Oprah
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SMH. You would think that these fashion houses would filter the word down to their staff by now. Oprah might actually be worth as much or more than Hermes makes in total revenue. Comical to tell her that she can't afford the bag.
But I've had those experiences as well, in and out of the US. You walk in a store, ask to see something, never ask about the price but you're told either it's expensive or you can't afford it or told the price before they will even show you the item....sad world. I'm always thrown when it happens because my first natural response is "I make more than you!" which I refrain from saying because it's obnoxious. I can't imagine being worth $3B and having to still deal with that crap.
Something like that happened to my boss. She then proceeds to buy an abundance of things, had them wrap it up and she paid for it. She then walks to the door, turns around and says "now return all of it".
Yeah...those incidents definitely make you want to bring out your inner a-hole. I've been resorting to saying "I don't remember asking the price. Can I have it or not?" That usually gets a very 'taken aback' look from the sales person and/or the attention of the manager if they're in earshot.
lol. Knowing my boss, she never raised her voice, never cursed at anyone, always said "please and thank you" and had a smile on her face the entire time.
This has to be some dumb-azz salespeople.
Don't they want their commission?
I guess they don't see well....
yea she can look rough with no makeup when she is not working but...........
i doubt that oprah walked into this store looking like sophia from "the color purple"
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http://omg.yahoo.com/news/oprah-gets-swiss-apologies-racist-encounter-135717015.html
GENEVA (AP) Oprah Winfrey says she had a racist encounter while shopping in Switzerland and the national tourist office and the shop owner have apologized.
The billionaire media mogul told the U.S. program "Entertainment Tonight" that a shop assistant in Zurich refused to show her a black handbag priced at $35,000 because "you will not be able to afford that."
Forbes magazine estimates that Winfrey earned $77 million in the year ending in June.
Winfrey was in town to attend last month's wedding of her longtime pal Tina Turner, who lives in a chateau along Lake Zurich.
"We are very sorry for what happened to her, of course, because we think all of our guests and clients should be treated respectfully, in a professional way," Daniela Baer, a spokeswoman for the Swiss tourism office, told The Associated Press on Friday.
The tourism office also posted an apology on Twitter, saying "this person acted terribly wrong."
Shop owner Trudie Goetz told the BBC that an assistant had shown Winfrey several other items before the "misunderstanding" over the bag, which was kept behind a screen. The Blick newspaper quoted Goetz as saying the bag was priced at 35,000 Swiss francs ($38,000).
She also told Blick that she was "truly sorry" because her staff are well-trained to treat customers well.
"I have to admit that the employee is Italian. Of course, she speaks English, but not as well as her mother tongue," Goetz was quoted as saying. "It was a real misunderstanding."
Winfrey was involved in another retail rebuff in Paris in 2005, when she was turned away from a Hermes boutique 15 minutes after closing time. The store said it was closed for a private public relations event.
A Hermes executive appeared on her talk show to apologize for the "rigid and rude" behavior of the employee. Winfrey complimented Hermes on its handling of the incident including sensitivity training for employees and urged viewers to continue to buy the company's products.
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Oprah Winfrey Accuses Trois Pommes Clerk of Discrimination, Brand Rep Denies It
It's hard to imagine someone not recognizing Oprah Winfrey -- but that's exactly what happened when the talk show host attempted to purchase a $35,000 Tom Ford bag at Trois Pommes in Switzerland last month.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight on Monday, Aug. 5, the 59-year-old star of Lee Daniels' The Butler said she was denied service because the sales clerk didn't believe she could afford such a pricey purse. "I was in Zurich the other day at a store, whose name I will not mention, and I didn't have my eyelashes on, but I was in full Oprah Winfrey gear," she recalled. "I had my little Donna Karan skirt and my little sandals and all that on, but obviously The Oprah Winfrey Show is not shown in Zurich. This doesn't happen to me unless somebody obviously doesn't know it was me."
During her solo shopping trip, Winfrey asked the clerk to show her a luxury crocodile bag. "She says to me, 'No. It's too expensive.'" Winfrey asked to see it again, but the clerk once again denied her request, saying, "'No, no, no. You don't want to see that one. You want to see this one because that one will cost too much and you will not be able to afford that.'" Winfrey then said, "'No, I really did want to see that one.' And she refused to get it!"
The clerk proceeded to show Winfrey "these other little bags," but the star was unimpressed with the other options. "One more time, I tried. I said, 'But I really do just want to see that one.' And she said, 'Oh, I don't want to hurt your feelings.' I said, 'Okay, thank you so much. You're probably right. I can't afford it.' And I walked out of the store."
After Winfrey told her BFF Gayle King about the experience, King said she would have returned to the store and caused a scene a la Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. The TV mogul, however, she didn't want to give the clerk commission.
"I could have had the big blowup thing and thrown down the black card and all that stuff," Winfrey said, "but why do that?"
Trudie Goetz, head of the Swiss luxury chain Trois Pommes, denies that Winfrey was discriminated against because of her race. "This is an absolute misunderstanding," she tells Us Weekly in a statement. "Any sales person would love to sell a crocodile bag. She simply explained [to Oprah] that the bag she wanted to look at was beautiful but in a very high price range and suggested lower priced models in leather, ostrich and so forth."
Goetz adds, "It was a misunderstanding. The staff member who welcomed Oprah is one of the hardest working and regularly deals with VIP clients. There was no discrimination."
In a separate statement to the BBC, Goetz said the employee in question is of Italian descent. "Of course, she speaks English, but not as well as her mother tongue," she explained. "It was a real misunderstanding." (Ironically, both Winfrey and Goetz were guests at Tina Turner's wedding celebration that same weekend.)
The Swiss Tourism Association also issued a statement saying it regrets the pain and embarrassment the experience caused Winfrey. "We are very sorry for what happened to her, of course, because we think all of our guests and clients should be treated respectfully, in a professional way," spokeswoman Daniela Baer told the Associated Press.
http://omg.yahoo.com/news/oprah-win...discrimination-brand-153000231-us-weekly.html
i doubt that oprah walked into this store looking like sophia from "the color purple"
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http://omg.yahoo.com/news/oprah-gets-swiss-apologies-racist-encounter-135717015.html
GENEVA (AP) Oprah Winfrey says she had a racist encounter while shopping in Switzerland and the national tourist office and the shop owner have apologized.
The billionaire media mogul told the U.S. program "Entertainment Tonight" that a shop assistant in Zurich refused to show her a black handbag priced at $35,000 because "you will not be able to afford that."
Forbes magazine estimates that Winfrey earned $77 million in the year ending in June.
Winfrey was in town to attend last month's wedding of her longtime pal Tina Turner, who lives in a chateau along Lake Zurich.
"We are very sorry for what happened to her, of course, because we think all of our guests and clients should be treated respectfully, in a professional way," Daniela Baer, a spokeswoman for the Swiss tourism office, told The Associated Press on Friday.
The tourism office also posted an apology on Twitter, saying "this person acted terribly wrong."
Shop owner Trudie Goetz told the BBC that an assistant had shown Winfrey several other items before the "misunderstanding" over the bag, which was kept behind a screen. The Blick newspaper quoted Goetz as saying the bag was priced at 35,000 Swiss francs ($38,000).
She also told Blick that she was "truly sorry" because her staff are well-trained to treat customers well.
"I have to admit that the employee is Italian. Of course, she speaks English, but not as well as her mother tongue," Goetz was quoted as saying. "It was a real misunderstanding."
Winfrey was involved in another retail rebuff in Paris in 2005, when she was turned away from a Hermes boutique 15 minutes after closing time. The store said it was closed for a private public relations event.
A Hermes executive appeared on her talk show to apologize for the "rigid and rude" behavior of the employee. Winfrey complimented Hermes on its handling of the incident including sensitivity training for employees and urged viewers to continue to buy the company's products.
-----------------
Oprah Winfrey Accuses Trois Pommes Clerk of Discrimination, Brand Rep Denies It
It's hard to imagine someone not recognizing Oprah Winfrey -- but that's exactly what happened when the talk show host attempted to purchase a $35,000 Tom Ford bag at Trois Pommes in Switzerland last month.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight on Monday, Aug. 5, the 59-year-old star of Lee Daniels' The Butler said she was denied service because the sales clerk didn't believe she could afford such a pricey purse. "I was in Zurich the other day at a store, whose name I will not mention, and I didn't have my eyelashes on, but I was in full Oprah Winfrey gear," she recalled. "I had my little Donna Karan skirt and my little sandals and all that on, but obviously The Oprah Winfrey Show is not shown in Zurich. This doesn't happen to me unless somebody obviously doesn't know it was me."
During her solo shopping trip, Winfrey asked the clerk to show her a luxury crocodile bag. "She says to me, 'No. It's too expensive.'" Winfrey asked to see it again, but the clerk once again denied her request, saying, "'No, no, no. You don't want to see that one. You want to see this one because that one will cost too much and you will not be able to afford that.'" Winfrey then said, "'No, I really did want to see that one.' And she refused to get it!"
The clerk proceeded to show Winfrey "these other little bags," but the star was unimpressed with the other options. "One more time, I tried. I said, 'But I really do just want to see that one.' And she said, 'Oh, I don't want to hurt your feelings.' I said, 'Okay, thank you so much. You're probably right. I can't afford it.' And I walked out of the store."
After Winfrey told her BFF Gayle King about the experience, King said she would have returned to the store and caused a scene a la Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. The TV mogul, however, she didn't want to give the clerk commission.
"I could have had the big blowup thing and thrown down the black card and all that stuff," Winfrey said, "but why do that?"
Trudie Goetz, head of the Swiss luxury chain Trois Pommes, denies that Winfrey was discriminated against because of her race. "This is an absolute misunderstanding," she tells Us Weekly in a statement. "Any sales person would love to sell a crocodile bag. She simply explained [to Oprah] that the bag she wanted to look at was beautiful but in a very high price range and suggested lower priced models in leather, ostrich and so forth."
Goetz adds, "It was a misunderstanding. The staff member who welcomed Oprah is one of the hardest working and regularly deals with VIP clients. There was no discrimination."
In a separate statement to the BBC, Goetz said the employee in question is of Italian descent. "Of course, she speaks English, but not as well as her mother tongue," she explained. "It was a real misunderstanding." (Ironically, both Winfrey and Goetz were guests at Tina Turner's wedding celebration that same weekend.)
The Swiss Tourism Association also issued a statement saying it regrets the pain and embarrassment the experience caused Winfrey. "We are very sorry for what happened to her, of course, because we think all of our guests and clients should be treated respectfully, in a professional way," spokeswoman Daniela Baer told the Associated Press.
http://omg.yahoo.com/news/oprah-win...discrimination-brand-153000231-us-weekly.html
