What was your worst/weirdest shopping experience?

HermesNewbie · Jul 17th, 2008, 10:53 AM

Here's mine:

Way back when I was in college (many, many years ago!), a friend and I went into a mall-based clothing store that sells trendy fashions in juniors sizes. An SA followed me around the store the entire time I was in there. She wasn't trying to provide good customer service, nor was she trying to keep an eye on me. She was following me around so that she could find out exactly which items I was interested in.

Everytime I picked up an item, she picked up the exact same item in her size. She would hold up the item and ask me if I thought she would look good in it! When I went into the dressing room she waited right outside so she could see what the dress or outfit looked like on me. She made comments like, "That looks pretty good on you, so it will look great on me!" I should have asked her to leave me alone, but I was just so shocked by her behavior. She was supposed to be helping me, not the other way around!!!

By the time I reached the sales counter, the SA had accumulated several outfits and had stashed them behind the counter so that she could buy them later. As I turned to walk out the door the SA said to me, "Make sure you don't wear the blue dress to Applebee's on Friday at 2:00. I'm meeting a friend there for lunch and I'm going to be wearing that dress. Wouldn't it be awful if you showed up wearing the same dress?" At that point, I threw a look to the friend who came with me to the store and we left, pronto!

The next time I went into that store, I asked about the SA because I was planning on mentioning her odd behavior to the store manager. I wasn't at all surprised to find out that she had been let go.

Anyone else care to share their stories?

ColdSteel · Jul 17th, 2008, 01:34 PM

If that happened to me, I would have run screaming out of the store!
My weirdest experience was going to Neiman Marcus shoe department... alone... when I was 16. I'd just sold some nice prints at a photo gallery and could buy the flat suede miu miu slings I'd been in love with. I'd always go with my mom but she was looking at purses and she told me to go and find the shoes I wanted. No one treated me any differently (everyone always thinks I'm older) but it just felt... weird. Doesn't help that I get nervous in stores when I'm alone.

maddog · Jul 17th, 2008, 01:38 PM

Hahaha! That is totally weird!

I generally don't have great experiences shopping. My worst was probably while looking for boots last winter at a relatively high end shoe store. I asked a SA about one in my size, got pointed to another guy cuz he was busy, which is fine. The other guy said my size's out without even look at the boots, in a dismissive way. I asked which of the boots are available in my size then, since I realize most shoes run out of my size and it's always easier to just ask them which ones are actually available. He got really rude with me, and retorted that he can't tell me without me actually choosing something first and that I was stupid for trying to waste his time.

So I chose another one, he again said they don't have my size. I got impatient and told him to just bring me the next size up then. It took 10 whole minutes to get my boots. Actually, it took about 30 seconds in the stockroom. It just took 5 minutes before he went in while he chit chatted with someone and another 5 minutes after he came out with the box, standing no more than 5' away chatting with another customer.

I was so pissed off. I tried them on, walked around, and said to my bf "feels decent. But there's no way I'm ever buying anything from that salesman." Another couple with similar brush offs sighed and nodded. I haven't been back to that store since.

Normal weird ones are salesgirls who follow me around and readjust everything I touch as soon as I take a step away. For the record, I'm not a messy customer.

Allisonfaye · Jul 17th, 2008, 05:41 PM

I guess it was the time we were browsing in a store in Paris. Everything was folded perfectly on the shelves so if you wanted to see something (the style), you had to pick it up and then lay it back down. The SA was following me around refolding stuff. It creeped me out and made me feel very unwelcome. Needless to say, I didn't buy anything there.

shoulderache · Jul 17th, 2008, 07:22 PM

Probably trying to shop in Russia where you can't get helped unless you walk up to the SAs and tell them "do this!!" otherwise they just stand there are stare at you and it is very awkward and unpleasant.

Shopping in the US? LOL, once I was in a department store with my dad, he was on break from his office-job and was dressed nicely. People kept coming up to him and asking him where stuff was and for assistance. Naturally, he helped them find stuff. It was so funny and weird because he clearly didn't work there! He was even wearing his security badge for office-job! He said that it happens every time he goes in there and that it happened so much he started helping because he walked through there every day on break so he actually knew what they were looking for and where to find it.

cheburashka · Jul 17th, 2008, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shoulderache

Probably trying to shop in Russia where you can't get helped unless you walk up to the SAs and tell them "do this!!" otherwise they just stand there are stare at you and it is very awkward and unpleasant.

Shopping in the US? LOL, once I was in a department store with my dad, he was on break from his office-job and was dressed nicely. People kept coming up to him and asking him where stuff was and for assistance. Naturally, he helped them find stuff. It was so funny and weird because he clearly didn't work there! He was even wearing his security badge for office-job! He said that it happens every time he goes in there and that it happened so much he started helping because he walked through there every day on break so he actually knew what they were looking for and where to find it.

That just shows that unless you understand another culture's mentality really well, you'll find them 'akward and unpleasant'.

Russians are not as pushy and agressive as Americans are. Russian sales people generally " seem "to pay less attention to you, because they don't believe in crazy agressive shopping style that Americans have. I felt very uncomfortable shopping in US for a long time because I was sick and annoyed that a minute I walk into a store: someone immediately runs up to you and start harassing you into buying something. I like Russian-style shopping much more, where they actually give you space and time and let you think and look at things for as long as you want, without interfering with your shopping and bothering you every 2 minutes if you need something.

Liberté · Jul 17th, 2008, 08:45 PM

^
Many places in europe where working on comission is not that common, this is the case. I agree with you that the US customer service is often very pushy and sometimes seems over the top fake, allthough in general I find it more "pleasant".

lv-lover · Jul 17th, 2008, 10:57 PM

I would of worn the dress to Applebees, lol.

Nothing stands out in particular, but sales associates always follow me around. Not to help out or to put things back, they always think I'm going to shoplift something. Yes, I'm totally going to steal this $5 plastic mirroir compact.

pikeeygrl · Jul 18th, 2008, 12:04 AM

I hate it when the item I am looking at just won't do for whatever reason (wrong color, size etc...)and the SA tries to explain that you should get it anyway. The most recent example is when the SA tried to explain to me that brown was a neutral too...I know it is but that doesn't change the fact that I want black.

Vinyl · Jul 18th, 2008, 12:42 AM

Probably in Vietnam. I went to a few "high-end" department stores... and if I so much leaned a few feet in to get a closer look at a pair of shoes, I'd have 3 SAs surround me as if I shouldn't be looking at them! I felt very uncomfortable & didn't like how they followed me with their eyes.

And when Nordstrom first opened here, I was looking at the designer handbags & the section SA attacked me w/full-on information about the bags I was looking at/touching. She did this with EVERY bag I so much even glanced at, lol! Eventually, I ran away and came back to look when I made sure she wasn't around.

luckyblonde3295 · Jul 18th, 2008, 04:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheburashka

That just shows that unless you understand another culture's mentality really well, you'll find them 'akward and unpleasant'.

Russians are not as pushy and agressive as Americans are. Russian sales people generally " seem "to pay less attention to you, because they don't believe in crazy agressive shopping style that Americans have. I felt very uncomfortable shopping in US for a long time because I was sick and annoyed that a minute I walk into a store: someone immediately runs up to you and start harassing you into buying something. I like Russian-style shopping much more, where they actually give you space and time and let you think and look at things for as long as you want, without interfering with your shopping and bothering you every 2 minutes if you need something.

I agree with you!

shoulderache · Jul 18th, 2008, 01:31 PM

It took me a few weeks to get used to shopping in Russia! I'm a pretty shy customer and add that with initially not being able to communicate particularly well in Russian it made for me not being able to buy anything ever, particularly at Gostini Dovor. Even when I would catch their eye and make it apparent that I wished to purchase something I didn't get helped. It was really frustrating. For some reason I never had that problem in Moscow.

sweetlove · Jul 19th, 2008, 10:49 AM

I'm sorry you had a bad experience. I've only shopped at Gostini Dvor once, but I think the service there was okay - not spectacular, but I didn't feel ignored either.

Alidoll · Jul 19th, 2008, 03:44 PM

Today - was trying on bra and asked the "trained" SA if it fitted OK [it was a 34e]

"no - the back is way too big, you need a 32EE". She didn't offer to get it for me so a walked back downstairs (the fitting room was on the first floor) and found a 32EE..

Tried that one but it didn't feel comfortable so tried to ask the same SA again...but she was busy and asked another SA to come over.

She looks at it and says...

"no - the back is way too big, you need a 30G" (at least she went to get that one though then promptly disappeared)

Tried it on a still not comfortable so sticks my head out the changing room again and asks another SA.

"no - the back is way too big - you need a 28GG" Eh?!!

She brings that one but there was so much material at the front I could have had a full litter of puppies rather than just the two!!

Needless to say I made a sharp exit before they had me down to a "24K" or something!!!

IrisCole · Jul 19th, 2008, 06:10 PM

My weirdest experience was at a small boutique in Las Vegas, just about a month ago. My sister-in-law was with me, and we only stopped in this one store because they had the Isabella Fiore "Peace" bag.

After looking at that bag, we picked up this "clutch-bag" thing because we couldn't figure out what it was. It had (seriously) 35 slots for credit cards. It also had an attached coin compartment, and a bunch of other hideous things.

We quickly put it back and an SA walked up and said something like, "Oh isn't that just wonderful - we just got those in."

Trying to be polite I said that it was nice, but it was a little bit busy for my taste.

So she gets this really rude tone in her voice, grabs the clutch from the shelf and says, "Well (huffs) that's because you can use it for so many different things." And she spent the next five minutes showing us what you could do with it.

We got out of there as soon as humanly possible!!

Jul 17th, 2008, 01:34 PM	#2
ColdSteel Thrift Town Forever! Joined: Sep 2007 Location: SF, CA Posts: 681	If that happened to me, I would have run screaming out of the store! My weirdest experience was going to Neiman Marcus shoe department... alone... when I was 16. I'd just sold some nice prints at a photo gallery and could buy the flat suede miu miu slings I'd been in love with. I'd always go with my mom but she was looking at purses and she told me to go and find the shoes I wanted. No one treated me any differently (everyone always thinks I'm older) but it just felt... weird. Doesn't help that I get nervous in stores when I'm alone. __________________ Wishlist... NEW GLASSES! Help! I can't see!

Jul 17th, 2008, 05:41 PM	#4
Allisonfaye Member Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 1,933	I guess it was the time we were browsing in a store in Paris. Everything was folded perfectly on the shelves so if you wanted to see something (the style), you had to pick it up and then lay it back down. The SA was following me around refolding stuff. It creeped me out and made me feel very unwelcome. Needless to say, I didn't buy anything there. __________________ Ink City, tomato first, white first, violet first, black flat brass first, rouge vif city, white city.

Jul 17th, 2008, 07:22 PM	#5
shoulderache Member Joined: May 2007 Location: Arizona Posts: 741	Probably trying to shop in Russia where you can't get helped unless you walk up to the SAs and tell them "do this!!" otherwise they just stand there are stare at you and it is very awkward and unpleasant. Shopping in the US? LOL, once I was in a department store with my dad, he was on break from his office-job and was dressed nicely. People kept coming up to him and asking him where stuff was and for assistance. Naturally, he helped them find stuff. It was so funny and weird because he clearly didn't work there! He was even wearing his security badge for office-job! He said that it happens every time he goes in there and that it happened so much he started helping because he walked through there every day on break so he actually knew what they were looking for and where to find it. __________________ Visit me at http://shoulderache.ecrater.com Always authentic and with no questions asked returns!

Jul 17th, 2008, 08:45 PM	#7
Liberté Member Joined: Jan 2007 Posts: 6,237	^ Many places in europe where working on comission is not that common, this is the case. I agree with you that the US customer service is often very pushy and sometimes seems over the top fake, allthough in general I find it more "pleasant". __________________ AYUMI HAMASAKI A COMPLETE ten years of hard work compiled Pleasure to the eyes Pleasure to the ears Pleasure to the soul

Jul 17th, 2008, 10:57 PM	#8
lv-lover Member Joined: Mar 2006 Posts: 5,611	I would of worn the dress to Applebees, lol. Nothing stands out in particular, but sales associates always follow me around. Not to help out or to put things back, they always think I'm going to shoplift something. Yes, I'm totally going to steal this $5 plastic mirroir compact. __________________ "On ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux"

Jul 17th, 2008, 10:53 AM	#1
HermesNewbie Shopaholic! Joined: Jun 2008 Location: In the mall! Posts: 208	Here's mine: Way back when I was in college (many, many years ago!), a friend and I went into a mall-based clothing store that sells trendy fashions in juniors sizes. An SA followed me around the store the entire time I was in there. She wasn't trying to provide good customer service, nor was she trying to keep an eye on me. She was following me around so that she could find out exactly which items I was interested in. Everytime I picked up an item, she picked up the exact same item in her size. She would hold up the item and ask me if I thought she would look good in it! When I went into the dressing room she waited right outside so she could see what the dress or outfit looked like on me. She made comments like, "That looks pretty good on you, so it will look great on me!" I should have asked her to leave me alone, but I was just so shocked by her behavior. She was supposed to be helping me, not the other way around!!! By the time I reached the sales counter, the SA had accumulated several outfits and had stashed them behind the counter so that she could buy them later. As I turned to walk out the door the SA said to me, "Make sure you don't wear the blue dress to Applebee's on Friday at 2:00. I'm meeting a friend there for lunch and I'm going to be wearing that dress. Wouldn't it be awful if you showed up wearing the same dress?" At that point, I threw a look to the friend who came with me to the store and we left, pronto! The next time I went into that store, I asked about the SA because I was planning on mentioning her odd behavior to the store manager. I wasn't at all surprised to find out that she had been let go. Anyone else care to share their stories?

Jul 17th, 2008, 01:38 PM	#3
maddog Mmmkay Joined: Jan 2008 Posts: 1,082	Hahaha! That is totally weird! I generally don't have great experiences shopping. My worst was probably while looking for boots last winter at a relatively high end shoe store. I asked a SA about one in my size, got pointed to another guy cuz he was busy, which is fine. The other guy said my size's out without even look at the boots, in a dismissive way. I asked which of the boots are available in my size then, since I realize most shoes run out of my size and it's always easier to just ask them which ones are actually available. He got really rude with me, and retorted that he can't tell me without me actually choosing something first and that I was stupid for trying to waste his time. So I chose another one, he again said they don't have my size. I got impatient and told him to just bring me the next size up then. It took 10 whole minutes to get my boots. Actually, it took about 30 seconds in the stockroom. It just took 5 minutes before he went in while he chit chatted with someone and another 5 minutes after he came out with the box, standing no more than 5' away chatting with another customer. I was so pissed off. I tried them on, walked around, and said to my bf "feels decent. But there's no way I'm ever buying anything from that salesman." Another couple with similar brush offs sighed and nodded. I haven't been back to that store since. Normal weird ones are salesgirls who follow me around and readjust everything I touch as soon as I take a step away. For the record, I'm not a messy customer.

Jul 18th, 2008, 12:04 AM	#9
pikeeygrl Member Joined: Jan 2007 Location: San Diego Posts: 798	I hate it when the item I am looking at just won't do for whatever reason (wrong color, size etc...)and the SA tries to explain that you should get it anyway. The most recent example is when the SA tried to explain to me that brown was a neutral too...I know it is but that doesn't change the fact that I want black.

Jul 18th, 2008, 12:42 AM	#10
Vinyl Miu Miu lovin'! Joined: Dec 2007 Location: Hawaii Posts: 1,277	Probably in Vietnam. I went to a few "high-end" department stores... and if I so much leaned a few feet in to get a closer look at a pair of shoes, I'd have 3 SAs surround me as if I shouldn't be looking at them! I felt very uncomfortable & didn't like how they followed me with their eyes. And when Nordstrom first opened here, I was looking at the designer handbags & the section SA attacked me w/full-on information about the bags I was looking at/touching. She did this with EVERY bag I so much even glanced at, lol! Eventually, I ran away and came back to look when I made sure she wasn't around. __________________ wanting a miu miu bow satchel in alluminio badly.

Jul 18th, 2008, 01:31 PM	#12
shoulderache Member Joined: May 2007 Location: Arizona Posts: 741	It took me a few weeks to get used to shopping in Russia! I'm a pretty shy customer and add that with initially not being able to communicate particularly well in Russian it made for me not being able to buy anything ever, particularly at Gostini Dovor. Even when I would catch their eye and make it apparent that I wished to purchase something I didn't get helped. It was really frustrating. For some reason I never had that problem in Moscow. __________________ Visit me at http://shoulderache.ecrater.com Always authentic and with no questions asked returns!

Jul 19th, 2008, 10:49 AM	#13
sweetlove Call me Napoleon Joined: Mar 2006 Location: Wherever I feel like living, GOSH! Posts: 3,295	I'm sorry you had a bad experience. I've only shopped at Gostini Dvor once, but I think the service there was okay - not spectacular, but I didn't feel ignored either. __________________

Jul 19th, 2008, 03:44 PM	#14
Alidoll Member Joined: Apr 2007 Location: Bonnie Scotland Posts: 473	Today - was trying on bra and asked the "trained" SA if it fitted OK [it was a 34e] "no - the back is way too big, you need a 32EE". She didn't offer to get it for me so a walked back downstairs (the fitting room was on the first floor) and found a 32EE.. Tried that one but it didn't feel comfortable so tried to ask the same SA again...but she was busy and asked another SA to come over. She looks at it and says... "no - the back is way too big, you need a 30G" (at least she went to get that one though then promptly disappeared) Tried it on a still not comfortable so sticks my head out the changing room again and asks another SA. "no - the back is way too big - you need a 28GG" Eh?!! She brings that one but there was so much material at the front I could have had a full litter of puppies rather than just the two!! Needless to say I made a sharp exit before they had me down to a "24K" or something!!!

Jul 19th, 2008, 06:10 PM	#15
IrisCole thehungersite.com Joined: Dec 2007 Location: Lansing, Michigan Posts: 1,174	My weirdest experience was at a small boutique in Las Vegas, just about a month ago. My sister-in-law was with me, and we only stopped in this one store because they had the Isabella Fiore "Peace" bag. After looking at that bag, we picked up this "clutch-bag" thing because we couldn't figure out what it was. It had (seriously) 35 slots for credit cards. It also had an attached coin compartment, and a bunch of other hideous things. We quickly put it back and an SA walked up and said something like, "Oh isn't that just wonderful - we just got those in." Trying to be polite I said that it was nice, but it was a little bit busy for my taste. So she gets this really rude tone in her voice, grabs the clutch from the shelf and says, "Well (huffs) that's because you can use it for so many different things." And she spent the next five minutes showing us what you could do with it. We got out of there as soon as humanly possible!! __________________