The Big Whinge

Retail Snobbery

Why do shop assistants (usually female) in expensive stores think they are better people than their customers?

The premise of retailing is that a store has merchandise for sale. People come in and buy things - if they want it and usually if they are treated nicely. This treatment of prospective buyers is called "customer service", not "oh you are soooo privileged to be within these four walls".

We're all familiar with the quick sweeping glance as you enter these expensive stores where these women quickly assign you to one of three categories: Worth Fawning Over, Has Money But No Idea How to Spend It and You Are Wasting My Time.

Here are some experiences to look forward to depending on which category you fall into:

Worth Fawning Over

Note the endless gushing compliments and insincere attentions to your idiosyncrasies in vacuous hope you will assist them in achieving their sales targets. They graciously help you part from your hard-earned money by pushing ill-fitting and ugly items. According to them, everything fits "beauuuuutifully" even if you are trying on a kaftan.

If you enjoy sycophancy and are not insulted these sales assistants don't deem you intelligent enough to see through it, wake up. They don't like you...you're just a giant dollar sign to them. Why don't you buy some self-esteem?

Has Money But No Idea How to Spend It

They can sense you have disposable income but from their narrow perceptions, you aren't spending it in the right areas (ie you are investing in your mortgage rather than fashions that don't last longer than the time it takes to read a "what's hot / what's not" column in a glossy).

Their condescending attitude makes you want to scream "Hey, there's a good reason why YOU are the one BEHIND the sales desk begging for my money, so IIIII am the one you should be GROVELLING to, beaaatch. I'm not the one earning $5 an hour to forego food for the next decade so I can wear the store's clothes as a uniform."

You are Wasting My Time

At best you will receive a brusque nod. Sales assistants will scurry to straighten up the merchandise, if you were to even look in its direction as though you may have telepathically reduced its value. I like to mess with their minds by re-arranging everything just to give them a bit more work. It's not at all malicious - I'm just stimulating the local economy by generating employment.

Some retailers are smart about providing a shopping experience that will bring customers back. I make it a rule to never buy from rude sales assistants, but I will spend time and money to go back to retailers that have been genuinely helpful and friendly.

A friend of mine had a bad experience with Oxford where he was promised a pair of trousers would fit if the seams were let out a bit. The store assistant knowingly lied about this to make a sale (it was towards the end of the month), because it would have been obvious to him that there was not enough material to be let out. The store later tried to cover this up by sending a larger size to the tailor to be altered and demanding my friend pay for it, although these trousers did not fit. After much negotiation and quoting of the Trade Practices Act, Oxford grdugingly agreed to a refund. Of course, my friend will never shop there again.

You may tell other people about a good retailing experience sometimes but you will definitely tell other people about a bad retailing experience. That oldie but a goodie: the customer is always right.

posted by Yarravillean @ 12:49 pm