Customer service: The watch experiment
In need of a battery change, I entered a jewellery store in my neighbourhood with two non-running watches in hand. I was not drawn to the store before; its fortress-like façade plastered with big-brand advertising didn't reassure me about their bench skills. But, watch batteries, how hard is that?
Someone buzzed me in, none of the three saleswomen on the floor made even eye contact. (Two were with customers, one was on the phone.) I waited, and passed a dozen minutes surveying cases of mediocre jewellery. After a quarter hour, tired of being a ghost, I left.
Have you ever been invisible in a nearly-empty store?
I found their behaviour misplaced. There are few more pathetic attitudes than snobbery issued from a merchant who offers nothing distinguished. I was reminded of our Parisien friend Roland's parting words when he ran into such treatment: "You have too much money; you don't need mine."
I have been served warmly at haut de gamme boutiques like Fred Leighton and Cartier, so was flummoxed by this freeze. Why did I not merit even a be-with-you-soon nod? I wondered: Was it my jeans-and-car coat outfit? My age? The fact that I was unaccompanied by a (wallet-carrying) man? I'll never know, because I shall never enter Crèation Paul H again.
At that point, I thought I'd try an experiment. I walked a few blocks to the chic Bijouterie Italienne, whose windows gleam with Rolexes, Pomelatto and Gucci rings, ropes of South Sea pearls. Let's see how the high end serves the grey-haired woman with two watches she had not bought there.
A young Italian salesman received me like a duchessa. The replacement would cost more than a standard installation, because, as he explained "the design of one watch means the change is not simple." (I knew that.) As I left, I noticed a small sign indicating that the boutique was open sur rendezvous on that day. "Oh, I didn't realize I should have called first", I said. "For you", he replied with a wide smile, "we are open!"
Oh, charm the grandmother. But I actually look forward to picking them up.
I told the story to my neighbour, a man familiar with the best. He said,"I took Lou's watch to (a luxury downtown jeweller), and said, 'Please show me your diamond rings, I want to buy one for my wife. She showed me some, and I said, 'Do you have anything bigger?' She was falling over herself to serve me. Then I said, 'I have to go home and talk to my wife, but in the meantime, can you change the battery in her watch?'"
"And when you returned?", I asked.
He said, "I told them, 'Oh, she tells me she doesn't like diamonds!'"
Someone buzzed me in, none of the three saleswomen on the floor made even eye contact. (Two were with customers, one was on the phone.) I waited, and passed a dozen minutes surveying cases of mediocre jewellery. After a quarter hour, tired of being a ghost, I left.
Have you ever been invisible in a nearly-empty store?
I found their behaviour misplaced. There are few more pathetic attitudes than snobbery issued from a merchant who offers nothing distinguished. I was reminded of our Parisien friend Roland's parting words when he ran into such treatment: "You have too much money; you don't need mine."
I have been served warmly at haut de gamme boutiques like Fred Leighton and Cartier, so was flummoxed by this freeze. Why did I not merit even a be-with-you-soon nod? I wondered: Was it my jeans-and-car coat outfit? My age? The fact that I was unaccompanied by a (wallet-carrying) man? I'll never know, because I shall never enter Crèation Paul H again.
At that point, I thought I'd try an experiment. I walked a few blocks to the chic Bijouterie Italienne, whose windows gleam with Rolexes, Pomelatto and Gucci rings, ropes of South Sea pearls. Let's see how the high end serves the grey-haired woman with two watches she had not bought there.
A young Italian salesman received me like a duchessa. The replacement would cost more than a standard installation, because, as he explained "the design of one watch means the change is not simple." (I knew that.) As I left, I noticed a small sign indicating that the boutique was open sur rendezvous on that day. "Oh, I didn't realize I should have called first", I said. "For you", he replied with a wide smile, "we are open!"
Oh, charm the grandmother. But I actually look forward to picking them up.
I told the story to my neighbour, a man familiar with the best. He said,"I took Lou's watch to (a luxury downtown jeweller), and said, 'Please show me your diamond rings, I want to buy one for my wife. She showed me some, and I said, 'Do you have anything bigger?' She was falling over herself to serve me. Then I said, 'I have to go home and talk to my wife, but in the meantime, can you change the battery in her watch?'"
"And when you returned?", I asked.
He said, "I told them, 'Oh, she tells me she doesn't like diamonds!'"
Comments
Bijouterie italienne is a longstanding family business, and while it is now very high-end, its original client base was far more working-class, but being old-fashioned Europeans were prepared to save for very nice pieces for weddings, anniversaries and other important occasions. Gold means 18 carat or more to Italians, and other Mediterraneans.
There are a couple of old very working-class or peasanty looking Italian men I've run into around here as neighbours or in cafés. Both are millionnaires, simply because they bought and fixed-up rundown triplexes in the area - now worth a pretty penny. One still works on his buildings dressed in old work trousers and a marcel (sleeveless undershirt).
Eventually this group finished and wandered off without buying a thing. The 3 saleswomen chatted amongst themselves and then they were joined by 2 more from in back of the boutique and still - not even a greeting.
Finally I said very loudly "So am I really invisible now? They all jumped and looked confused. Oh - we thought you were with those others . Well 1) I hadn't arrived with them 2) I never interacted with any of them 3) I'm still here - so why would you think that.
I then confronted them and asked if it was my age or was it perhaps my size that deemed me unworthy of any attention? They fell over themselves assuring me that wasn't it - I then pointed out to them that they had made no sales with their young friends and yet I had been prepared to buy at least two lipsticks (at least $100) and had been in the mood to be prepared to try a few other things. After being so insulted by their treatment I would now take my money elsewhere. And please know, this wasn't the first time I'd been treated in that way at the Chanel Boutique - but it would be the last time.
Most places haven't got a clue these days about engendering customer loyalty. I've had the same treatment in a Loblaws Grocery store so it's not just high end shops - I don't understand it as so many bricks & mortar stores are crying out for business. But many places empty clerks who spend more time chatting to each other or chatting on their mobiles than they ever do in assisting customers and then wonder why sales are down so much - well it's not difficult! When I do find a place with good customer service I not only return, I recommend it to friends and hopefully they do the same.
When I returned to Bijouterie Italienne, the same young man showed me the watches. Neither has a second hand, so I said, joking, "How can I tell (if they run)?" He laughed as if that were really witty, and gave me an elegantly-wrapped marron glacé.
Margie from Toronto: Oho, good story, thanks! I agree you can't map service quality to the price point, but when one is paying "brand tax", you should get outstanding service. So, did you cross the street to Guerlain?
Sheesh!
I love your photograph - am I just noticing it, or is it new? You look both beautiful and warmly fascinating...
hugs,
Janice
An hour later, she came back and bought two sets of sheets, for a $250 sale. And the reason she gave to my co-worker was that we had both been so nice to her. At Store X, the selection was no better, and apparently the sales help was lacking as well.
Part of it has to do with the cultural memes (eg TV) of older people being crotchety, and difficult to please, taking up your time and, in the end, buying nothing.
Combat those memes, and greet your sales person with a warm smile, and a cheery hello as a warmup. Then tell them exactly what you are looking for, and state straightforwardly if you just want to look, or whether you want to make a selection right then and there. Dress up if you are planning to buy something expensive, not so essential if it is a less costly purchase. Either way, whether you buy something or not, end the encounter on a pleasant note, give them a smile and a few words of appreciation. They'll remember you if you come back.
PS You can make the memes work in your favour: the solicitous grandmother is often a happy memory that people have, so if the weather is cold, at the end of the transaction, say something innocuous but caring, like "stay warm tonight, it's going to be cold"...younger people react surprisingly positively to this solicitude because it does not go against cultural norms, and it indicates you are interacting with the sales person as one real
human being with another.
Adopting the solicitous elder stance can be a way to get enhanced service but first, the person paid to do a job has to give a s.