I've purchased a few dresses from the Park Lane location of Samuel and Company for special occasions. While I love the high quality of the clothing sold at this store, every visit reminds me why I don't shop there more often: the horrible sales staff.
I am a young woman in my mid twenties, and even though I do look younger than my age, I resent the way I am always treated like an unwanted teenage customer at this store. When shopping I usually have a pretty good idea of what I'm looking for, this shopping trip being no exception, and I appreciate being given space to browse racks and find things on my own. From the moment I walked into Samuel and Co on Friday the pushy sales woman who greeted me did not leave me alone for a second. It's very clear these ladies are working on commission by their aggressive sales style (something I find very off putting).
Beyond the snobby, forceful attitude the sales woman demonstrated I was further annoyed that she didn't listen to anything I told her about what I was looking for. When she first approached me I explained I was looking for a simple, classic and mature looking dress to wear out to Valentines dinner with my boyfriend at an upscale restaurant. She proceeded to bring me a series of sequin coated skirts, see through blouses and other items of clothing much more appropriate for going to a club than a fancy dinner. Meanwhile I managed to find a few dresses I was actually interested in which she begrudgingly added to the pile of things she'd put in a dressing room for me (none of which I had any interest in trying on).
I ended up buying one of the dresses I'd found myself and was very happy with the quality and look of it. Even at the cash she seemed annoyed I wasn't more interested in the items she'd suggested.
Another pet peeve of mine is customer service people who talk at and not to you. While ringing my purchase through she asked a few questions about where I was going to dinner and what my plans were but when I started to answer she turned away from the counter to engage another sales associate in conversation about something. In general I was made to feel like I was a complete waste of her time.
If it wasn't for the great selection of high quality brands and styles that this store offered I wouldn't bother to ever set foot in this place. read more