Personal Shopper a bit of a disappointment at JLP for dh.

[orangesticker]

The best thing was having a sofa but my god they don't listen to a word!
Dh needed a new business casual wardrobe - a tricky area to get right as he normally wears a sharp suit to work and is very scruffy at home person.
Really though he could do with some help to guide him towards a stylish but relaxed wardrobe, where everything would match - like a business casual capsule wardrobe.
The day before the Appt someone warned us that he'd be given a rack of Ted Baker - we laughed, dh is 55 and Ted Baker is a bit too trend focused for him.
So we gave the stylist an idea of what he needed and what he didn't like and said we weren't keen on Ted Baker but we'd keep an open mind towards the odd piece.
She came back with a rack that was mostly Ted Baker - said she couldn't find anything else! When pushed she found Merino jumpers from Reiss - no JLP brands even when john lewis sold merino jumpers at nearly a third of the price, Kin had a few reasonably priced items but it was ignored. I asked her why she had brought out so much Ted Baker and she suggested I came on to the shop floor and chose clothes instead and that's how dh found his new threads by me looking and finding clothes that apparently didn't exist. He got no style tips at all!
Do JLP staff make extra commission on TED Baker, we just couldn't figure out why the stylist was so obsessed with them.

Hmm. That's interesting. I thought they were terrible too when I went despite extremely clear 'brief'. (They brought me the total opposite and brands/colours I expressly said I disliked.)

Interesting. We ended up being referred to a personal shopper in Debenhams while looking for a formal outfit for transgender teen and they were amazing! Pulled together all sorts of bits from all sorts of departments to put together a cohesive gender neutral suitably formal outfit I'd never have been able to imagine. I'd presumed that all personal shoppers were specially skilled! It does sound as if your JL experience was commission based.

How disappointing. I think you should feed that back to customer services. I had a disappointing session with personal shoppers at selfridges a few years ago and really regret not feeding it back afterwards. Just two very posh super stick thin women who did not understand stylish wardrobe for a mum and kept bringing me silk shirts!
Great to hear about such a positive experience in Debenhams. My mum goes back to Fenwicks in Bond St for really helpful and spot on advice for her.

I don't think they listen to the brief....I thought they must be on commission but it's almost as if they were trying to sabotage the sale, they can't be on commission if they aren't listening to the customer.

We came home and ordered loads of stuff from Uniqlo.

I went to JLP in Jan after all the recommendations on here. I have to say I was terribly disappointed as I didn't like anything she chose and like the pp felt that she hadn't read the info I'd provided beforehand. It's put me off personal shoppers.

Hmm. Maybe Fenwicks worth a shot. Went to Selfridges years ago but that was before their minimum spend policy (which is ridiculously high...). Lovely to hear about Debenhams! How brilliant.

My friend had a great experience at Debenhams too, said they were very friendly, picked some great outfits and didn’t put any pressure her to spend more than she felt comfortable with.

I'd never even have thought of Debenhams, pleased to hear they have a good service.
We chose JLP because I thought they'd have a good range of good quality menswear brands. To be fair she didn't put any pressure on dh to buy, she just didn't get him or the environment he works in. She didn't seem to know the stock very well across the store, it was all a bit lack lustre.

I had a brilliant experience at House of Fraser.

What does the P in JLP stand for?
I'm assuming JL is John Lewis.

(Sorry, not helpful but genuinely curious)

Partnership, I think

Enid - Partnership

Oh of course. Thank you both.

I was wondering the same enid I only usually ever see it as JL

I have used Debenhams in several of their stores and always been impressed. In one, she brought me an outfit that I dismissed instantly (not me, wrong shape for me etc) and she persuaded me (nicely!) to just try it.

Reader, I bought it!

I had a great experience with Victoria in the leeds branch. Listened to my likes/ dislikes, knew her products and their sizing variability. I’m a 12-14 but she made me try a couple of 10s in tops and they fit brilliantly. She brought a big range of price points, including sale stock and wasn’t pushy.

DH had a similarly bad experience - 60, figure (but not face) of a much younger man as he does triathlon. He's fairly slim waisted (30), but broad shouldered (42). He's started to do a lot of consultancy and was feeling a suit was overdressed in a lot of the places he goes to, but basically he has suits and Lycra! I thought we (well, I, if I'm honest!) gave a very clear brief and it was crap. We saw a lot of TB as well. Basically we were there to spend money - he wanted three jackets and three trousers that could all be mixed up, with 6-10 shirts/tops - but we can away with one jacket from Kin that I spotted on the way out. Had they had any imagination or creativity we'd have bought the lot there, and they'd have had a good sale for an hours work.

I tried their on line style planner yesterday. Despite everything they asked they send me thorough pictures of stuff my 91 year old mother would think was frumpy. I said I preferred short skirts and all I got was a load of midi wrap dresses. I should have realised this when they said they needed to know my age to find things that would suit me, I should have reduced it by 50%.