I've been shopping here for a good 15 years and have been more than impressed and delighted with the variety of unique clothing and gift items, and have always had impeccable and professional customer service until yesterday. I venture to say I've spent a few thousand dollars here over the years on expensive items I love; clothing, jewelry and shoes. I'm an artist and designer and to me, shopping is a creative process and it's fun. I've worked in retail and understand the bottom line is make a sale, also keep costs down. As a customer, the bottom line is enjoy your experience and enjoy what you purchase with a positive feeling of wanting to come back again. Sales are great, sometimes the full price is no issue. The point is, enjoy yourself, like what you purchase, want to come back. No more. This ladies wallet is zipped tight, and I probably bought the wallet there; a Hobo...
After completing my purchase, the salesclerk was so kind as to put it in a small gift bag with one piece of tissue as I was buying a few items as a gift. I asked for a second bag to purchase for a second gift and she said to me, "Oh, no that is free", so she put the smaller bag with the small items I had purchased in the bag and I was on my way out, and was quite pleased and as usual happy with my purchase and the service, when the second clerk who was present during the whole transaction, proceeded to dress me down and advise me that in the future they don't provide bags or tissue for sale items. Her tone was pleasant; the content was rude. I was embarrassed and felt shamed and put on the spot. I advised her I had offered to pay for it. She said it was fine this time, but no extras next time. I asked what the extra was and she pointed to my purchase which had been put in the tiniest bag with one piece of tissue. I was stunned that she could be so petty as to take it to a higher level of insult and was not satisfied with her first piece of in the future, but had to then advise me the gift was also an extra and wouldn't be happening again if it were on sale. The clerk who had helped me apologized to me and said she didn't know. I told her it was fine, it was the kind of thing that should have been addressed with her after I, the customer left the store.
As I drove off I felt humiliated and called the store about 1/2 hour later and gave my critical feedback to the clerk who had been so rude. I also called a personal friend of mine who happens to work there and told her what had happened. She offered to provide me with the owner's phone number and I called the owner.
The owner called me back and apologized that I "felt" the way I did, but did not apologize for the unprofessional customer service, the way a policy she was supporting was managed and admonished me for talking to another employee about this and told me, that in the future, not to discuss anything with another employee. I had already told her she was a personal friend.
It seems to me, what transpired was misrepresented to the employer, most likely to cover their rear ends and the employer took the feedback personally and focused on the policy not the process of what had transpired. She kept repeating, they, they, were just following her directives. I pointed out it was not about they, but about just one employee who was present for the whole transaction and chose to shame me after the sale was completed. The clerk who helped me was not informed of the policy, however, the owner didn't seem to hear me. Perhaps she is not all that comfortable with her policy, I don't know and don't care. The bottom line is the customer's experience in my opinion. Hence, customer service went out the window. I tried to explain to her it was not about the policy at all, but the way it was mismanaged and pulled me into an employee training issue whilst it could have been addressed quite easily in the front end of the purchase when the salesclerk first agreed to put the small items in a small gift bag with one piece of tissue. I would have had no issue and been completely understanding and been fine with a plain paper bag; or don't you get any bags at all if it's a sale item?
Although the owner provided me with the work days of the employee who insulted me as I advised I wouldn't be coming back on any days she worked to avoid feeling uncomfortable, the conversation ended with me feeling almost as bad as I did after the sale! This was not about a policy or saving a few pennies, it was all about customer service, or lack of and not being heard.
I WON'T BE BACK. MY DOLLARS ARE HARD TO COME BY AND I'M WELL AWARE OF PROFIT MARGINS AND MARKUPS IN RETAIL FASHION. I'M ALSO WELL VERSED IN BEING TREATED WITH DIGNITY AND RESPECT WHILE HAVING A FUN PROCESS OF SHOPPING. COCO NOT. I HOPE THE $4 SALE ITEM WAS WORTH THE HUMILIATION AND LOSS OF A CUSTOMER OF MORE THAN 15 YEARS. read more