**Great customer service--until the employee discount was mentioned.**
I was recently in San Antonio visiting my daughter, who is stationed there in the Air Force. We stopped at Madewell while visiting a shopping plaza, and I have to say that the customer service when we first walked in was excellent.
Sabrina greeted us and was extremely friendly, attentive, and helpful. The staff were all very welcoming and offered to assist us throughout our shopping experience. Sabrina even helped my other daughter find some things. The customer service was honestly top-notch.
My daughter works part-time at one of Madewell's sister stores and is eligible for an employee discount. We understood that associates are expected to help themselves and clean up after themselves when making a purchase, so my daughter and I were putting things back as we tried them on.
When we got to the register, my daughter mentioned that she would be using her employee discount. Sabrina immediately looked surprised and asked, **"You're an associate?"** My daughter explained where she worked, and Sabrina said she needed to get the manager.
This is where the experience completely changed.
**Sabrina's attitude toward us noticeably changed after she learned that my daughter was an associate.** The friendliness and helpfulness we had experienced earlier disappeared, and she appeared visibly upset. The manager came over and explained that next time my daughter needed to let them know she was an associate because associates are expected to help themselves.
I completely understand having a policy regarding employee purchases. **That was not the issue. The way the situation was handled was.**
What I found frustrating was that the staff had been the ones repeatedly offering to help us throughout our shopping experience. We didn't demand or expect special treatment--we accepted the assistance that was being offered to us as customers. My daughter was shopping as a customer that day, even though she happens to work for one of the sister stores.
If associates are expected to identify themselves before receiving assistance, that should be communicated clearly and professionally. What didn't sit well with me was the obvious change in attitude once Sabrina learned my daughter was an associate.
And this wasn't a small purchase. Even with the discount, we spent **over $700**.
I even asked my daughter afterward if the employees worked on commission because I was trying to understand why there seemed to be such an issue with the staff assisting us. She told me they don't, which made the reaction even harder for me to understand.
I want to be fair: **the customer service before the discount was mentioned was excellent.** Unfortunately, the interaction at the register overshadowed that experience.
Policies are policies, and if my daughter should have identified herself as an associate before shopping, that's something she can certainly remember for next time. But there is a difference between explaining a policy and making a customer feel as though they have done something wrong.
We came in to shop, were welcomed warmly, accepted the assistance that was offered, and spent over $700. We should have been able to leave feeling good about the experience.
Instead, we left feeling uncomfortable and disappointed.
**Madewell has employees who know how to provide excellent customer service. I just wish that same level of courtesy had continued after they learned my daughter was an associate.** read more
