To feel uncomfortable in Harrod’s?

[Chocolattay]

I went in with my mum and baby recently on a day trip to London. I obviously knew I wouldn’t get very far with my measly £200 spends but I thought I could at least get earrings or something for baby.

Goodness me, I was very quickly humbled. I immediately felt insecure. Staff buzzing around me constantly and when I said “Oh I’m just looking around” they stared me down and walked off.

I just felt very unwelcome and inadequate the whole time. We did have a meal in one of the restaurants which was nice but I couldn’t get away quick enough afterwards. It didn’t help that we ended up getting lost for half an hour trying to find the exit, and the area with the escalators etc made me claustrophobic.

I breathed a sigh of relief when we got out. Then I went and spent my money in the nearby Zara instead.

All my friends say they love snooping around Harrods but I hated it. Anybody else?

@WanderingLost167 me too. It makes me think of pocket money for children.

But the drivers of Ferraris in Knightsbridge are a particular demographic. I wonder what makes them more annoying than the others.

Nobody said they were.

It’s just that the discussion is about Knightsbridge.

Never experienced that in Harrods, always found the staff helpful, they’re shop assistants.

Last time I was in London (a long time ago), I went in for a snoop, used the loo and sloped out again without buying anything. No staff approached me but it may have been that I was wearing my Scotland top and best "Fuck off" face and they were scared to .

The discussion was about Harrod's actually - the people who work there, the things they sell and who might want to buy them, the decoration, whether it's welcoming or not etc.

It wasn't me who brought up gold Ferraris but I've no objection to that because it's not my thread.

Harrods is full of hundreds upon hundreds of tourists with no intention of buying anything except a green biro with the logo on it.

You will have looked absolutely fine and not at all out of place. I can guarantee that nobody was looking at you like you didn't belong these.

In the kindest possible way, I think you might be projecting a bit of victimhood onto the narrative to cope with feeling awkward and insecure?

After all, MN LOVES reverse-snobbery, and stories about Waitrose/Selfridges being a nest of aristocratic demons who sneer and point at anyone not wearing a tiara.

I love a browse around Harrods (just for fun!), and I know you'd definitely have found earrings under £200 in one of the departments, just not in the Bvlgari concession in the jewellery hall!

YABU to think you were being judged - sounds like you were feeling a bit intimidated by how expensive the premium stuff was and put your own spin on what was happening. No need to turn it into a drama about feeling chased out by the snobby staff (who genuinely don't care who you are or what you look like, and probably earn less than you!)

Please enjoy this actual footage of me shopping in Harrods.

@Mochudubh

Last time I was in London (a long time ago), I went in for a snoop, used the loo and sloped out again without buying anything. No staff approached me but it may have been that I was wearing my Scotland top and best "Fuck off" face and they were scared to .

Am I imagining things or did Harrods used to charge £1 to use their loos? Pricey, but I seem to remember they had lots of fancy perfumes you could use. So I think I got my money’s worth.

@Bussinbussin

Thank you *@nettie434 and @alltheapples*.

Mum has decreed It Must Be Harrods. It's replacing a beloved broken one. Think I bought it at the little Harrods at Heathrow last time.

You can get them on eBay, y'know.... www.google.com/search?q=harrods+tea+bag+tidy+ebay&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwi6yJix2rn2AhVh7OAKHVn0D8sQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=harrods+tea+bag+tidy+ebay&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzoHCCMQ7wMQJ1C5CFjNEGDqEmgAcAB4AIABRYgB2QKSAQE2mAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&sclient=img&ei=QvgoYrqfJOHYgwfZ6L_YDA&client=safari&hl=en

I used to work close by Harrods and sometimes walked around "just because".
Sometimes staff WILL loom and whine "Can I help you?" the best response is to look them in the eyes and snap "NO!" and turn away, that generally stops them pestering you.
Of course, if you are "dressed down " or spend a lot of time looking at the diamonds and pearls they will get edgy!

As a 'tourist ' in Fortnum's , I approached the cash desk apprehensively with my measly bag of sweets. The older male assistant was immaculately turned out , had a very posh, plummy accent and I was prepared to be treated with condescension. Couldn't have been more wrong, I was made to feel like his most valued customer ever ! Left the shop walking on air. What a gift to be able to make a customer feel like that over one tiny purchase - that is 'class ' !

@Sharnydubs

As a 'tourist ' in Fortnum's , I approached the cash desk apprehensively with my measly bag of sweets. The older male assistant was immaculately turned out , had a very posh, plummy accent and I was prepared to be treated with condescension. Couldn't have been more wrong, I was made to feel like his most valued customer ever ! Left the shop walking on air. What a gift to be able to make a customer feel like that over one tiny purchase - that is 'class ' !

Absolutely wonderful. That is class.

@Sharnydubs

As a 'tourist ' in Fortnum's , I approached the cash desk apprehensively with my measly bag of sweets. The older male assistant was immaculately turned out , had a very posh, plummy accent and I was prepared to be treated with condescension. Couldn't have been more wrong, I was made to feel like his most valued customer ever ! Left the shop walking on air. What a gift to be able to make a customer feel like that over one tiny purchase - that is 'class ' !

Was he like Rowan Atkinson in Love Actually?!

These threads are fucking crazy.

It should be normal for people who work in shops to say hello to you when you walk in. That goes for Harrods or Asda. It doesn't mean they think you're going to shoplift - though that's always a possibility - it's just normal human interaction plus some staff training. Or do you want to be ignored?

It is also normal human behaviour to return their politeness. So if they say: "Would you like any help, Madam?" then you should say: "Yes please" or "No thank you."

According to your answer shop staff respond either by saying: "The toilets are straight through on your left" or "if you change your mind I will be over there folding the jumpers or doing some other menial task that you believe shop workers do while judging your shoes."

How else do you imagine these people get through their day?

Last time I went I noticed staff leaving for home after a shift all had see- through bags and handbags. I took that to mean that it’s a requirement for staff to do this -( there were so many can’t have been a coincidence) and that they don’t TRUST their own employees not to steal. Sad if that’s the case.

@Zipper666

I used to work close by Harrods and sometimes walked around "just because". Sometimes staff WILL loom and whine "Can I help you?" the best response is to look them in the eyes and snap "NO!" and turn away, that generally stops them pestering you. Of course, if you are "dressed down " or spend a lot of time looking at the diamonds and pearls they will get edgy!

I'm sure they knew the calibre of the person they were dealing with.

@Gottonsomedraws

Last time I went I noticed staff leaving for home after a shift all had see- through bags and handbags. I took that to mean that it’s a requirement for staff to do this -( there were so many can’t have been a coincidence) and that they don’t TRUST their own employees not to steal. Sad if that’s the case.

My husband worked in Harrods a long time ago. I wondered whether people on the beginning of this thread might have known him.

He regarded it as normal for there to be a staff entrance for lots of different reasons. One of them was theft. Theft is common in shops - sometimes staff and sometimes customers.

I think we would agree that people with nefarious intentions are drawn to jobs where they can get their hands on things. Therefore it makes sense to try to thwart them. My husband is honest, no pushover and would have drawn the line at strip-searching without his mum or solicitor present.

My dad and I also worked in places - not retail - where we were required to use staff entrances. A lot of people do. Again we were not downtrodden.

@Gottonsomedraws - you would not believe how much stuff gets stolen by staff, and clear plastic bags are used, or were, by a lot of retail companies.

Peter Jones had plastic bags, and you had to keep everything in a locker and take absolutely nothing near the shop floor.

But really interesting was the shop lifters. Never who you would expect, so those being shifty around OP were probably missing a trick.

I have a niece who worked in Sainsbury’s for years as an assistant manager and she always said the most prolific shoplifters were women in their 50s. Often very ordinary, (even ‘middle class’) looking rather than ‘chavvy’ looking. Often it’s just for the thrill I think.

@TristramBrandy

I've just been on their website.

There are Westwood single earrings for £55 and pretty Weekend Max Mara brooches for £90. A cashmere beanie is £59 , Max Mara silk square scarves for £80 and Me&Em knitwear for £85.

Over half of all dresses for baby girls (up to age 3) are under £100.

The beauty and food counters have masses for under £100 as do the Homeware department

That's not including stuff on sale.
I'm astonished you couldn't find anything for £200. What on earth were you looking for?

Seriously? Read the thread. BABY EARRINGS

@Chocolattay

I have a niece who worked in Sainsbury’s for years as an assistant manager and she always said the most prolific shoplifters were women in their 50s. Often very ordinary, (even ‘middle class’) looking rather than ‘chavvy’ looking. Often it’s just for the thrill I think.

I read the same about fare dodgers on commuter trains, Chocolattay. Apparently they were disproportionately middled aged men who could definitely afford their tickets. That was before the introduction of electronic barriers. Now you need to be lithe and quick to 'tailgate' behind another passenger.

Going back to working at Harrods and staff checks, I know someone who worked in Top Man and Harrods. He said it was a lot better working for Harrods than Top Man in terms of the way staff were treated.

@Gottonsomedraws

Last time I went I noticed staff leaving for home after a shift all had see- through bags and handbags. I took that to mean that it’s a requirement for staff to do this -( there were so many can’t have been a coincidence) and that they don’t TRUST their own employees not to steal. Sad if that’s the case.

Yup. We could only bring things in clear bag and clear with a clear bag. These bags would also be searched by security on the way out. If you bought anything you had to show the receipt

*leave with a clear bag

@Brefugee

Sounds as though, aside from Harrods, you had a great day out, OP. That's good because it's often a bit of a lottery with a baby.

At one point, not sure how it is now, they used to turn obvious tourists (shorts, bucket hats, backpacks) away at the door at Harrods. I'll be in London soon, maybe I'll have a shufty, i always did like the food hall.

a system of carnations depending on your level of seniority
Oh do spill! this is the kind of stuff i want to know about Harrods!

This is back in the Mohammad Al-Fayed days, around 2006, but "normal" so assistants had nothing, assistants managers had a (fake) white carnation attached to their badge and managers had a red. Only white carnations and above could process refunds. I had to have a white carnation even as a lowly bookseller, because at Waterstone's Grade 3 booksellers could do refunds so according to Harrods I was an assistant manager!