To find it hilarious that shop assistants in these stores look down their noses.

[bleakmidwintering]

I’m wandering about shopping in London. I’ve been into a couple of stores where the shop assistants have been off hand; one in Chanel, one in Occitaine. I certainly don’t look like I’ve got bags of money in my rain mac and trainers but I probably earn 4 times their salary. Are they trained to be off hand or is it purely their attitude? AIBU?

People can be shitty in all sorts of stores, budget ones and expensive ones. If you don’t like the service, shop elsewhere. No need to overthink it and start wondering what the shop assistants earn compared to what you earn!

God I have never had that. was in chanel recently enquiring about some jewellery I had been given vouchers for Xmas and birthday previously and was enquiring if they had a item in stock ( it wasn't they had to order in) had two 6 year old with me they couldn't have been nicer to them. let them sit in the chairs asking questions engaging with them. the item had to be ordered but they said woudl ring when in stock was able to take my vouchers over the phone and post out for me - live a bit far away from the store. they were very nice and pleasant to deal with
I don't frequent shops too much theses days buy I always smile at the staff and engage with them little things like weather crap ain't it etc. then I am left to browse never had the looking down on your experience no matter how I look or am dressed

Ahhh typo!!! 😁
Can you imagine the size of the box that would come in?!

Because people can be so rude

It’s the opposite for me. I’m skint but like to have a browse in these places and they seem to be very helpful - even this Saturday with my crappy accessorise bag, they still spent time letting me look and even taking photos. Maybe you’ve just been unlucky. I do dress up though, even if my clothes and bag aren’t designer.

They’re probably just busy and stressed.

So many responses here I haven't had an opportunity to read them all but I have to say just in reading your original post, it reminded me of the scene in the movie "Pretty woman", where dressed casually, Vivian went to rodeo drive to get herself some fancy clothes and the sales lady snubbed her based on her looks. Later on, already dressed in fancy clothes and doing some more shopping, she returned to the store where the sales women were immediately responsive to her, and she informed them that she was the same woman they had snubbed the day before, then holding up her multiple bags of purchases from fancy shops, informed them, "big mistake."

four times their salary isn't enough to shop in Chanel ;-) so they're not wrong

Disclaimer: obviously everyone should be treated well regardless of perceived wealth or status

It very much sounds as if you have an attitude, that you are better than them even if you are wearing an old mac and jeans, which is a bit snobby. I also suspect that you are reflecting back at yourself the idea that you are not the sort of person who shops in these places. I don't think shop assistants care what you earn or what you wear as long as you spend your money where they work.

Pretty Woman is an obnoxious film in many ways - in glamourising a prostituted women for starters - and that scene is utterly unpleasant.

I used to work in a high end clothes store. You soon learnt that appearance did not equate to wealth.

My strategy was to be charming and helpful to everyone,regardless of appearance or manners. In fact if people were rude,I got more charming and helpful. However,I was able to give a discretionary 30% discount. I never gave it to anyone who was in anyway remotely rude to me or my staff. Ever.

Every multi-millionaire I have ever met look like they shop in charity shops. Where I used to live, they all dressed like farmers. Nobody in any shop ever seemed like a snob, presumably because they didn’t dismiss the idea you could be very wealthy. Where I live now, the land and average house price are much, much lower but if you go into certain places they act like you must be a pleb because you’re not wearing all your money. Pretty backwards in my experience.

Some years ago I went, with a friend, into a posh shop best known for its handbags and luggage to buy a wallet as a gift for DS1. The staff were so snotty and dismissive we left with nothing and went to a big-name department store that sold similar products.
A day or two later a very well-off friend, who shopped there often and was known to them as a regular, complained. I subsequently got a phone call from the manager, a letter of apology with an invitation to return and a small gift. Very different treatment to the "pleb standard" treatment of our visit!

My d finds this since she moved there to marry her h. Like me she has an RP accent. She has said it really opens doors where she lives as there aren't that many Brits in the area.
To think she used to get bullied for it in U.K, it's only an accent.

They aren’t looking down their nose at you because they think they earn more than you.

They are doing it because you are poorly dressed. This is criminal in their world.

And they probably earn considerably more than you think.

Why was that 'grown ass adult' comment deleted? It wasn't my comment to be clear but I was surprised it was deleted.
I get it wasn't particularly nice to people working in shops and a bit sneery but it was just an opinion! If stuff like that gets deleted, whither freedom of expression?

Okay. In my defence, there has been talk of kitchens on this thread. So renovations were at the forefront of my mind when I read your post, and immediately thought, "Why would a bathroom place be so rude to her? And I didn't know Mulberry did bathrooms..."

I don't use or like perfumes, I'm happy with affordable medical-grade skincare products, and don't care about "fashion" or jewellery, so wouldn't be poking my nose into such places anyway.

So yes, I suppose you could say I "look down my nose" at shops that sell overpriced toiletries and boring bits and bobs.

You should try being old and overweight! I have an RP accent which helps. Eventually.

Some assistants can be odd. Once saw an expensive watch in Watches of Switzerland and the assistant did her best to not sell it to me. You had to be there. She succeeded and I didn't go there again for a few years.

@Zimunya🤣🤣🤣

Love it @LancashireButterPie 😂

Because it was very goady. That poster knows full well that there are plenty of people on MN who work in retail. Furthermore, the vast majority of people working in retail are ‘grown ass adults’ given you have to be at least 16 to work. And as has already been pointed out on this thread, some shop assistants earn commission and are actually reasonably well-paid. So the snobbery was uncalled for. 🤷‍♀️

Not my experience in any designer shop….and you’ll get l’occitane on QVC.

There is a Farrow & Ball shop near me.
If I go in on my way to work (smartly dressed, hair done, make up) they are extremely helpful and chatty.
If I go in after my dog walk (old coat, no make up, hair everywhere) I get completely ignored, the same shop assistants look at me and then look away.
I don’t go there any more!