Very disappointed in Chanel SA's

MiuMiow

O.G.
May 6, 2008
538
40
Ok so I decided I couldn't wait any longer and wouldn't go all the way down to Paris to get my first Chanel, since Brussels has a very nice selection of bags.
I had a look at everything, getting the feel etc and was left perfectly alone. Now at first that did not bother me because I prefer browsing on my own. However, having made my selection of possibles and making my way down to the counter, I passed 2 SA's. I say goodafternoon... Not a word back. A woman head to toe in fur walks in, they rush over. I almost heard them go 'meep meep'.
I get to the counter, there is an SA there too. She says she'll be right with me. Ok that is perfectly fine. Only to see her pick up her stuff and head upstairs and out the door.

I was in there for 25 minutes and totally ignored. Four people came in after me and they got helped beautifully.

Why do they do that? I had the money. I was nicely dressed. I was polite. I wasn't however unlike the others dripping in designer goods or speaking Russian.

I wish I was overreacting but it was such a disappointment. I've been to the Paris Cambon store and they could not have been nicer, I mean it was really lovely!
 
Unfortunately, the problem with commission based sales is that many SA's will judge you by how rich you look. They're far more likely to help someone carrying an Hermes/Chanel bag vs someone carrying a brandless name bag. I do not agree with this by ANY means, but unfortunately, that's just how it works.

Some SA's care only about sales with no regards to customer service, which is why they'll only help the people that look "serious" about buying things.

:nogood: Trust me, this annoys me to no end. This happened to me at Tiffany's once when I bought my first diamond necklace. None of them would give me the time of day. I had to wait about 15 minutes for someone to help me. I guess because I'm very young (19) they didn't think I would buy anything.
 
miumiow, i know how u feel, this has never happened to me in Chanel boutiques...even in paris..but it has happened in Hermes...
DO NOT be discourage of the bad treatment...its just once in a blue moon...i know which boutique in paris that u r talking about =) i am a regular there...i have to say they are very2 bussy lately..maybe it doesnt seem so but they really2 are..hope you can try again and i wish u a very pleasant experience...btw....as i mentioned it happened to me at hermes...and i was discouraged, and guess what, the next day i got lucky and find a very good sa =)
 
Argh, how frustrating and insulting, frankly. I live in San Francisco and the service is really good here no matter what I wear-- and frankly, a lot of the time I am NOT wearing anything with an apparent logo. In Vegas it was the same, I was treated very nicely and was dressed ok. I read somewhere that it's because salespeople can't be sure who has money-- especially in the bay area. People are so casual these days that the person who looks ho-hum could be really well off and you'd never know.

Sorry to hear of your disappointing experience. Did you end up getting anything?
 
I think the service has always been great in San Francisco. Ditto the other poster... I think that it can be much harder to tell who has and who doesn't have money in the Bay Area. There are a lot of millionaires who you'd likely never know had that kind of money.
 
I think the service has always been great in San Francisco. Ditto the other poster... I think that it can be much harder to tell who has and who doesn't have money in the Bay Area. There are a lot of millionaires who you'd likely never know had that kind of money.
Agreed. I think it depends a lot on WHERE you are shopping. I've read that in Vegas the sales associates are lot nicer to everyone, regardless of how you are dressed, simply because there are a lot of very wealthy (sometimes NEWLY wealthy from gambling) people dressed in very casual/"normal" clothing.

Some SA's are plain out snobs that don't give a crap about customer service. :rolleyes:
 
I've had my share of bad experience with SAs. The Toronto Chanel boutique has the most disappointing SAs. I called to have my name wailisted on the red caviar and I asked if a c.c. card was necessary to guarantee the hold...as it was necessary for hard to get bags for LVs in L.A.. I thought it would be the same as I didn't want to miss out on the bag. The SA who answered the phone said "ok, if you are very desperate, I will take your number down...". I hung up the phone in shock, I called back, talked to the supervisor and decided to never go back to the store again. Thank goodness I'm only on a short visit here. I got my bag eventually at NY madison with exceptional service.
 
Hey, fear not, I had some pretty bad experience myself all over Europe, LOL! But that is not going to turn me away from Chanel. I just go elsewhere!

Missisa, most Chanel boutiques outside of the US do not operate on individual commission basis. The problem lies with the lack of appreciation for customer service.
 
I wish they would just take them all of a a individual or group commission and just fire any sales person who is lazy,rude and neglecting to do their job-Like helping customers!!!
 
I think Chanel is like any other company. Just as you would expect to find in any other retailer, there will be sales people that are inconsiderate and unhelpful. I wouldn't generalize the service you have received to be the norm.

Hopefully you find what you were looking for at a different location, and with much better customer service!
 
Not sure how it works where you are...
but You should have asked them for the phone # to another Chanel store, and ask whoever picks up at the other store to charge the purse you want in the store where you current are at...that would piss off those SA's, b/c they lost the sale, and yet have to pack it up for you!
 
Truly understand, it has commonly happened everywhere.
An awful thing happened to me last week. I purchased a classic earring 00v A26210Y02003Z0042, only wore once, an inserting crystal has missed, so much disappointed! The brand image has been overturned by the unexpected quality:sad:
 
Bad CS happens even when you're a frequent customer aka "the Chanel frequent buyer". Sometimes, it has to do with management issues & the economy. It's not only whether you carry the Chanel bag or not/how well you dress. During my Christmas shopping I was carrying the MA red and 3 wks ago I was carrying a patent flap from 08F/W - - to the point: these are fairly new and in the season bags, but the SA(s) @ NM did not head-over-heels to help me. And which I don't mind 'coz I don't prefer pressured & pushy service. I also recall our fellow tpfers had issues shopping @ NM. Now, the 360 degrees change just happened this wk. There was only 2 Chanel SAs on the floor during the evening and they two helped me at the same time trying to track an item for me. I was overwhelmed and never expected this kind of VIP service at the same tourist NM location when shopping there for over 10 yrs. Answer: I heard from a CS staff that NM had to layoff ppl. So, I guess management team must have given the word to these SAs to be nice and work hard. Btw, my purchase was only under $400 and I am shocked to received such a wonderful shopping experience. :shocked:
I hope you don't take this unpleasant shopping experience personal, not everyone get well-treated all the time. Stay content and continue happy buying! ;)