I had a very experience in Chanel at the Berlin Kurfürstendamm store. I am Asian by descent and married to a big Caucasian guy. Well, when I went in the store individually to purchase a beautiful Chanel classic flap bag, they told me they had nothing. They also said they had zero wallet on chains. An hour later, my husband goes in alone and buys me a black classic flap in caviar and a WOC in caviar. The store policy here is horrible, and is clearly racist. I have evidence of everything my husband bought and receipts. My story is entirely verifiable and honest. I would not like to throw anyone under the bus, but I do remember every sales assistant’s name as well. Just FYI, Chanel in Europe has racist store policies.
Chanel in Germany?
- Thread starter bronzeshoes
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I think it's just a matter of SA. I was in Berlin and went to both Chanel stores. Walked into the one in Kurfürstendamm and asked for Classic WOC. The SA mentioned she wasn't sure if they have it but she will check. She came back with 2 WOC (Classic and Boy) but the Classic WOC I wanted was for SHW. She went back and took one out which i ended up buying.
Went to the one in Kadewe for C19 in Caramel, also managed to score one without issue.
And I'm Asian
I think it's just a matter of SA. I was in Berlin and went to both Chanel stores. Walked into the one in Kurfürstendamm and asked for Classic WOC. The SA mentioned she wasn't sure if they have it but she will check. She came back with 2 WOC (Classic and Boy) but the Classic WOC I wanted was for SHW. She went back and took one out which i ended up buying.
Went to the one in Kadewe for C19 in Caramel, also managed to score one without issue.
And I'm Asian
You did not read my story properly. I went in and they said they had nothing, one hour later I sent my husband who is big, White and Caucasian and he bought 2 bags that they told me they had nothing of. Yes, you are Asian, but did you also send in someone else on your behalf who will Caucasian, and asked for the same exact thing? You could have gotten lucky on a day when they had a lot of stock to sell. Point is, we are two different people within the span of 1 hour and we were told different things. Please read properly.
Jeezzz...chill! I can also point to you to read properly on what I wrote.
My point was as an Asian, I had no issues trying to buy what I wanted from both Chanel stores without any discrimination or racism like how you pointed happened to you. And since I had no issues buying by myself (alone) in both Chanel stores, I had NO need to get my tall European husband to buy on my behalf.
You voiced your experience in the Chanel store and I'm merely stating mine, which was anything but racist.
P/S: You have a time gap of 1 hour. Anything could have happened at that time. New stocks got sorted out, bags reserved for others got cancelled, etc which might have been why your hubby got lucky.
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We were waiting across the street to see if anything got brought in. We videoed the process. This was middle of the afternoon so 4pm, and we know things get brought in in the morning usually. So we have verifiable evidence with receipts purchased. x Of course this has been a terrible experience and I hope it never happens to you, should you ever go in at a different time with a person of different ethnicity.
The SA who told us nothing was available was a blonde woman, while the SA who sold to my husband is by the name of Dominic. Surely I don’t believe that he is racist, just a follower of the policies that his manager has set. There is no space for hatred or racism in this day and age. Remember that Abercrombie got cancelled by the public because of their racist behavior. I am sure if more people of color rally to point this out, this behavior will not be held up in the European humanitarian court of law. Btw, my husband is also a lawyer.
The SA who told us nothing was available was a blonde woman, while the SA who sold to my husband is by the name of Dominic. Surely I don’t believe that he is racist, just a follower of the policies that his manager has set. There is no space for hatred or racism in this day and age. Remember that Abercrombie got cancelled by the public because of their racist behavior. I am sure if more people of color rally to point this out, this behavior will not be held up in the European humanitarian court of law. Btw, my husband is also a lawyer.
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I mean they even have Asian people working at that store. I bought something at KaDeWe from an Asian lady.
To support your point, I see a lot of Asians being served at both Chanel boutiques in Berlin all the time. They have a lot of International customers there and therefor a lot of SAs from Asian decent and with certain language skills.
And we do know that certain SA categorize customers by appearance/designer wardrobe etc or the are simply in a bad mood (happened to me more often than it should).
I am so tired of my country in general being branded as x. And that comment is just plain wrong, but I am used to it (and being called a x abroad).
I wish we could all take a step back an be a little kinder to each other, the world is scary enough (see Ukraine).
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I’m certain that it comes to a particular SA, I’ve seen different clients and SAs both in KaDeWe and Kudam, Berlin is very international place.. I don’t think it was racist!
I’m tall, blonde and a SA in Vienna Chanel treated me very badly, I asked for shoes in 41 - she said that they don’t have any, then I asked if they had any earrings and she said - no and point me to the door..
I’m tall, blonde and a SA in Vienna Chanel treated me very badly, I asked for shoes in 41 - she said that they don’t have any, then I asked if they had any earrings and she said - no and point me to the door..
I have to support the theory that it is NOT racisim at all. Just the power of SAs to not sell to people they don’t like….
I am German and I have been treated very unfriendly in Chanel or even LV in Germany and felt “looked down”. It depends 100000% on the SA you meet.
Two weeks ago in Cannes, France: same thing. The SA did not want to show me anything, said there are no card holders, no mini pochettes, no wocs… nothing. She did not even check one single item for me- just shaking her head… The store was packed.
And on top of that she said she wasn't “able” to check other boutiques….. yeah… sure! Goodbye…
In St. Tropez a couple days later EVERYBODY was so nice and welcoming and really helpful. I had one of the best experiences ever in this boutique, bought my Woc and also got a number from the SA- reached out the next day and asked for new shipments, I got immediate response…. Perfect! The way it should be.
I am really sorry this happened to you. Please don't take this the wrong way. I understand your frustration.
But something similar has happened to a lot of people… in their own countries/regions…
I am German and I have been treated very unfriendly in Chanel or even LV in Germany and felt “looked down”. It depends 100000% on the SA you meet.
Two weeks ago in Cannes, France: same thing. The SA did not want to show me anything, said there are no card holders, no mini pochettes, no wocs… nothing. She did not even check one single item for me- just shaking her head… The store was packed.
And on top of that she said she wasn't “able” to check other boutiques….. yeah… sure! Goodbye…
In St. Tropez a couple days later EVERYBODY was so nice and welcoming and really helpful. I had one of the best experiences ever in this boutique, bought my Woc and also got a number from the SA- reached out the next day and asked for new shipments, I got immediate response…. Perfect! The way it should be.
I am really sorry this happened to you. Please don't take this the wrong way. I understand your frustration.
But something similar has happened to a lot of people… in their own countries/regions…
I am also sorry that this happened to me. Another SA at Chanel Germany blatantly told me “you guys are doing it to your own people. That’s because you people buy so much that we have to limit you, because my own friends can’t buy them even if they wanted to.”
He was referring that Asian people get limited quota because they buy so much, and his friends, I can only assume mean people not of Asian descent. I know racism when I face it, you were not in my shoes. You were not with me to hear the full scope of things that SAs admit when they get agitated and upset.
To have you devalue my experience and twist it around to seem like this is normal discrimination, is also not right. It does not make me feel better. The right thing to do would be to acknowledge wrong-doing and a proper apology from these people. Only then can you move on from such a dehumanizing experience.
He was referring that Asian people get limited quota because they buy so much, and his friends, I can only assume mean people not of Asian descent. I know racism when I face it, you were not in my shoes. You were not with me to hear the full scope of things that SAs admit when they get agitated and upset.
To have you devalue my experience and twist it around to seem like this is normal discrimination, is also not right. It does not make me feel better. The right thing to do would be to acknowledge wrong-doing and a proper apology from these people. Only then can you move on from such a dehumanizing experience.
I wonder why you then come to the forum to post about your experience if none of the responses are satisfactory to you. I am not sure I understand your reasoning for doing so, other than calling Germans nazis which may be perceived as racist by the members of this forum that you turned to in order to complain about your unfortunate encounter. Why don’t you reach out to Chanel HQ and raise a complaint? I start to believe that this may be the best route to take in order for you to be able to close that matter for yourself. Either way, I am wishing you the best of luck and hope Chanel can make up for their mistake in case the treatment was indeed geared towards alienating you as a customer.
Can somebody recommend me a SA and his/her email contact in Munich/Frankfurt/Berlin store? I am arriving Germany in September and I am looking to get a classic rectangular mini or a mini 2.55 reissue. ❤️
Hi babe, I’m wondering if you could give me your SA contact in Berlin store. I’m really hoping to get either the 2.55 mini or the classic rectangular mini. Thank you.