Alright, so I'm working in the boutique Saturday night. Very very busy day! And this woman comes strolling in with her daughter. I came up and greeted her, asking her if I could help her find anything. She lifted up her bag and showed it to me and started to brag, "I just wanted to see if I could find one like mine! I think it's special edition. My friend in China got it for me for $40!"
It was a signature stripe top handle pouch with a long strap, and the signature fabric AND the stripe were navy blue. I was just like...
I had no idea what to say. I just smiled and said "I've never seen that style before." She pointed at the signature stripe totes and said "There, that's almost the same! I'm gonna get my friend to get me one of those." I tried to caution her, telling her that many bags in China were fake and that you get what you pay for, and she got all huffy and said I must be blind, and had I ever BEEN to China and seen their bags? And that the prices were much better and that more than $40 for a
Coach bag was stupid. She then flounced out with her daughter. (Keep in mind, I did NOT tell her that she had a fake bag. We don't do that-- at least not in that way. We try to handle it diplomatically-- or we're supposed to. I just can't blurt out "THAT'S A BIG FAT FAKE!" If someone did it to me I'd be MORTIFIED. Even though fakes make me mad.)
Next, an old man came in with his wife. He pointed at our Legacy Leather Satchels and said, "Why do you mark them up so much here?" Puzzled, I smiled and said "Well, this is just how much Coach bags cost." His words: "No it's not. We were in Korea last month and they were only forty dollars."
I said, "Well, you get what you pay for, sir. Those were fake bags-- they weren't made by Coach." And he WENT OFF ON ME! "No they weren't! They were real! Looked just like that! Real bags. Not fakes. Why would someone make a fake purse? It was real you could carry it!" I was like, "No, sir, they weren't actually made by Coach. They're just very good copies." And my manager joined us and was telling him the same thing. Then he started banging his cane on the floor and saying "No they weren't! They were real! You people shouldn't mark them up so much, you're ripping people off! We'll buy them in china!" Then he and his wife left. Well, he dragged her out. She looked apologetic.
We were all just standing there going
I just had to share.