Chanel judges their shoppers through appearances? Fact or Fiction?

Chanel judges their shoppers through appearances? Fact or Fiction?

  • Fact, this is soo true!

  • Fiction, nooo, this is not true at all!


Results are only viewable after voting.
I agree with this. I always have been treated nicely in LV Paris, and then Hermes -despite lack of confidence and backpack style-
but I also notice you just have to walk in there being normal, it's only a shop don't let them affect you ! obviously I never have the SAs running to serve me, lol, but I just look around, wait a bit and then go to someone, it's finally a really nice experience as the person is most of the time really pleasant, I am just myself, polite, and smiling <- and that is also something valuable for these employees who have to deal with all sorts of rude customers.....and if I have to deal with rude persons I will just walk out, and report the experience to their consumer services, and be courageous and tell them I want to speak to someone else.
It's easy for me to be confident at LV as I know a lot about them, and they have their entire collection on their website, but other Designers like Chanel or Balenciaga you really have to do homework to break through the wall of model names, seasons colors, etc...
I just want to walk in and buy a bag even I don't belong to a certain waiting list that I was not aware of lol !!!
But now thanks to tPF no excuses to not be in the know how :graucho:

i'm new here! but i definitely have to agree with you about the LV Champs-Elysées store, they are truly fantastic :tup: I was dressed with the last clothes i had out of my suitcase (not the most amazing, i must say) and the S/A was super friendly. She even joked around with me! The man who wrote me up at the register was also very good, and he even chatted with me in english, spanish and french, haha. The S/A invited me to check out the whole store, which i gladly did, and was awed by how amazing it is inside! alll those baags and just the whole ambiance, truly amazing :yes:
 
Wow this topic has been beaten to death!! But it's interesting to read other tpfers individual experiences...

When I travel, I tend to not do much shopping unless I'm there to purchase something that cannot be purchased in the US. So I cannot say about overseas SA's.
However my tactic is that I make a point to get to know 1 SA really well at my local boutiques and build a relationship with them. I always ask for them when I'm browsing, even when I haven't touched anything and a snobby SA comes up to me and asks "is there anything i can help you with?" i just ask "where's so-and-so? or is so-and-so here today?" without answering his/her question. One of the Chanel boutique SA's is like that. I never give him my time of day.

I rarely buy LV anymore but I do love to browse, I have one boutique SA who's very sweet to me even though I've only bought 1 or 2 things from her. We would just chat about our daily lives and non LV things. So it all depends.
 
Yes, I think that some of them judge by appearance, but I think that they will always allow you to buy something. They may judge you and not treat you with as much courtesy as they should but they have to allow you to buy something if you want to, right???
 
ive had mixed experiences with chanel SA's. one time i went to the chanel at neiman marcus in tysons in pajamas and no makeup and messy hair- it was a last minute trip- and i was shocked by how nice the SA was. he put aside several bags for me for the presale and called me about some other stuff he thought i might like. then again, there are times when im dressed to the nined and i get ignored. totally depends. as far as hermes, i think they are more likely to be snooty. i went to the hermes in leesburg, virginia and they completely ignored me and gave me dirty looks. they were too busy talking to the really waspy women in the store and chatting about country clubs and polo matches. i think some hermes SA's definitely have a problem with nice jewish girls like myself.
 
I think hermes apologized to her, but i dunno if she still shops there. for the record, i have had several positive trips to hermes where i have not bought anything but was treated well. i guess that just proves the point that so many people on this thread have made- it all depends on the SA and the management of the store
 
well I have to say thay my experience with gucci and Lv in NYC have always been good. Even at Chanel in NYC the Sa was more than nice to my husband and I as we shop. She even offer to send the handbag and mu sunnies to my house since i lived out of state and that would save me on the sales tax-- this was without asking her.

However I have to mention on experience when I was at LV NYC-- dress with jeans nothing special-- however once the SA noticed the LV diamond bracelet on my hand -- she gave me extra attention showed me vip items -- i didnt even remember that I was wearing it until after the transaction and she mention how rare it was to see someone with the bracelet. So go figure -- some SA might treat different if they think you tend to spend money and not waste their time while others are just really out to service the client no matter what -evenif you dont buy.
 
I dont believe that's true for CC. When i made my first cc purchase at chanel/saks, i was hesitant that they would be snooty....nonetheless, i didnt think i needed to dress up for the occassion and went in my usual "running around t-shirt, jeans, cap and flip flops" on a sat and the sales lady was non judgmental and very helpful; and i ended up buying 2. I didnt look like money that day and i was not wearing my usual jewelry etc. Now I only buy from her and when i am there, she is always pleasant to all the ladies that come by.... i have had a very pleasant experience in buying cc.
Now LV--that's another story; prior to my cc obsession, i was into LVs and when i made my first purchase, they were extremely dry and arrogant (wtf they are there to help us)... however, as I started buying and buying and buying (we all know what the bag obsession is like) then all of a sudden i became their new best friend and I could feel the internal arguments when I would go pick up something i had ordered. Now a days, I only shop cc at saks and LV, well guess what? I only do that at eluxury (for my sis who is also a member and loves LV)---no commission for the LV snobs.
 
I think every boutique will have one or 2 (or G-d forbid, all) snobbish SAs.

From my experience, I think your confident attitude will help some. Like someone said earlier, I'd rather the SA leave me alone until I am ready or if I need help. So, I don't usually look for an SA or look at any SAs when I enter the boutiques. And I do mean I don't look at anyone. And when I need them, they're always there.

I just walk in like I am on a mission to look at something... which I usually do since somethings usually caught my attention. And the SAs usually had to greet me twice before I am aware that they were talking to me (since I don't pay attention to anything but the merchandise).

I am usually semi-dressed up; dressy jeans with a casual top, etc...but always with designer shoes, handbags and sunglasses.

So far, no bad services....except at Hermes :graucho:....Well until I started pulling out my cc (because I only went there to buy a couple of things I really wanted. Nothing expensive). Before you know it, he has the legos out for my 2 kids to play with (they're the first to use them too) :yes:

Heh. OK. That was lengthy...Forgot what the moral of the story was...
 
I agree, shops just want to see the colour of your money.
I do think that some shops if it is a limited item like some chanel and hermes items are - they can pick and choose who they sell the item too. Everything else, show me the money!!Lol!
 
I got attitude at Prada in Rome, I went back the next day and bought instead.....

Otherwise I've had fair luck but I think the original poster is correct to some degree
 
I think it really depends on the s/a. Whenever I've gone into the Boston LV boutique at the Copley I've always been treated very well regardless of what I'm wearing. NM Boston also has great, non-judgmental s/a's in their Chanel boutique and handbags department in general.

If the s/a wants to make commission she shouldn't judge a book by its cover.
Yes, ITA about LV in Boston they have always been GREAT to me! Chanel in Boston has been good too. The only problem I've had w/ LV was in Vegas & I guess because I had running pants on & sneaks (hello!, I'm walking around on vacation) the sales associates basically ignored me until I said I definitely wanted to purchase something!

I'm always casual though; usually jeans and maybe Chanel flats & Boston LV has been SUPERB to me!
 
I have to admit, when I travel to shop I tend to make sure I wear something nice - something like a chanel jacket and carry an expensive handbag and I get treated very well, down to getting offered champagne while I shop. I dont believe its fair but it does work. Now locally, I dont put in that effort but people here know me. The entire mentality is not fair but it is just so aggrevating to travel to another town to pick up a few things and have to force a sales person to help me. I dont like the game, but the day is more enjoyable if they are going out of their way for me as opposed to me forcing them to help.