Customer Service at Saks and Barney's, What's Your Story?

[laureenthemean]

I went to Saks today to return a dress and try to get a price adjustment on a pair of CLs. I had heard mixed things on this forum about Saks, so I decided to give it a try. I went to the CS department with my shoes.

"Hi, I wanted to know if I could get a price adjustment--"
"You need to go to the shoe department. We don't do further reductions on sale merchandise. You already have the shoes, we can't do an adjustment! You can try the shoe department, but they're going to tell you the same thing."

WTF?! He didn't even let me finish my sentence. I was kind of confused by what he said and didn't quite process it until a few seconds later, so I just walked away with a confused look on my face. As I was going down the escalator, though, I realized what had happened and was pissed. I also read the fine print on the poster in the elevator about the sale, and it said that there were no adjustments on prior purchases, so I didn't bother.

I have to tell you, I think this is the last time I will ever purchase anything from Saks, unless I desperately want something and can't find it anywhere else, or it's a lot cheaper there.. The Saks SAs on the phone are the rudest I've talked to, and last time I went there, I saw a lot of SAs just kind of standing around and not offering to help me. Also, my friend went there with her dad once to exchange a Chanel purse he bought her, and she was there for several minutes and no one helped her. She ended up returning it instead and going down the street to NM to buy one instead. NM and Barneys have a better selection of Chanel and CL anyway!

In contrast, I went to Barneys to get a price adjustment on my yellow sueded Declics. Here's the situation: I did a charge send b/c I wasn't sure when I'd have time to go, and I should have received them a couple days later, because at the time I lived very close to BH. A week later, I still hadn't received them. I called, and they would put me on hold to talk to the SA, and she never answered the phone. I left her a few voicemails and she never called back. I called the shipping department, and they were unable to locate the package. I finally was able to go down there in person, and I talked to the manager. He looked, but couldn't find the shoes either. Luckily, they were in view from where I was standing. The reason why no one could find them is because they had spelled my name wrong! The manager apologized and I got the shoes.

I later found out (on this thread) that the shoes were on sale at the time. I went today to try to get a price adjustment. Denise (my new SA, the one who sold me my Anemones) was there, and she remembered me, even though she'd met me only once. She was very sweet about helping me! She took a copy of the receipt to give to the other SA, and told me to call tomorrow about the price adjustment.

Anyway, if you've read this far, thanks for following along, and letting me vent!

[azhangie]

Not suprised... I find the plp over at BH very rude and not willing to help you out. Except the comestic plp - the guys working at the revive counter are AWESOME. I, too, have experienced standing around wondering if someone is going to help me out and was just left standing there with 3 shoes in my hand (looking like an idiot); while all the sales are standing around talking to each other. The LV plp are even worse - dont get me started. I work with Donna at the chanel room and she's good...everyone else just looks as you and looks away. I once stood at the counter looking at a wallet and the lady behind the counter kept looking around and looked at me...saw me staring at her...looked away and looked at the counter. 5 mins later another sales comes by and asks if she can help me. UHH NO thanks.
The sales that work on the second and third floor (basically the designer floors) are rude as hell. My mom went to go buy a gucci trenchcoat for our china trip last november, this one lady was helping her. She told my mom the jacket went on sale 40% - great deal but still $3 grand. She only had a size 40 and my mom wears 38 and asks the SA if she can locate another one. The SA says NO...we're not allowed to during sales. So my mom thinks about it and tells her she'll take it but what's the return policy. My mom has had bad experiences with boutique sale items having a "no return" policy. Well the minute my mom asked her that, the sales goes on a rant. She tells my mom that if she's just going to buy it and return it, then she rather my mom not buy it so someone else can. And refused to tell my mom the return policy, she just kept asking why do you want to know what the return policy is!? "If you like the jacket it shouldn't matter what the return policy is" (her exact words). And then the SA goes if you buy this will you return it? My mom's like well I really dont know, I like the jacket and I really do want it but its a little big and you're not willing to locate another size for me. So the SA goes ok and takes the jacket right out of my mom's hands and puts it back on the rack. Umm OK. It's a $3 grand jacket (after discount) and its 1 size too big...I'd like the peace of mind of knowing I can return it if it doesnt work out.
I totally understand that people buy things and try to sell it and make a profit...but my mom has the elite Saks card and it wasnt like she was buying up everything on sale. Dood come on. After that, it left a bad taste in my mouth.

Saks has some great deals sometimes (egc's) but honestly if I can get it at NM or Nordstrom I will go there instead.

So you are soooo not alone in this. Dont feel bad - I guess looking filthy rich is a requirement for getting good service there.

[laureenthemean]

OMG azhangie, that's RIDICULOUS! These places with bad service need to learn their lesson, and I for one am going to do my part in teaching them by not buying from them! Just because you're not dressed "nicely" doesn't mean you don't have money! If that's the way they judge whether to help you or not, it's just wrong. A customer is a customer, and they have no idea if that person with cheap or casual-looking clothing is rich or not. I knew a woman who didn't care to spend much on clothes, but loved Balenciaga. If they were rude to her, they would have lost thousands of $ in commission!

[javaboo]

Oh, I'm sorry this happened to you. I did remember some lady over the phone at Saks LV being pretty rude to me when I was calling about some shoes I was trying to locate. She didn't even let me say anything yet and she already said "I don't know what is going on sale and its not going to happen til next week!" I was like "Ok...thanks for the info but I'm looking for xxx, do you have it in stock?"

Laureen: How come you can just return the shoes then buy it again?

[Azusa]

you are not alone Laureen, I live in australia and dont even have the pleasure of trying the shoes on myself, basically i use tpf as a guide and if i see something i like i call up and practically buy it over the phone if they have my size. As far as I am concern, easy sale for them.

Now this is before I manage to deal to my now SAs (thanks for JSG and Canny for recommending them)

Barneys:

My first pair - Mia
I bought my first pair of navy Mias from Barneys because when NM had the patent they didnt receive the shipment on time, I could not wait, so I decided I go with Barneys to get the Mias.

Mias is on Barney.com, now this is before i realised Barneys.com are ridiculous with their online system. Anyway, i called to enquire how long do they take to ship it out to my friends addy in Sth Carolina. (not exact quote, but the story goes about this)
ME: Hi, I am interested in the Navy Mias CL shoes you have on your website, just wondering how long does shipping take for them to go to Sth Carolina?
Operator: Well I dont know it varies
ME: hmmm... how do you mean by it varies?
Op: well, we dont know if we have the shoes, and it will take about 5 days for us to confirm that, then if the shoes are in, we will then ship out
ME: er.... you mean your system is not live?
Op: no, you are better off going to a store
ME: well i live overseas, is there by any chance you know which store have the shoes so i can contact them?
Op: no i dont
ME: er, okay then thank you
(phone line went dead...) I remember that, because I was thinking, oh god, this is my first pair of CLs and is it going to be so damn hard to get someone to help me get a pair of $500 shoes to buy in a heart beat?!

anyway, next morning (and mind you i have to coordinate the times really well considering i live on the other side of the world), I called Barneys BH, some guy picked up the phone, I told him about the Mias, he said they dont have my size, and i told him if he can check for me as I will buy over the phone because I live overseas, he said no, but tell me to check with NYC store. Okay. Well, NYC store. This goes 'hi do you have the Mias navy in size 41?' 'no' 'er, would you mind to check' 'no we dont have it bye' line went dead.... huh?!

well thank god Canny came along and recommended me Kyle from Barneys Seattle, hes the loveliest. I told him the situation, half an hour he called me back with the shoes. Out of curiosity, i asked him where he got them from (since he first told me his store doesnt have them), Kyle said BH, well, remembered I called BH just yesterday and they said no? well, I deal with Kyle pretty much within an hour, he found the shoes, i paid for it, got them sent to my friends. all done. Now if i cant get kyle, I will just wait until hes available because i really cant be bother to waste international call charges on useless SAs.

My Saks experience is even worse, before I found Sunshine (thanks to JSG! - Reghan and Tracy from Texas is also great but I couldnt provide the SKU to them so it was very hard for them to locate the shoes, nevertheless tracy did try her best!)
I was trying to locate the purple greasepaints simples after I saw the posts here... anyway, called Saks NYC because thats where the shoes suppose to be, someone picked up the phone, I told him what I need (and also explain that I am from overseas and if they can find my size i will just buy them over the phone), he went 'no we dont have it' I said 'i thnk you do, someone i know bought it from you guys just yesterday' he went 'well let me check' about a heart beat later he said 'no we dont have it bye' line dead. I was thinking wtf? again?!
anyway, I called Texas, Reghan was on her day off so i got tracy, tracy did try to help but i dont have sku so theres nothing she could do as she doesnt know the shoes i was talking about. Anyway, called Virginia, same thing happened like NYC store. Abrupt, then hung up... i was thinking, geez, i got better service buying a pair of $100 shoes trying on in store make a mess than this!
anyway, next day i managed to get hold of Sunshine at NYC, he said he had my size in all colors! wtf? the guy yesterday said none in no colors?! anyway. I bought the color that I want from him, and now he is my SA for Saks.

Its very very frustrating if you ask me, I understand its sales time and all, but if they say (like Kyle and Sunshine did) they need time and if i can call back in half an hour or an hour i would gladly do so.

I dont understand why it is so hard to buy a pair of shoes over the phone which usually get done with easily in 15 mins, i thought they get paid commission?

[laureenthemean]

Javaboo, they are used. I just thought I'd try, since some people have had some luck. If the policy is no price adjustments on sale merchandise, I can understand, it was just the way the CS person treated me, and just the attitude in general of the SAs at Saks. I mean, these are still some expensive shoes I am buying, and I am buying it from them, and I think I should be able to expect some politeness at the very least. This guy was downright rude!

[JetSetGo!]

Laureen, I'm so sorry!!!!

I have had terrible experiences in both Barneys and Saks. For me, the key is to find an SA I like and stick to them. I will only deal with Abby at Barneys (after a ridiculously horrible experience with Peter, a complete psycho) and the wonderfully sweet and helpful Sunshine at Saks, a store that's more like a pool of sharks than a joyful shopping experience. Since I've found my go-to SAs, my experiences have been soooooo much better.

I wish you luck. And get your price adjustment!

[shallow1]

sorry to hear about your experience. I am in no way condoning the behavior of rude associates, but I can only imagine how many people a day go to customer service asking for price adjustments on items purchased over 30-60days ago, or on items that have been used. Its fustrating to have inconsistency, which is why I believe Saks should be firm across the board on their price adjustment policy. Allowing some people to get adjustments and do return buy backs is just ridiculous. Its unfair. But, then also, it boils my blood when I hear people hording sale shoes and then holding onto them until 2nd markdown and then stalking SAs for price adjustments. I think that if you were willing to pay the price of 1st cut, then you should just deal with the losses. In any case, their is no reason to be rude to paying customers. I have never had a problem at any department stores and San Francisco is filled with mean people haha.

[bebexirene]

I'm so sorry to hear about the horribe experience that you had. I for one, hadn't had that problem yet. I did deal with Peter at the NY Barneys store before. All he did was give me a look when I told him I wanted to return a pair of shoes that he sold to me. As for Saks, I haven't had any horrible experience with them. I remember calling up Saks Customer Service before getting an adjustment and asking if I could get an adjustment on an item that was going to be on sale. The representative only told me that she wasn't too sure, but that I should try it at the store since online and store are seperate. I still went ahead to try and get my price adjustment, and the lady at the Saks store didn't even give me a hard time about it. She did take out my shoes and looked at the soles, but she gave me the adjustment, so I consider myself really lucky!

I hope you do get the adjustment in the end!

[hlfinn]

well i have had a mixed bag at Saks. recently, i have been trying to get an adjustment too (sue me- i bought the shoes a week ago and now they're 100 bucks less) and first of all i can never get anyone on the phone. i have a card of one of the SAs and finally called and asked him. basically he just said no and hung up. then i called back about a shoe someone posted on here that was on sale. i finally got him with his cell phone and he said he would find it for me. i requested that he call me back at the office but say he's my friend rather than from Saks because i don't need my office knowing my business. he calls back but totally says he's from Saks. when i speak to him he says "oh yeah, i forgot what you wanted me to say" he has the shoes but he ends up almost berating me that they would NEVER be on sale and i must be CRAZY to think they would be. i don't know how he thought that would get me to purchase them but yeah, i'm not.

the last time i was at Saks and wanted shoes i sat there for about half an hour while i waited for someone to help me. there was a guy who was right by me and all he would say is "i'm sure someone will help you soon" um, how about you? or how about you send someone my way? finally a lady came by and she was very sweet and even took out a few sizes so i could compare size and color variations.

i have wonderful SAs at the chanel and trish mcevoy counters. I also just bought a dress for a wedding that was FILTHY on the bottom and the SA i dealt with had it dry cleaned for me and shipped to me within the week for free.which i think is awesome. the dress i bought was elie tahari and the SAs in that section are BRUTAL. i swear i have never seen anything like it. they openly fight over customers and it goes on and on. and they ask you like 1000 times who's helping you and if you say someone's name they ignore you. but if you say no one and someone else claims you- forget it. i've actually considered complaining to the store manager because they are so vicious. i have seen them, literally standing at the counter in a pack, bitching about one of the other SAs and the clients. and this was when i was trying to buy something! it turned my stomach so much i almost said forget it and walked away.

but i guess like anything in life there are good people and bad. i find the people in the st john dept wonderful as well and have a super sweet sa at another store who will help me with anything. i think, from now on, i just won't buy shoes at Saks. i left a message for sunshine yesterday so we'll see what happens. but i'm not holding my breath. it stinks because i love BG more but i have a Saks card....

barney's was great to me the one time i bought there. i saw the denim patent simples on here and called immediately.i got a very sweet girl on the phone who found them and put them on hold for me for the weekend because i was going away. as soon as i got back sunday i headed over and abby helped me. i got the denim and my mias and she was super sweet about everything. then again i called her about three weeks ago about something and i'm still waiting for a callback...

[more_CHOOS]

I haven't had any bad experiences, that I could recall at Saks or Barneys. I always buy shoes in several sizes and return the ones I don't fit or return them all if I change my mind. Nobody ever gives me a hard time. One time I came in to the Saks in Dallas and returned 4 pairs of CL's and the SA helping me was very sweet. So no problems here at Saks. No problem here with Barneys either. Ramiro at Barneys NorthPark is very helpful. Very nice guy even when I call him Sergio. For some reason everytime I call, I ask for Sergio. I just can't remember his name--so he knows if I say Sergio, he knows it's him that I'm asking for. hahah =)

[evolkatie]

I think i run into the same problem in every store just cause I don't look my age and I don't dress like I'm going to a party. A lot of SAs don't notice me until I chase them down.

I've never returned anything though, I always end up pulling the tag off or I wear shoes for a day out before I figure out that the item isn't right for me :( I normally just suck it up or I'll see if any other family members want it.

[hlfinn]

well i just spoke to sunshine at Saks. he was an absolute doll. the shoes i want are definately NOT on sale so i'm not getting them but he was super sweet! restored my faith in the nyc shoe dept a little.

[ItsMyWorld]

I love Denise. She is so nice and she is the one who is getting me the dark red simples. That said, the rest of Barneys BH bothered me. Mine is also being sent b/c I don't live in BH. I had a question and I tried calling. I didn't get an answer or else it was this guy who would say that Denise would return my call and hang up. He had no idea who I was or anything so how could she call me back? I finally left a VM message for her and she got back to me. I could have kissed her after dealing with all of the other people there.

I've not really had problems @ Saks but I really haven't had problems with the merchandise either. There was only one fiasco that I had but the CS desk cleared it up and even gave my a gift card for my troubles.

[wantmore]

laureen - you're not alone. IMO the SAs at Sak's BH is so snooty. Yes, you can be standing there waiting to be helped and they would just look at you and not bother to ask if you need help. Also, I've returned so much over there from my on-line and out-of-State purchases, that when they see me, they hide, LOL! The shoe dept. manager is terible too.

The thing that I've noticed is, when I go there all dressed up, I get more help. It's sad but I'm judged according to how I look.

Frank at Barney's is very nice and helpful.