Have you ever had bad experiences with sales assistants in Brown Thomas/Clerys etc?

watsdstory22

I avoid bt's at all costs pompous staff & overpriced products. Surley the staff cant be earning much more than minimum wage??? No interest in earning some comission for themselves neway thats for sure!!!!

catch88

Pinky Pixie wrote: »

"I'm just with someone",so I told her to find me someone else who can with my sweetest do it now I'm a big deal smile:p...and et voila service straight away!!! I think they can smell fear

So the sales assistant should leave her own customer waiting while she finds another member of staff for you. And no doubt if you were her customer you'd give her a nasty telling off for dealing with someone else while keeping you waiting. How about you ask another sales assistant and leave the girl to do her job. She was hardly lying to you since they get commission.

malibustacey

We don't get commission... : (

Corruptedmorals

€10 an hour is the starting wage! They do get commission, unlike most of the other counters. Surely more of a drive than most to make a sale rather than going of their way to ignore customers! I go in before work and they're always so surprised that I actually have means to pay, horrible attitude.

tatabubbly

Yesterday actually.
Me and my best friend went in on a girlie date to look at the bags..

We were in chanel and there were these bags on display that honestly looked like fakes, so i said it to friend.. we got glared out of the place. lol It was funny..

And then we went to fendi were we could actually afford like a wallet and spent half hour looking at them... sales assistant wasn't too pleased with that.
It twas a funny shopping trip but the lady in prada was lovely !

Lively-Blonde

ooh goodness gracious some of the horror stories i've heard from friends bout bt's and read on here!!

A few years back decided to splurge my saved pocket money on a mac foundation as i always went with tinted moisturisers or none at all, i was youngish at the time (17) and that day i went in i happened to be with my mam and two aunties (safety in numbers ha) and it was a mad busy saturday so kinda just browsed till someone was free. This sales assistant came over asking did i want help and i explained my stiuation and what i was looking for natural light etc and never have i had someone pay so much attention in a shop, she stripped my face of the lil makeup i had on and did my whole face (foundation, powder and blush). I was so pleased with the results and her lovely manner i bought the three items!

but yet ive gone in there since and been looked down on sometimes so it all depends on who you get and the timing(we all have our days;)) but cause of the good intro to mac i still go in to bt's. I think people need to remember is the sales assistant can only do so much hospitality-wise no matter what shop you're in be it penneys or bt's, you need to extend the hospitality also. People have bt's hyped up so much and have heard so many horror stories that they nearly go in on edge. Majority of the time I just go in just to purely ooh and aahh over the products (which probably bugs the assistants) but thats just the way i shop look at something for ages then go in with my trusty list. After reading some of the posts i may try go in early morning as it always seems busy any other time!..

As for the Benefit "traffic stopping" this has happened to me very often. Had one violent assistant attack me with blush looked like co-co the clown after it but then was in debenhams one day have to say not feeling my best and this lovely assistant sat me down and was delighted i had never used benefit before and got so excited introducing my to the products and gave me a makeover and a few free samples. Felt a million bucks after it!!:D

Lolabugs

What annoys me about this thread is that just because Brown Thomas/Cleary's are branded as "posh stores", some people (not all) seem to think they should be treated like royalty when they come into them.
Was in Brown Thomas a while back and one snobby bitch was being SO rude to one of their sales assistants, I actually felt sorry for the poor girl.

*Sorry for the rant but this has been nagging at me for a while*

Miaireland

patnor1011 wrote: »

I dont know... Why not to pose like mystery shopper... Ask some odd questions, have little notebook and while standing near counter watch them, smile on them, scribble down something like your shopping list for dunnes or something like that and watch them how they serve another customers... When they will start noticing you they will kill themselvs just to please you as mystery shopper is the only thing they are afraid of...

By posing as a mystery shopper the way you suggest would only lead to worse service. A mystery shopper does not behave in that way (I do mystery shopping).

tinkerbell

tatabubbly wrote: »

We were in chanel and there were these bags on display that honestly looked like fakes, so i said it to friend.. we got glared out of the place. lol It was funny..

Well I don't really blame the sales assistants for getting annoyed if you're going to say things like that in front of them. Perhaps keep those kind of comments until you are outside of Chanel, it's like putting a red flag to a bull saying that in the shop within earshot of the Chanel staff.

malibustacey

Corruptedmorals wrote: »

€10 an hour is the starting wage! They do get commission, unlike most of the other counters. Surely more of a drive than most to make a sale rather than going of their way to ignore customers! I go in before work and they're always so surprised that I actually have means to pay, horrible attitude.

We are not on commission, unlike all of the other estee lauder brands. And the starting wage is more than that thank god!! If you go anywhere expecting negativity you're going to attract it. Try being positive, most people working in retail will pick up on that vibe and will enjoy helping you then.

Corruptedmorals

That's what I've been told, and if not, then why do you have to give the name of the person who helped you/ got you the products to the person at the till if not for commission purposes?

It's higher than that Can they really afford it, BT's can hardly be doing well anymore and they're constantly having sales.

luckat

The service generally in Irish stores is bad.

A couple of exceptions: the underwear section in Cleary's, and the electrical section in Arnott's. Used to be great in Roche's electrical section too, alas.

I remember coming home from Japan, where they have such kindly and grown-up manners in shops, and going into Arnott's to buy a present of Waterford glass for someone who'd been kind to me in Japan.

The assistants were having an important chat about their own lives when I went in. I was clearly ready to buy - was examining everything on one display case in detail - but no one came over in the first half-hour.

When I went over and asked for advice they were completely shruggy and "You'll have to decide for yourself what you want, you know." When I asked if they had particular items the attitude was basically "I don't give a ballocks", though they didn't actually express it that way.

I was quite ashamed, thinking people from other countries were getting this kind of treatment.

Went to Avoca and got a rug for my friend instead.

E.L

Yes it is much higher than than 10 euro but varies between location and years of service. Mac are not paid commission and you give the name of the person who served you at the counter so it goes in under that staff members name. Its totalled up every day to calculate the average sale per customer.
Every staff member has a personal target and are expected to sell an average of 2.5 items per sale, if you dont you could face meetings with management and disciplinary.

I think some people here are tarring everyone with the same brush negatively. I worked for MAC and I believe I gave good service and I tried my best and had regular repeat customers.
Some people on here talk about how bitchy the staff are, well you dont sound so friendly yourself.
My biggest bugbear is bad customer service anywhere, but as a person working in retail I have had people jump down my throat in the first ten seconds of serving them just because they are having a bad day. I am here to help you I am not your paid servant or slave so please speak to me with the respect I give you.
If you believe you recieve bad service tell them so, thats what I do as a smile and a thank you cost nothing .

Sorry for the long rant but I'm really getting sick of what I believe is a totally unfair sterotyping of all people working for a particular brand.

E.L

Corruptedmorals wrote: »

€10 an hour is the starting wage! They do get commission, unlike most of the other counters. Surely more of a drive than most to make a sale rather than going of their way to ignore customers! I go in before work and they're always so surprised that I actually have means to pay, horrible attitude.

That sounds totally ridiculous, that you assume they are surprised you have means to pay.
It sounds like you have some self asteem issues and assume they think this. Maybe its you who has the horrible attitude??
If its so bad why do you shop there?.

E.L

Lolabugs wrote: »

What annoys me about this thread is that just because Brown Thomas/Cleary's are branded as "posh stores", some people (not all) seem to think they should be treated like royalty when they come into them.
Was in Brown Thomas a while back and one snobby bitch was being SO rude to one of their sales assistants, I actually felt sorry for the poor girl.

*Sorry for the rant but this has been nagging at me for a while*

Thank you! finally someone giving other side of the story

Larianne

E.L wrote: »

Yes it is much higher than than 10 euro but varies between location and years of service. Mac are not paid commission and you give the name of the person who served you at the counter so it goes in under that staff members name Its totalled up every day to calculate the average sale per customer.
Every staff member has a personal target and are expected to sell an average of 2.5 items per sale if you dont you could face meetings with management and disciplinary.

I think some people here are tarring everyone with the same brush negatively. I worked for MAC and I believe I gave good service and I tried my best and had regular repeat customers.
Some people on here talk about how bitchy the staff are, well you dont sound so friendly yourself.
My biggest bugbear is bad customer service anywhere but as a person working in retail I have had people jump down my throat in the first ten seconds of serving them just because they are having a bad day. I am here to help you I am not your paid servant or slave so please speak to me with the respect I give you.
If you believe you recieve bad service tell them so thats what I do as a smile and a thank you cost nothing .

Sorry for the long rant but I'm really getting sick of what I believe is a totally unfair sterotyping of all people working for a particular brand.

I totally agree with this. I worked for MAC in the airport and various other counters in BT/Arnotts/Clearys. I always gave good customer service, had regular customers (pretty tough working in an airport!) and would get customers buying me muffins and leaving tips etc. We would get comments from customers saying our service was much better than other stores but then our manager ran the place great.

You get good/bad service in every industry. If you don't complain about bad service how is management gonna know about it!?

(I am still scared of the grafton street store though! )

Aard

Lolabugs wrote: »

What annoys me about this thread is that just because Brown Thomas/Cleary's are branded as "posh stores", some people (not all) seem to think they should be treated like royalty when they come into them.

I do not expect to be treated like "royalty", but if I'm shelling out a lot of money, I do expect excellent customer service. It's a no-brainer really.

LivingDeadGirl

I know a girl working in MAC in Cork and she told me she's on 11e something an hour? She was there a few months at that stage. I know thery get a certain amount of credit towards new products each month also.

Lolabugs

Aard wrote: »

I do not expect to be treated like "royalty", but if I'm shelling out a lot of money, I do expect excellent customer service. It's a no-brainer really.

I respect what your saying, thats why I said some people expect to be treated like this.
Of course, with some of the prices in these stores you'd want the great customer service but if somebody came into me and start snapping at me in the first few seconds I'd think it would be hard to keep a smile on my face.

I myself wouldnt go into these stores regularly but I like to treat myself once in a while. To be honest I wouldnt be regarded as one of the "posh" ladies that would usually shop in these stores and I can honestly say I havent have a single sales assistant look at me differently.

macy9

E.L wrote: »

you give the name of the person who served you at the counter so it goes in under that staff members name. Its totalled up every day to calculate the average sale per customer.
Every staff member has a personal target and are expected to sell an average of 2.5 items per sale, if you dont you could face meetings with management and disciplinary.

Only 2.5 items per day?

pandamoanium

I think E.L meant an average of 2.5 items per transaction per customer. Could be wrong though!

Twee.

I think per sale means...per sale!

Every shop has targets to meet, good sales assistants should meet the targets. I work in a shop and there's always fun competitions going for biggest transaction of the week. We're also in competition with the other branches.

Good sales assistants=good sales! It can be hard to be nice to every customer though, the amount of **** we have to put up with. Some people are so ignorant and silly! But then again there are so many wonderful customers who are lovely and thankful. Gotta take the good with the bad.

macy9

Sorry im a bit slow today

Larianne

Twee. wrote: »

Good sales assistants=good sales! It can be hard to be nice to every customer though, the amount of **** we have to put up with. Some people are so ignorant and silly! But then again there are so many wonderful customers who are lovely and thankful. Gotta take the good with the bad.

If you are nice to the sales assistant, they'll be nice to you! Don't expect to get fabulous service if you say 'I need this' while pushing an empty lipgloss tube in the sales assistants face or 'Can I've that'.

Please and Thank You do go a long way.

And don't get into a hissy fit coz there's a queue at the till. Only so fast the machine can go!! And giving dirty looks and huffing and hawing will not make me or the till go any faster!

pikachucheeks

Larianne wrote: »

And don't get into a hissy fit coz there's a queue at the till. Only so fast the machine can go!! And giving dirty looks and huffing and hawing will not make me or the till go any faster!

A friend of mine works in Claire's Accessories and she was saying exactly the same thing the other day!

She was telling me a woman who was at the top of the queue, in the process of paying for her items, got so stressed by rude people in the queue stamping their feet, huffing etc that she actually left her basket at the till and walked out...

That's bad!

I don't care whether it's Brown Thomas or Penney's, people should have some level of common decency and show respect towards fellow customers and staff.

E.L

macy9 wrote: »

Only 2.5 items per day?

No if you read above it says per sale not per day a sale is one transaction.


Oh sorry , saw that was clarified later on in the replys...my bad !

Esmeralda34

E.L wrote: »

Yes it is much higher than than 10 euro but varies between location and years of service. Mac are not paid commission and you give the name of the person who served you at the counter so it goes in under that staff members name. Its totalled up every day to calculate the average sale per customer.
Every staff member has a personal target and are expected to sell an average of 2.5 items per sale, if you dont you could face meetings with management and disciplinary.

I think some people here are tarring everyone with the same brush negatively. I worked for MAC and I believe I gave good service and I tried my best and had regular repeat customers.
Some people on here talk about how bitchy the staff are, well you dont sound so friendly yourself.
My biggest bugbear is bad customer service anywhere, but as a person working in retail I have had people jump down my throat in the first ten seconds of serving them just because they are having a bad day. I am here to help you I am not your paid servant or slave so please speak to me with the respect I give you.
If you believe you recieve bad service tell them so, thats what I do as a smile and a thank you cost nothing .

Sorry for the long rant but I'm really getting sick of what I believe is a totally unfair sterotyping of all people working for a particular brand.

Hi
I have to say I am amazed at what I have read on this thread this evening.

I love many of Mac's products but honestly abhor visiting the counter in Brown Thomas' on Grafton Street. And until now, felt I was one of the lonely few!

At lunchtimes I throw on my trainers when heading to Grafton St (my 4/5/6 inch heels just aren't practical for my lunchtime rush!). Most of my female colleagues do this as neccessity dictates..

During my visits to the Mac counter I have been thrown withering looks, ending of course at my trainers!

I have had staff be so blatantly rude and dismissive that they have left me standing in shock and indignant.

I worked in the service industry for many years and therefore feel utter disbelief at how standards have declined (on the Mac floor in particular!).

I speak and approach everyone (be it at the Mac counter, my local Spar or my local Big Issue sweetheart of a man) with the same respect that I feel we are all due as people.

I'm sorry that you feel we are doing you an injustice in this thread. However, perhaps you should take on board just how many of us feel that Mac doesn't cut the mustard.

This is not a smear campaign nor people feeling they ought to be treated like royalty simply for shopping in BTs (though a certain standard of service should naturally be expected considering it promotes itself as being Ireland's premier luxury lifestyle store).

I really do not believe that Mac should simply shrug its bronzed shoulders at the palpable displeasure of their clients which has been resounding by the postees on this thread.

The people have spoken.

Esmeralda34

Esmeralda34 wrote: »

Hi
I have to say I am amazed at what I have read on this thread this evening.

I love many of Mac's products but honestly abhor visiting the counter in Brown Thomas' on Grafton Street. And until now, felt I was one of the lonely few!

At lunchtimes I throw on my trainers when heading to Grafton St (my 4/5/6 inch heels just aren't practical for my lunchtime rush!). Most of my female colleagues do this as neccessity dictates..

During my visits to the Mac counter I have been thrown withering looks, ending of course at my trainers!

I have had staff be so blatantly rude and dismissive that they have left me standing in shock and indignant.

I worked in the service industry for many years and therefore feel utter disbelief at how standards have declined (on the Mac floor in particular!).

I speak and approach everyone (be it at the Mac counter, my local Spar or my local Big Issue sweetheart of a man) with the same respect that I feel we are all due as people.

I'm sorry that you feel we are doing you an injustice in this thread. However, perhaps you should take on board just how many of us feel that Mac doesn't cut the mustard.

This is not a smear campaign nor people feeling they ought to be treated like royalty simply for shopping in BTs (though a certain standard of service should naturally be expected considering it promotes itself as being Ireland's premier luxury lifestyle store).

I really do not believe that Mac should simply shrug its bronzed shoulders at the palpable displeasure of their clients which has been resounding by the postees on this thread.

The people have spoken.

I also should add that my best experiences in Brown Thomas on Grafton St have been in the Prada store. The satff are affable and gentle in approach. Because I'm comfortable, my wonderful boyfriend is happy to buy me something beautiful!
In addition I no longer venture near Macs - my hard earned money is worth more.

E.L

Esmeralda34 wrote: »

Hi
I have to say I am amazed at what I have read on this thread this evening.

I love many of Mac's products but honestly abhor visiting the counter in Brown Thomas' on Grafton Street. And until now, felt I was one of the lonely few!

At lunchtimes I throw on my trainers when heading to Grafton St (my 4/5/6 inch heels just aren't practical for my lunchtime rush!). Most of my female colleagues do this as neccessity dictates..

During my visits to the Mac counter I have been thrown withering looks, ending of course at my trainers!


I worked in the service industry for many years and therefore feel utter disbelief at how standards have declined (on the Mac floor in particular!).

I speak and approach everyone (be it at the Mac counter, my local Spar or my local Big Issue sweetheart of a man) with the same respect that I feel we are all due as people.

I'm sorry that you feel we are doing you an injustice in this thread. However, perhaps you should take on board just how many of us feel that Mac doesn't cut the mustard.

This is not a smear campaign nor people feeling they ought to be treated like royalty simply for shopping in BTs (though a certain standard of service should naturally be expected considering it promotes itself as being Ireland's premier luxury lifestyle store).

I really do not believe that Mac should simply shrug its bronzed shoulders at the palpable displeasure of their clients which has been resounding by the postees on this thread.

The people have spoken.

No i agree with you on most of your points. I hate snobby stuck up people who act like they are doing you a favour by serving you in a shop.
I dont work for Mac anymore and if you look back through this thread you will see that I said i feel awkward going into the Mac i used to work on because I feel the staff have changed or have a snobby attitude toward me because i left and went freelance.
I mainly meant that you can get bad and good service everywhere and we should not lump everyone into the same category as

I advertise my freelance makeup artist business including that i worked for mac and i would hate this to be a negative because from reading this thread some people may automatically percieve me to be a total witch ;/

Then again it has been said over and over that its Grafton street ( I worked outside of Dublin) so maybe its something thats bred in the staff there.
They do have all the trainers based there and they are the largest shop so maybe they are too cocky???

john1979

*Dallas wrote: »

there are always certain mac products il buy and love.. but i get them online now because of the appauling service in BT's. Even in Blanchardstown, the girls seriously need an attitude check, its not confidence, its cockiness and its not good for customer experiences!

Question for those that have worked in BT's, are the girls paid bonus's or extra for caking themselves in the products? or wearin 6 inch heels?

i've seen other mac assistants look really well presented, but in BT's they actually look like they are ready to hit the tiles lol

SOUNDS LIKE SOMEONES A LITTLE JEALOUS I shop in BT's in blanch all the time with my girlfriend and yes the girls all look amazing but in saying that ive never sensed an attitude off any of them. The are always lovely to my G/F. give her loads of time and bend over backwards to help her. I do hear women giving out about mac girls in general and all Id have to say is Jealousy is a bitch ladies.

john1979

E.L wrote: »

No i agree with you on most of your points. I hate snobby stuck up people who act like they are doing you a favour by serving you in a shop.
I dont work for Mac anymore and if you look back through this thread you will see that I said i feel awkward going into the Mac i used to work on because I feel the staff have changed or have a snobby attitude toward me because i left and went freelance.
I mainly meant that you can get bad and good service everywhere and we should not lump everyone into the same category as

I advertise my freelance makeup artist business including that i worked for mac and i would hate this to be a negative because from reading this thread some people may automatically percieve me to be a total witch ;/

Then again it has been said over and over that its Grafton street ( I worked outside of Dublin) so maybe its something thats bred in the staff there.
They do have all the trainers based there and they are the largest shop so maybe they are too cocky???

and then again, perhaps EL has serious issues? bitterness is not a nice quality emma

OldGoat

Attack the post not the poster.

yogalady

i have had a similar experience in BTs before but I find that there is a girl on the shiseido counter called Fiona who is brillant. Really helpful and did a great job on my make-up. Bye the way it BTs in Limerick

Cupcakes

john1979 wrote: »

SOUNDS LIKE SOMEONES A LITTLE JEALOUS I shop in BT's in blanch all the time with my girlfriend and yes the girls all look amazing but in saying that ive never sensed an attitude off any of them. The are always lovely to my G/F. give her loads of time and bend over backwards to help her. I do hear women giving out about mac girls in general and all Id have to say is Jealousy is a bitch ladies.

just because you havent experienced it doesnt mean others havent. :rolleyes: Btw did you only register so you could post in this thread to defend MAC thats kinda pathetic.

eth0_

john1979 wrote: »

SOUNDS LIKE SOMEONES A LITTLE JEALOUS I shop in BT's in blanch all the time with my girlfriend and yes the girls all look amazing but in saying that ive never sensed an attitude off any of them. The are always lovely to my G/F. give her loads of time and bend over backwards to help her. I do hear women giving out about mac girls in general and all Id have to say is Jealousy is a bitch ladies.

I've never shopped in BT's in Blanch so I can't comment on them, but while the staff at the MAC counter in BT2 in Dundrum look grand - glamorous but not OTT - the girls (and boys) in MAC BT Grafton Street...*Every* time I go in there I think "Jesus WTF have you done to your face?".

They look like drag queens - even the women! A friend of mine once said "It's like they have some sort of competition to see who can fit the most MAC products onto their face". And they often wear the wrong shade of foundation, which, for a makeup artist (although I believe most in that shop aren't trained MUA's), is absolutely unforgivable.

Again, it's the staff in Grafton St that I find rude. The girls in BT2 Dundrum i've never had an issue with. Grafton Street...i've gone in there numerous times when it is quiet and the staff just stand around having a great laugh when there are customers (including me) they should be approaching to "do you need any help?". I once stood looking at eyeshadows for over ten minutes before I had to go up to the sales counter and ask can someone please give me some assistance here? Their product knowledge in that store is also lacking, and every time i've bought foundation there they've tried to sell me the wrong shade (too dark)!

Trust me, this isn't about jealousy. Doesn't it seem strange to you that people are singing out MAC Grafton Street out of all the MAC counters in Dublin?

dopes

I was once asked by the girl at the yves saint laurent counter on grafton street would I consider buying touche eclait for my dark circles under my eyes. the funny thing is , I actually was wearing it. cow

missmatty

msmuffins wrote: »

i have had a similar experience in BTs before but I find that there is a girl on the shiseido counter called Fiona who is brillant. Really helpful and did a great job on my make-up. Bye the way it BTs in Limerick

Also made a visit to Shiseido recently and even though it was a very busy evening the girl made me feel welcome and didn't rush me away. She was very helpful and consquently I gave her a bit of extra business (didn't take much persuading!) And she was right that the new foundation wouldn't be too dark on, I was convinced it would be.

eth0_

It's weird that MAC seems to be the biggest cause of complaints about BT's on this board.

I find it sad that I can't buy my favourite brand in Dublin city centre because I find the staff so up themselves. Is it because most of them aren't even makeup artists?

My mineralize skinfinish natural has just run out and i'm running dangerously low on foundation, but i'd rather just wait until i'm in London in 2 weeks time and i'll go to a MAC store there...maybe even the MAC Pro store *drool!*

Beonce

dopes wrote: »

I was once asked by the girl at the yves saint laurent counter on grafton street would I consider buying touche eclait for my dark circles under my eyes. the funny thing is , I actually was wearing it. cow

:eek::eek:

irishvamp90

Whats the big deal about mac??ive used it but very rarely

Clueless09

The girls at the MAC counter in Brown Thomas in Galway couldnt be nicer-never had a bad experience with any of them. Girls at the benefit counter are lovely too.