Hi everyone,
i'm fairly new to the forum. i've seen tpf pop up on my google searches several times when looking for something, but chose to ignore it. How silly of me, i've been missing out on all the great conversations and people! Anyway, as the title of this thread plainly states, this is a story about the purchase of my first louis vuitton man bag, well my first man bag ever. Idky people call it that, i think i'll just call it a bag.
i would first like to highlight that this is, or rather was, not my first piece from vuitton. I purchased two shawls back in 08. One was that very bright vibrant red that appears orange-ish when taken on poor quality cameras and the second was the same scarf in black (which was sadly lost at my grandmother's house in boxes of clothes). My first time making a purchase at the lv store in lenox mall atlanta, ga was amazing!! It was actually july 4th when i bought that red scarf. As i was a fashion merchandising/retail management student i would visit the boutiques and chat up the SAs, not forgetting to make the occasional purchase (as my budget allowed). Many of whom still remembered me when i went to back last may (making it about two years since i was last there).
Anyway, on to the story. So I was coming back to the states on leave from afghanistan. As they do not permit you to fly back in civilian attire and i did not have the foresight to pack any more civilian garments than the one outfit suggested on the packing list (this one outfit was to be worn in case we were injured and had to be sent back to the states). Well, figuring that if i was injured, how i looked would be one of the least of my concerns (but mostly not wanting to mess up my good clothes), i packed a sweatshirt with my company's logo, a well worn purple and black striped shirt from some skater shop in california, a pair of ratty old versace jeans (complete with bleach stains), and supra sneakers (extremely comfy).
Initally, i thought of going to buy a quick outfit, change, and then return when i was dressed appropriately. However, a good friend of mine would not allow me to do such a thing...after all, customer service should not be based on what a person is wearing. If i were to get substandard service, then its a clear sign that the SA was not deserving of the credit for my sale.
so, i walk into the lenox lv...and the security guard looks me over suspiciously, of that i was not too concerned as it is their job to be suspicious of everyone...and not to mention i did not recognize him so he must have been hired after i left. But the part that caught me was the fact that no one offered any assistance. As i looked around the store, no one came over and asked if i could be helped. I was disappointed to say the least. I found it interesting, maybe coincidental that all the times i walked through those doors with my designer clothes, i was treated with the utmost respect and given immaculate customer service. So finally I got fed up, and ask one of the SA to get a guy that appeared to be stock. He walks out and i promptly ask for a keepall 60 (i needed no time to ponder, as i had made up my mind months before on what i wanted). He gets the bag from storage, something told me to inspect the bag before he put it away. Everything seemed fine, until i got to the bottom half, there appeared to be scratches and something that rubbed off on it. I asked if he could clean it off, he first told me it would actually be very easy for me to clean it off myself, when i got home. Call me crazy, but if i'm spending over a grand on something, i want it to be on point. Pointing out their copious stock of keepalls, i politely asked if he would not mind cleaning it. He sighed and went to the back. After about 20 mins of waiting for him to clean it, he comes out and gets me another ka 60. At this point, i'm fed up with the horrid customer service, i whisper to my friend that i'm ready to just get my bag and leave. I was so ready to get it i told him not to worry about packing it up because i would carry it out. He told me if i carried it out, i would not be able to return it, due in part to knowing for sure i would not return the bag but even more so out of disgust from the piss poor service i received and wanting to make a clear statement that i could in fact afford the bag and had not intentions of returning it, i stuck with my decision to wear the bag out.
When i get to the register to pay, i hand him my debit card and id (per usual). He runs my card and it was declined. I was embarrassed beyond belief!! Less than a half hour before i called my bank to alert them to an anticipated string of high dollar purchases, i even told them the names of some stores i knew for sure i would buy from. I call them up, and ask what was going on. They inform me that my account was flagged due to approximately $4,000 in charges posted in in a two or three hour window. The night before i bought the new macbook pro that came out a few weeks prior and some media on itunes, as well as a few gifts for the family. My bank quickly removed the flag and told me i was clear to make the purchase immediately. I hang up the phone and hand the SA my card. He looks at the card and tells me its a "COMPANY POLICY" that they can only swipe a card for debit once per 24 hours if it is declined due in part to a "glitch" in their system that would allow a debit card declined once for insufficient funds (or whatever reason) to then magically approve a transaction that should not go through. He then tells me if i had decided to run the card as credit they could swipe as many times as necessary even if the card was initially declined. Now, i may be on the young side but i'm no fool. I worked in retail for about two years, and in management for a year. So i knew a thing or two about registers, the way they work, and the security system they use (as most establishments use the same, or very similar services). I also knew the whole game SA would play when they suspected fishy behavior such as a stolen card, someone attempting to steal, etc. Also, he failed to realize my friend was from new york and was a veteran of 5th avenue and also had a friend back home that has some connections to people in the industry, to include the store manager of the 5th avenue lv. After asking us to step aside while he rang up another customer (mind you there was a store full of other SA), my friend phones up his friend back home, who calls the lv store manager to find out about this "company policy". I'm then informed by the ny manager, running a card once every 24 hours is in fact NOT a company policy and that he was probably running game on me because he thought i was trying to pull a fast one. I was livid. I was appalled. Ready to just give up and go to the store in store at the saks across the street at phipp's plaza, i began to unpack. My friend, being quite the confrontational one, points out that he, in fact placed a few calls and found out he was lying.
In shame, i left that store. When i got to saks, i walked into the store in store and was immediately greeted and recognized by one of the SAs. I told him of the debacle at the stand alone store, to which he shook his head and said a lot of times that happens. So i purchased the bag without any problems, he even had it hot stamped for me within a few hours and offered me some airbags to help give it shape.
The following day i was in need of pair of shoes, which the store in store did not carry, so i went back to the stand alone (keepall in tow) tried on the san marino moc calf suede, told the SA i wanted those shoes. She takes them over to the register and begins to ring them, i then flatly tell her to send them to the store in store across the street because even though they don't get paid on comission i still wanted the sale to go to that particular SA.
That situation turned me off to the stand alone store completely, and i will NEVER buy anything from that store again.
SN: i told my grandmother about that, and she said she had a similar experience YEARS ago when she went to get a bag for herself. Not one to tolerate ill treatment, she went to hermes and bought a purse then went back to show it to the lv sa. LOL. she even pulled a pretty woman, "you messed up big time" lol.
and so is the story behind my keepall 60. Hopefully i'll never have to endure anything like that again.
i'm fairly new to the forum. i've seen tpf pop up on my google searches several times when looking for something, but chose to ignore it. How silly of me, i've been missing out on all the great conversations and people! Anyway, as the title of this thread plainly states, this is a story about the purchase of my first louis vuitton man bag, well my first man bag ever. Idky people call it that, i think i'll just call it a bag.
i would first like to highlight that this is, or rather was, not my first piece from vuitton. I purchased two shawls back in 08. One was that very bright vibrant red that appears orange-ish when taken on poor quality cameras and the second was the same scarf in black (which was sadly lost at my grandmother's house in boxes of clothes). My first time making a purchase at the lv store in lenox mall atlanta, ga was amazing!! It was actually july 4th when i bought that red scarf. As i was a fashion merchandising/retail management student i would visit the boutiques and chat up the SAs, not forgetting to make the occasional purchase (as my budget allowed). Many of whom still remembered me when i went to back last may (making it about two years since i was last there).
Anyway, on to the story. So I was coming back to the states on leave from afghanistan. As they do not permit you to fly back in civilian attire and i did not have the foresight to pack any more civilian garments than the one outfit suggested on the packing list (this one outfit was to be worn in case we were injured and had to be sent back to the states). Well, figuring that if i was injured, how i looked would be one of the least of my concerns (but mostly not wanting to mess up my good clothes), i packed a sweatshirt with my company's logo, a well worn purple and black striped shirt from some skater shop in california, a pair of ratty old versace jeans (complete with bleach stains), and supra sneakers (extremely comfy).
Initally, i thought of going to buy a quick outfit, change, and then return when i was dressed appropriately. However, a good friend of mine would not allow me to do such a thing...after all, customer service should not be based on what a person is wearing. If i were to get substandard service, then its a clear sign that the SA was not deserving of the credit for my sale.
so, i walk into the lenox lv...and the security guard looks me over suspiciously, of that i was not too concerned as it is their job to be suspicious of everyone...and not to mention i did not recognize him so he must have been hired after i left. But the part that caught me was the fact that no one offered any assistance. As i looked around the store, no one came over and asked if i could be helped. I was disappointed to say the least. I found it interesting, maybe coincidental that all the times i walked through those doors with my designer clothes, i was treated with the utmost respect and given immaculate customer service. So finally I got fed up, and ask one of the SA to get a guy that appeared to be stock. He walks out and i promptly ask for a keepall 60 (i needed no time to ponder, as i had made up my mind months before on what i wanted). He gets the bag from storage, something told me to inspect the bag before he put it away. Everything seemed fine, until i got to the bottom half, there appeared to be scratches and something that rubbed off on it. I asked if he could clean it off, he first told me it would actually be very easy for me to clean it off myself, when i got home. Call me crazy, but if i'm spending over a grand on something, i want it to be on point. Pointing out their copious stock of keepalls, i politely asked if he would not mind cleaning it. He sighed and went to the back. After about 20 mins of waiting for him to clean it, he comes out and gets me another ka 60. At this point, i'm fed up with the horrid customer service, i whisper to my friend that i'm ready to just get my bag and leave. I was so ready to get it i told him not to worry about packing it up because i would carry it out. He told me if i carried it out, i would not be able to return it, due in part to knowing for sure i would not return the bag but even more so out of disgust from the piss poor service i received and wanting to make a clear statement that i could in fact afford the bag and had not intentions of returning it, i stuck with my decision to wear the bag out.
When i get to the register to pay, i hand him my debit card and id (per usual). He runs my card and it was declined. I was embarrassed beyond belief!! Less than a half hour before i called my bank to alert them to an anticipated string of high dollar purchases, i even told them the names of some stores i knew for sure i would buy from. I call them up, and ask what was going on. They inform me that my account was flagged due to approximately $4,000 in charges posted in in a two or three hour window. The night before i bought the new macbook pro that came out a few weeks prior and some media on itunes, as well as a few gifts for the family. My bank quickly removed the flag and told me i was clear to make the purchase immediately. I hang up the phone and hand the SA my card. He looks at the card and tells me its a "COMPANY POLICY" that they can only swipe a card for debit once per 24 hours if it is declined due in part to a "glitch" in their system that would allow a debit card declined once for insufficient funds (or whatever reason) to then magically approve a transaction that should not go through. He then tells me if i had decided to run the card as credit they could swipe as many times as necessary even if the card was initially declined. Now, i may be on the young side but i'm no fool. I worked in retail for about two years, and in management for a year. So i knew a thing or two about registers, the way they work, and the security system they use (as most establishments use the same, or very similar services). I also knew the whole game SA would play when they suspected fishy behavior such as a stolen card, someone attempting to steal, etc. Also, he failed to realize my friend was from new york and was a veteran of 5th avenue and also had a friend back home that has some connections to people in the industry, to include the store manager of the 5th avenue lv. After asking us to step aside while he rang up another customer (mind you there was a store full of other SA), my friend phones up his friend back home, who calls the lv store manager to find out about this "company policy". I'm then informed by the ny manager, running a card once every 24 hours is in fact NOT a company policy and that he was probably running game on me because he thought i was trying to pull a fast one. I was livid. I was appalled. Ready to just give up and go to the store in store at the saks across the street at phipp's plaza, i began to unpack. My friend, being quite the confrontational one, points out that he, in fact placed a few calls and found out he was lying.
In shame, i left that store. When i got to saks, i walked into the store in store and was immediately greeted and recognized by one of the SAs. I told him of the debacle at the stand alone store, to which he shook his head and said a lot of times that happens. So i purchased the bag without any problems, he even had it hot stamped for me within a few hours and offered me some airbags to help give it shape.
The following day i was in need of pair of shoes, which the store in store did not carry, so i went back to the stand alone (keepall in tow) tried on the san marino moc calf suede, told the SA i wanted those shoes. She takes them over to the register and begins to ring them, i then flatly tell her to send them to the store in store across the street because even though they don't get paid on comission i still wanted the sale to go to that particular SA.
That situation turned me off to the stand alone store completely, and i will NEVER buy anything from that store again.
SN: i told my grandmother about that, and she said she had a similar experience YEARS ago when she went to get a bag for herself. Not one to tolerate ill treatment, she went to hermes and bought a purse then went back to show it to the lv sa. LOL. she even pulled a pretty woman, "you messed up big time" lol.
and so is the story behind my keepall 60. Hopefully i'll never have to endure anything like that again.
