a very small purchase.

15 minutes?! You should have been offered coffee, not patronised by the miserable little sod. YANBU in the slightest.

and the award for most patronising sentence of the thread goes to...

Amandaloux

*amandaloux" I totally understand my lowly place in the great human scheme of things now, thank you so much.

The Apple comparison is interesting actually: we went in there today to get her laptop fixed; they couldn't have been more helpful although was frantically busy, they couldnt do it then and there but immediately arranged an appointment to suit her. And she is, actually, looking to buy a Macbbook Pro having earned the money for it.

Ouch, Amandaloux!! I wonder how many plebs you've put firmly in their place during your time at your flagship store?
How dare someone complain about shoddy service when other customers were spending far more, and therefore far more deserving of respect??

tbf my Saturday job when I was 17 was on Bond St & I was always polite & friendly.

@amandaloux - Spot on!

YANBU. I work for a luxury brand (much smaller than LV but well known and part of one of the big conglomerates) and you would not receive that kind of service in our stores.

Just because it's a small purchase now doesn't mean that your daughter wouldn't become a loyal customer in the future - she might want a wallet, then a bag etc as she earns more money. It's about building brand loyalty.

It's completely reasonable to expect nice service, packaging etc when you're paying a lot of money for a product.

I'm sorry it wasn't made more special for your daughter.

I can tell that you don’t regularly buy luxury items, but the service offered to you was standard for a very small purchase.

When you get a celebrity with real class, they are just as nice to someone "unimportant" as to someone who's usually classed as important. The staff - on very low salaries - have perpetrated the belief that money is everything. Ironic, really.

And yes to what JW says - to treat a 21 year old young woman badly in a store like that is very bad for business. If she's interested in their products at 21, it's likely that when she's older and earning more, she'll want to buy more. If they treated her worse than if she was buying teabags at a corner shop then she's unlikely to return.

There are some (well, two) pretentious wankers on this thread. You know who you are.

Also I think it's harsh to judge the price of the OPs purchase. A 21 yr old spending £150 will likely progress to buying a tote later on. After all it's the selling of accessories & perfumes which keeps the majority of these design houses in business.

iamagreyhound coffee? prosecco at the very fuckkng least!! and yy to what everyone else says about building brand loyalty in the long term....

FWIW I work in a retail support role (not customer facing) in a niche area. The whole constant message is: engage with your customers, learn about them, encourage them, educate them, and then you get a customer for life.

DD1 currently enquiring about whereabouts of DD2's rip off but excellent LV bag bought in Venice - unfortunately I think it went to charity shop a while ago.

cross post.

I had this in LV in Manchester a few years ago.
Went to buy Dd1 a handbag and the staff were borderline rude.
Dd1 told them this and said she didn’t want it, so we went elsewhere.

I was about to say the same greyhound. Two fine examples of utter knobbery have been shown on this thread.

'Bare in mind retail is just retail,'

Bear in mind it's 'bear in mind'.